another instalment in the series that is as formulaic as ever... i had hoped for a bit of a shake up, especially with how much moaning stephanie did about how fed up she was with her job and life in this book. i was hoping she would maybe try something new with her career, like getting actual law enforcement training, or working for ranger in private security. or maybe she would take one of her personal relationships to the next level. for all her talk throughout the book, stephanie ends up exactly where she started, as usual.

i also felt like the book-specific plot was weaker than usual. it was just a jumble of burg mob people looking out for themselves, with a little grandma mazur thrown in for good measure. i actually had a hard time keeping the characters straight because some of the names were so similar. i was also hoping connie would have a bigger role given that the main person around whom the plot revolved was one of her relatives. all in all, i was quite disappointed, even as a long-time reader of this series knowing what to expect from it.