Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich is the latest installment of the Stephanie Plum series and I was pleasantly surprised. This story revolves around the case of the dying poker players. Stephanie is assigned to bring in Jimmy Poletti when he misses his court date, but one calamity after another keeps her from catching him. Then there's the problem of Randy Briggs. Someone is trying to kill him and he asks Stephanie for help. And to make matters even worse, Ranger's life is on the line when an assassin tries and fails to kill him. Oh and let's not forget Grandma Mazur's bucket list!

As fellow readers of the series can tell you, the last few installments (at least the last 4 or 5) have fell flat for me. Just okay plots, mediocre jokes, and love triangle from hell. But I've stuck with it and continued reading them because I've not invested nearly 15 years in reading a series to not see it through to the end! Well, let me just say kudos to the author for bringing back the characters and plot to what made me initially love the series.



Stephanie is back in this installment and better than ever!! She is independent, a slightly better bounty hunter, and if I'm not mistaken about ready to settle down and leave the dangerous work behind. She's in over her head with this case. No leads other than Randy Briggs who is a thorn in her side. Joe Morelli, the gorgeous hot cop and her sometimes fiancé, is working the murders of the poker players and he is none to happy about Stephanie being in the middle of it all. Morelli's character has grown some in this book I think. He's ready to settle down and I think he's just waiting on Stephanie. He's patient, he for once doesn't push her to quit her job, and he isn't jealous of Ranger (big growth for him!). Ranger is mysterious, also gorgeous, and Stephanie's biggest temptation! What I love about Ranger is his quiet demeanor and his actions. OMG!!!! His actions say everything, he is totally in love with Stephanie, but not a settle down kind of a guy....

Ranger smiled. "There are times when I seriously consider marrying you, but then I get yet another black mark on my path to enlightenment and forgiveness and I scratch marriage off my bucket list."

The plot is well-thought out and for the first time in a long while with this series I wasn't able to guess with any accuracy what was going to happen! I was wrong on all accounts which made me love the book even more. It's full of suspense and humor, classic to the early installments of the series and made me nostalgic for my first encounter with Stephanie Plum when she was chasing Joe Morelli in book one! There are three main threads in the plot: poker player murders, Randy Briggs, and Ranger's assassin. Two of the three tie themselves together in a sloppy bow and then the book culminates with the other thread.

And then who can forget Grandma Mazur?! She gets a paragraph all to herself. I love this character! She reminds me of my great-grandmother, independent and spunky as all get out. In this book, Grandma Mazur decides to make a bucket list and she actually does a few of the items from the list. I'll leave you with one quote from her about it...

"It was mesmerizing," Grandma said. "It was like staring into the eye of a cobra. I don't care if I do anything else on the bucket list. This was awesome. It was like a biblical experience."

Overall, if you are a fan of the series or if you've never heard of it, I highly recommend you give it a try. It's like a cupcake, quick to consume, leaves you feeling light-hearted and wanting more. You will laugh until you cry and then laugh some more. It's a mix of mystery, suspense, humor, and women's lit at its best. And best of all if you are new to the series, it can be read as a stand alone. The author gives enough information about the characters that you will not be lost. However after you read this one, go back and start with number one :)