Are You Series-ous?

As I noted in earlier entries, I've been doing some light reading for the past few months. In these "light" forays, I've discovered the pleasure of the series.

I have been a fan of series books since my earliest years, when reading Encyclopedia Brown and the Chronicles of Narnia. I loved the characters and wanted to join them for yet another adventure. I trusted them — that is, I realized as I got older, I trusted the writers and editors who brought me those characters and stories.

There are some well-known and very popular series on the bookshelves today, and I have sampled at least a few of them: Harry Potter, Gemma Doyle trilogy, Twilight series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Magic Treehouse, Dresden Files, Gossip Girls, American Girls, Spiderwick .... each with its own following.

I, lately, have found myself ensnared by a couple of series: Stephanie Plum and the Lytton trilogy.

I met Stephanie Plum in the emergency room of the busiest hospital in my region. It was in the wee hours of a Thursday, Medivac helicopters were bringing in the terribly injured and it looked like it would be a long night for David and me. Cindy dropped David and me off, and Alicia returned a while later in her own car and with a book in hand: Fearless Fourteen, a kind gesture from Cindy, who was rarely wrong about a good leisure book. Plus, when sitting with my foot elevated in a wheelchair facing "The Fugitive" on a snowy and tinny-sounding television, Fourteen looked better and better. Then, as David fetched cake and took a nap, and I battled to stay awake, I cracked open the book.

And was transported.

As you can tell from my review, I found it delightful. I didn't realize, however, that it was part of a series until Carole mentioned it later. ("A Stephanie Plum novel" meant nothing at 5 am that day, nor in the exhausting, trying, hazy days following.) During my convalescence, Carole brought me the first four Stepanie Plum novels, and I began anew.

So far, I've read the first six, and I will start Seven Up after I next see Carole. (She's my Plum dealer.) The characters are feisty and memorable, and rumor has it that some of my favorites will make appearances in books I have yet to read. I can't wait.

Another series in which I have found myself hip-deep is the Lytton trilogy. I had read the first book, No Angel, five years ago and was totally absorbed — and was thrilled when I learned Penny Vincenzi had written two other books. Carole, thankfully, had read all three, so as I hit different points in the story, I would call her. With no preamble. "This is Carole" would be greeted with, "Okay, Celia has just...." or "She's not leaving! Still! What is she thinking!?" Sometimes I would answer the phone with, "Hey, Carole, I'm at...." (Thank you, Caller-ID!)

It's a hefty trilogy, and not a quick read — which is good because it's too good to get through quickly. (I think the first book is nearly 700 pages, so it's not a quick or light anything.) I am about a third of the way through the final book, and I am afraid to pick it up. When I read during my convalescence, I had the luxury of napping and sleeping in. No such luck these days, so I have to pace myself — which is impossible with such a compelling book. Therefore, unless I plan to read until I hide the book in the other room and fall asleep, my eyes red-rimmed and scratchy, I have to approach with caution. I will have to see how Carole managed. It's too good a book to put down!

I foresee a few more series in my future: Spiderwick, which my friend Kelsey shared with me; the Gemma Doyle trilogy (reviewed by Carole and a favorite of her daughter); Twilight (because I wish to discuss it with my friend Corinne); Dresden Files (only because the television series is so enjoyable).

When I find the time, I will re-read a couple of my personal favorites:

• The Chronicles of Narnia, which holds a special spot in my heart for the week I enjoyed it, holed up in my room as I devoured each book, forsaking sleep and sun until the end; and
• Harry Potter, with thanks to Suzanne, for sharing the first book with me, as well as Carole and the kids, who managed to keep secrets until after I read each volume.

One warning: take a breather, no matter how beloved a series is. Don't risk Author Repeatitis! Chances are your series will not falter, but don't give it a chance to fail because of your own saturation. I remember my experiences with the original Dune trilogy and wince. Frank Herbert deserved better attention than a 19-year-old college student with time on her hands could give him.

Fearless Fourteen — Review by Chris

Fearless Fourteen, the latest Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich, was mindless and delightful, easy to pick up, hard to put down. I needed Fluff 'n Trash™ while sitting for eight hours in the emergency room, and Cindy hooked me up with the this great distraction.

This is the latest in the Stephanie Plum series, so I started at the end. However, that wasn't a problem. With this series, the books appear to stand on their own. I waded into the middle of it all with no problem.

And talk about a "middle"!

In book 14, Stephanie works as a "bounty hunter" for her cousin the bail bondsman. It's not glamorous or sexy, and it's not dangerous.... until now. Her boyfriend's cousin Loretta, who was arrested for knocking over a liquor store (okay, she took only a bottle of gin because she wanted a Tom Collins), didn't make her court date. Stephanie returned her to jail to let her set a new date and come up with more bail — and promised to pick up Loretta's son from school that afternoon.

If only it were that easy. "Zook" is a gamer who turns on Stephanie's elderly grandmother to the game — and tags everything he sees (with washable paint, thank heavens) with his name. Not even Morelli's dog is safe.

Meanwhile, Loretta's brother Dom is out of the klink after serving time for robbery — and a $9 million fortune that was never found. Dom is convinced that Morelli is Zook's father, though neither Morelli nor Loretta have ever claimed that. Add to that Dom's anger at Morelli getting their grandmother's house while Dom was in prison and it's not pretty.

At this time, Ranger needs Stephanie to do a little moonlighting. He's got a gig protecting Brenda, an aging superstar known by only her first name. And she's every security guard's nightmare: brassy, sassy and more than glad to see what Ranger is packing.

Then there's poor Tank. Lula has decided they need to be engaged to be married. This brick of a man has to face his animal-printed woman and her plans for her, er, their "dream" wedding complete with a white dress with train (for her) and an unspeakable-looking tux (for him).

Suddenly, people wind up dead and in Morelli's basement (sometimes both at once). Then Loretta gets sprung from jail, only to wind up kidnapped — and Zook has to stay with Morelli until they find Loretta, hopefully before her toes are mailed to him, one by one. Why and how is this happening to Morelli?

What has a giant pizza have to do with Brenda, and could Gary be right? Does yellow police tape really keep people from digging up the yard? Would you go to Cluck-in-a-Bucket on a Sunday? How many partners did Dom have? More importantly, who's Ken and how far can Mook shoot a potato?

I might have to hit Cindy up for a couple of the previous books. This is mindless summer reading at its best, and it's a book I can heartily recommend. Dive in — and hand me the sunscreen.