HARDCORE 24 by Janet Evanovich

Headless bodies have started appearing across town in Trenton, New Jersey. At first, it's just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. Then a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church. Stephanie Plum knows that she's the only one with a prayer of catching this killer. 

If that's not enough, Diesel's back in town. The six-foot-tall, blond-haired hunk accepts no limits - that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, isn't pleased at his arrival, nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant with his own plans for Stephanie. 

Jersey's favourite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel's sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?

Reading the next Stephanie Plum book always feels like catching up with old friends. It also never gets old. 

Headless bodies are turning up all over Trenton, and Stephanie's (kinda) boyfriend Morelli is on the case. Stephanie has cases of her own--a grave robber, a former skip who's come back to town, a professional protestor, and anyone else Connie can throw her way. But with a hungry wayward snake to deal with, zombies hiding in the woods, and the reappearance of the enigmatic Diesel, the problems keep piling up.

And if all of this isn't enough, Grandma Mazur has a new squeeze who lives in Florida. Plus Lula's convinced she's somehow psychically connected to zombies... 

Just when you think Janet Evanovich can't come up with a new way to torment Stephanie & Co, she raises the stakes. Not just in the danger level, but also the hilarious situations and fresh/familiar characters thrown into the mix. This is what keeps the series exciting even after this many books! Not to mention that she tapped into the ever-popular zombie genre in a very streetwise way, and you gotta love that.

The love complications are tripled in this book because Diesel magically appears, ready to turn her life upside down with his mysterious ways. As if dealing with her sort-of relationship with Morelli, and the never-ending temptation Ranger constantly provides wasn't enough. LMAO.

The storyline with Grandma Mazur was outrageously fun. I like that she's so tech-savvy she managed to find a potential boyfriend online. And now we have a new doggy to add to the cast. Can't wait to see what adventures Grandma & Henry get up to.

Hardcore 24 is another super fun addition to this very AWESOME series. The mystery was intriguing, and seriously freaky. The gnome thing had me in stitches, the snake thing was peculiar, and Lula never fails to make me smile.

I'll never get tired of these characters. I'll never get tired of the hilarity. I never want Stephanie to choose one guy. And I'll always (always) LOL while reading these books because Janet Evanovich has a way of hooking me in every single time. :)

Bring on the next one!

Hardcore 24, November 2017, ISBN 9781472245915, Headline Review