I hadn’t read one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books in nine years. Because the book flap teased readers saying, “She could finally be forced to choose between the two most important men in her life, Joe Morelli and Ranger”, I was hopeful for  Fortune and Glory, the twenty-seventh book in the series. Spoiler alert – Stephane Plum is no better than Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen in making a decision about her personal life.

In fact, Plum’s personal life seemed to be the pivotal point of this latest book. She’s broken up with cop Joe Morelli, again, and she’s trying to learn more about herself. What does she want in life? One reason she and Morelli broke up is due to Stephanie’s determination to help her Grandma Mazur Rosolli on a treasure hunt. Her grandma’s husband, mobster Jimmy Rosolli, died and left her his La-Z-Boy, which supposedly contained his key to a treasure he shared with five other mobsters. Some are dead, and left behind their clues to the treasure hunt. But, two of the three surviving mobsters had already kidnapped Grandma and Stephanie, hoping to retrieve Grandma’s keys and clue. They escaped, but the two women are still determined to find that treasure.

Who is Stephanie Plum? Is she a New Jersey bounty hunter who gets by on luck and determination? Or, is she Indiana Jones, an adventurer? She doesn’t know who she is. It’s sad that one of the men who skipped out on his bond, Potts, a crazy hypochondriac, seems to have the greatest insight into Stephanie’s character.

Stephanie Plum hasn’t changed much in nine years. She still destroys cars in the course of her investigations. She still hasn’t decided if she loves Joe or wants to sleep with Ranger. Her adventures with ex-hooker Lulu are as outrageous as ever. The current treasure hunt takes Stephanie, Lulu, and Grandma Mazur Rosolli into tunnels and car accidents. And, it was enjoyable, but there really hasn’t been much change in Stephanie’s life.

There was an addition to this book as Stephanie questions why a woman named Gabriela seems to be one step ahead of her in tunnels and the search for mobsters. Sometimes, Gabriela just seems to be one step behind, following her. It turns out Gabriela is the protagonist of a new Janet Evanovich series.

My final opinion? Fortune and Glory won’t disappoint fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. It really only disappoints those of us who want a little personal growth and a romantic decision from the character.

Janet Evanovich’s website is www.evanovich.com

Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich. Atria Books, 2020. ISBN 978198254837 (hardcover), 304p.

*****

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.