Susan F. (scoutmomskf) - , reviewed on 1/6/2020 + 2617 more book reviews

Good book, though these later books don't have the intensity, in either danger or humor, that the earlier books had. Be that as it may, it was still a fun read. At the end of the previous book, Grandma Mazur eloped with one of her senior citizen boyfriends. Unfortunately for her, the marriage lasted all of 45 minutes before her groom, Jimmy Rosolli, a local gangster, dropped dead of a heart attack.

Grandma finds herself the target of some unwanted attention. Jimmy's former business partners, an aging gang known as The La-Z-Boys, believe that Jimmy entrusted her with the secret of The Keys, and they want them back. Jimmy's sisters are convinced that Grandma is a gold-digger, and make their displeasure known in various ways. And one of Jimmy's ex-wives believes that she has more right to Jimmy's estate than Grandma does. How far are any of them willing to go to get what they want?

Now, on top of her bounty hunter duties, Stephanie has become Grandma's bodyguard. The best thing she can do is find the keys and end the threat. But this is Stephanie Plum, and nothing ever goes smoothly for her. There is plenty of fun with the usual zaniness that surrounds her. She has a relatively successful run of catching bail-jumpers, though not without challenges. Lula is always ready to aid and abet, and her antics contribute to some laugh-out-loud moments. She loses a car to a self-inflicted car bombing. Her love life is still complicated, though Morelli seems to have the inside track in this book. Ranger has his moments, and his simple "Babe" can convey so many different things. It was interesting to see Morelli and Ranger work together to keep Stephanie and Grandma safe - a somewhat uneasy partnership, but an effective one.

The central theme of Grandma and The Keys was pretty well done. It was fun to see more of Grandma in this book as she always livens things up. Stephanie's attempts to find out more about the keys led her down some twisted paths. The La-Z-Boys were occasionally amusing, more frequently creepy, and at the end, downright scary. The final confrontation was intense. I liked that both Stephanie and Grandma had no intention of giving in to panic. Stephanie's actions were great and reminded me somewhat of the first book. The story of the keys isn't entirely resolved, as a final twist in the story looks like a lead-in for the next book.

One thing I found unusual about this book is the depth of Stephanie's dissatisfaction with her life and work. She's had moments in previous stories, but she seems more serious about it here. It will be interesting to see if she takes it further in the future.

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