Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I am an avid fan of the Stephanie Plum series. Fortune and Glory is technically the 27th book in this series. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, NetGalley. I know this series has been around for quite some time and I have been there all the way, from Stephanie's life changes, love life changes, car mishaps, hair mishaps, clothes mishaps, heck all sorts of mishaps. The usual suspects that the readers all love are present and accounted for, but, there is a new sidekick character who is quite funny, Potts. I have to admit that for most of the books since Lula has been working for Vinnie, I found Lula to be the comic relief. A lot of that is because we expect certain things out of the books and the formula is obvious but, throughout it all, Lula somehow is original, and even when she is the same, she is hilarious. Fortune and Glory did have a different feel to it, a deeper adventure maybe. I do not want to give anything away regarding Stephanie's relationships with Morelli or Ranger, so I will steer clear of that topic. But, I will say that Stephanie's attitude seems to be changing.

In Fortune and Glory, there is a continuation from Twisted Twenty-Six where Grandma Mazur gets herself into serious trouble. Well, really when doesn't she. But, the Lazy-boys are just as crazy as they always were and there are 3 of them left after Jimmy Risolli, Grandma Mazur's husband of about 5 minutes died. The other Lazy-boys, well, 2 of them are looking for something and they are pretty sure that Grandma has the information to find it because she was the last person with Jimmy and she was his wife. Fortune and Glory continues with Shine and Salgusta are pulling off the gloves, if they were ever really wearing them, and are ready to kidnap, maim and kill to get the information from Grandma Mazur. However, at this stage, Grandma has decided it was her husband and she deserves his share of whatever it is and there is another point, no one outside of the Lazy-Boys even knows what is in the treasure.

Enter Gabriela, a new character, who is the kick-butt, skilled, or female Ranger, version of Stephanie. They are neck-and-neck trying to get to the treasure first. Stephanie has no clue who she is but, she knows she has some relationship to Morelli. No one really knows much about Gabriela. She is a wildcard and she does add to the story. In all honesty, Stephanie has stepped up her game in Fortune and Glory. If you were cheering her on in previous books, you cannot help but do it again, especially with Grandma Mazur's life in danger. I always love the Stephanie Plum books, but, I have to admit, my interest has kicked up again, and not just because I am ready to see what Lula is up to this time.