The latest in the Full series takes us back to Beaumont, South Carolina, into the office of Dr. Maggie Davenport, pediatrician. Maggie has a 13-year-old daughter, Mel, the result of an ill-fated relationship with convict Carol Lee Stanton. Shortly after she broke it off with Carl Lee, he robbed an armored car and killed an FBI agent, sending him to prison. When he escapes, the FBI is sure he’ll head for Beaumont, where they believe he stashed his loot, and where he can exact revenge on his ex-girlfriend, Maggie. Zack Madden, despite his broken arm, is the agent assigned to Maggie and Mel, and when he moves in to protect them, sparks fly between him and Dr. Davenport. Mel rebels against their safety restrictions, and Maggie’s nurse, Queenie Cloud, is up to her elbows in putting spells on people, while Max and Jamie Holt, the original stars of the series, try for a baby. Meanwhile, Destiny Moultrie, the curvaceous psychic advice columnist who has appeared in the last couple of books, dodges romantic advances from the local bait shop owner.Love, danger, and fun are in the air while everyone snarfs down Better than Sex chocolate ice cream and waits for dangerous killer Carl Lee Stanton to arrive in town and wreak havoc. The book is tame by Stephanie Plum standards, but on its own merits, it’s a fun, modern romance that deals with mother/daughter issues at the beginning of the teen years, and brings back a cast of characters we’ve grown fond of. Though the focus has shifted from the original characters to fresh blood to keep the romance angle from going stale, in this story some of the original feeling of off-the-wall fun being had by people leading everyday lives has come back to the forefront. At the same time, a couple of characters who had grown a bit tired fade away or move on. There’s an unnecessary, somewhat silly twist at the end, but for the most part, this was an enjoyable read. They shook some things up and went back to basics with others, and it worked. There is life in Beaumont, South Carolina yet.
So far it's good! With all the dialogue and action it keeps it really fun and interesting to read. It's a "page turner". However, there are a lot of characters and it's hard to keep track of who's who. In addition, there are "cuts" in the book or pauses that are confusing to switch from. I really enjoy this book. The plot keeps it so entertaining and makes you really want to keep reading. The "cuts" are no longer confusing and the characters all make sense, and there are a lot of them. The characters are all so well-described and keep fitting their personalities that they were assigned in the beginning. With the bad guy getting closer and closer to the good guys it makes you want to finish it to know what's going to happen and whether the guy wants to get revenge or just be normal. It's a very good book.
What do You think about Full Scoop (2006)?
Nice interaction between characters, with humor thrown in. Not much involvement of the "Full Scoop" ice cream parlor for which the book is named. And the characters Queenie and her giant grandson Everest are funny. Pediatrician Maggie Farnsworth becomes endangered when her former boyfriend and cop-killer Carl Lee Stanton escapes from prison hundreds of miles away and is headed to her to get hidden money - not to mention revenge. FBI agent Zack Madden becomes her protector, and has a special interest in the case since the cop that Carl Lee killed was his father. And Maggie has not told her teenage daughter Mel that Carl Lee is her real father. He is headed to them in Beaumont SC, where an Elvis convention is taking place. Will Zach be able to protect them when Carl Lee arrives?
—Dale Safford
I think the bad guy in this one is a bit too bad. I sometimes get an odd sense of disconnect when reading books that are supposed to be fluffy and light and then we get cold-blooded murderers and death in them. As for Evanovich always having similar characters, well bring them on, I enjoy them and I know what to expect when I pick one up. :) I have trouble getting to sleep properly if I read books that are new or too exciting at bedtime, so I generally go round the old Evanovich books with maybe a bit of Wodehouse for variety. They do the trick; not boring even with quite a few reads, but not hard to put down and get a restful sleep at the right time!
—T.L. Merrybard
3 STARS"Mercury's in retrograde, and folks in Beaumont, South Carolina are dealing with gossip, scandal, misunderstandings, and more secrets than ever. Local pediatrician Maggie Farnsworth has even bigger worries. Her wild-girl past has caught up with her in the form of her ex-boyfriend, a jailbird who just flew the coop--and is bent on tracking down Maggie and her daughter. Fortunately, FBI agent Zack Madden is on hand for protection. Unfortunately, his presence is turning up the heat on an attraction Maggie simply has no time for...or does she? But Maggie and Zack aren't the only ones getting busy: Fleas, the hound dog, is up to his old tricks--this time with Butterbean, a very allluring...goat? Jamie Swift and millionaire Max Holt have babies on the brain. And resident psychic-slash-astrologer Destiny is fighting a crush of her own. Since the town's ice cream parlor is a magnet for gossip, no one can keep a secret and the sticky situations are getting even stickier..." (From Amazon) Hilarious...for all Evanovich fans!
—Kris - My Novelesque Life
