I listen to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich on audiobook. I've always listened to this series on audio, having never "read" a single one of them. Ever. Now, I know myself well enough to know that if I did "read" these books, I would have chucked this series to the curb ages ago. The monotony would have gotten to me by now, especially since I can't remember the last time the author gave readers a credible villain and halfway decent mystery. But as far as listening to them? I like them. They're undemanding brain candy.That being said, I just got around listening to Finger Lickin' Fifteen and have to say it....
Meh.
Way too much Lula. Dear God, way, way, way too much Lula. Between the author regaling me with Lula's farts (Seriously? Fart jokes?!), and constant harrumphing (is it just me or does this character talk in grunts entirely too much?), I was past full-up. Oh, and for the record? Exploding diarrhea caused by bad barbecue? Not funny. I'm not even sure it's funny to 13-year-old boys.
All of which got me thinking on the subject of fluffy reads and just how far I can be pushed into "wacky territory" before my suspension of disbelief snaps. Now, obviously, I'm a big fan of fluff. I mean, I just enjoyed a mystery that featured a heroine thwarting the advances of a would-be Romeo from Uzbekistan. So I'm not incapable of shutting off my internal monologue when it comes to Funny Ha Ha books. So while Uzbekistan suitor is OK, a celebrity chef getting decapitated in broad daylight, in the middle of a street, in Stephanie Plum's Trenton, New Jersey was too much for me to roll with.
Yeah. Decapitated. In the middle of the day, in the middle a street. Also, I found it unsettling that a celebrity chef gets his head chopped off in Trenton and the media isn't crawling all over the city like a cockroach on a week-old Tasty Kake left out in the sun. And exactly how much sense does it make that Ranger asks for Stephanie's help in tracking down the guy sabotaging his business? I mean, hello?! Ranger is Batman. Stephanie is...well...totally inept.
On the bright side, I got my yummy Ranger fix.
So gentle readers, how wacky is too wacky? What has been known to push you over the edge and snap your suspension of disbelief in half? And for that matter, does anyone out there actually like the character of Lula? Seriously? Inquiring minds want to know.
