Product Description

Alexandra (Barney) Barnaby roars onto the Miami Beach scene in hot pursuit of her missing baby brother, "Wild" Bill. Leave it to the maverick of the family to get Barney involved with high-speed car chases, a search for sunken treasure, and Sam Hooker, a NASCAR driver who’s good at revving a woman's engine.

Engaged in a deadly race, Bill has "borrowed" Hooker's sixty-five-foot Hatteras and sailed off into the sunset...just when Hooker has plans for the boat. Hooker figures he'll attach himself to Barney and maybe run into scumbag Bill. And better yet, maybe he'll get lucky in love with Bill's sweetie pie sister.

The pedal will have to go to metal if Barney and Hooker want to be the first to cross the finish line, save Bill, Hooker's boat...and maybe the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189739 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060584023
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
"Just because I know how to change a guy's oil doesn't mean I want to spend the rest of my life on my back, staring up his undercarriage." From the word go, Evanovich delivers her usual goods, albeit in a different vehicle. After 10 Stephanie Plum novels, each more successful than the last, Evanovich introduces Alexandra Barnaby, aka Barney. Barney hails from Baltimore rather than New Jersey, but she's from the same slice of working-class life as Stephanie; she donned mechanic's overalls in her father's garage during summer breaks from college. Her younger brother, Wild Bill, shares her passion for cars, and now he's disappeared from Miami, along with NASCAR star Sam Hooker's boat, the Happy Hooker. Evanovich doesn't mind showing her romance roots, as Barney and Sam start off snarling at each other; as any reader can tell, they have to team up (a) to save Bill and (b) to enjoy delicious sex. As in the Plum books, plot takes a back seat to riffs, roughups and dialogue—and in the last lies the book's most notable distinction. If Stephanie bids fair to be New Jersey's Dorothy Parker, Barney is Baltimore's echo of Robert Parker. Conversation is terse and coded, full of sexual innuendo, with a high premium on toss-away lines uttered under duress. Despite the amazing quantity of physical jeopardy, there's little tension; it's all about hanging out with Metro Girl and NASCAR Guy—which may be just what millions of Evanovich fans will want.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–A comic misadventure from the start, this mystery is a good combination of light thriller and fast-paced action. Alex Barnaby receives a late-night call from her brother that ends in mid-sentence with a woman screaming in the background. Being the dependable sister that she is, she catches the next flight down to Miami to find out what happened. Alex soon discovers that her brother has gone missing with a recent Cuban immigrant who may or may not know the location of a warhead and a fortune in gold. She cuts down the inept bad guys with her wit and a few well-placed accidental kicks and moves. For fans of the author's "Stephanie Plum" series, the book is a letdown as there are moments when readers have to suspend disbelief and accept contrived plot twists. Evanovich is better at dialogue than description, which may frustrate some seasoned readers, but the dialogue is what keeps the story moving and is, ultimately, the novel's saving grace.–Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, VA

From Booklist
*Starred Review* The woman who brought us the irresistible Stephanie Plum introduces Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby in this madcap new adventure. Like so many crime solvers, both male and female, Barney is smart, tough, cute, and good with a quip. A day job doesn't mask her passion, which is for car engines, since she grew up in her father's garage in Baltimore. Family is another passion, and when her brother, Wild Bill, disappears (after a phone call to Barney) with a NASCAR driver's boat in Miami, what can she do but fly down to rescue him? The NASCAR guy, Sam Hooker, turns out to be quite the charmer, and he's as interested in Barney as in getting his boat back (yes, the missing vessel is called Happy Hooker). Locales in South Beach and Key West, really creepy Cuban henchmen, lost gold, even more lost chemical WMDs, various car chases, and kissing all ensue. There's never any doubt that Barney will get the last word, nor that she will rescue Bill, but the whole is almost more fun than any of the craziness in Plum's world--and that includes Ranger's apartment and Morelli's relatives. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Not bad
Alex Barnaby is worried when her brother Bill, who is working in Miami, disappears along with his girlfriend Maria. She finds herself reluctantly joining forces with Hooker, a handsome racing driver, whose boat Bill has stolen. Together they set out to find the missing pair, helped and hindered by a variety of other characters.

This is quite a good story with some amusing moments, but I did not find it nearly as funny or exciting as the Stepahine Plum novels, none of the characters interested me very much, and the heroine, Alex, seemed insipid compared to Stephanie.

If you haven't read any Janet Evanovich books before, my advice would be to skip this one and go for the Plums, they are very much better than this.

The worst of the worst
I was given this book for Christmas and it was probably the worst book I have read in years. Luckily the gift giver bought it marked down to 99c in her local book shop and you can see why.

What a ridiculous storyline, and NASCAR man has to be the most annoying character ever written. Alex Barnaby is a flighty, stupid and most unappealing heroine.

The storyline is feeble.
She hears a scream during a telephone conversation with her brother, she flies down to Florida, meets up with obnoxious NASCAR man, and basically resorts to the worst plot lines ever to find her brother, recover gold, missiles, and it goes on and on.

I'd heard Evanovich was a good author, but I have since been told by others that only her early Plum books are good. The rest are garbage. Judging by Metro Girl, they are right - this is total garbage.

The only good thing about this book is that is made of paper and paper burns. That's what I used to for - to help start the fire.

Definitely not a Plum read...
I can't believe I'm writing this since I absolutely love Janet Evanovich and her Plum series, but this book (which I had eagerly anticipated) disappoints. While I did finish the book (it's a short read), the plot seemed so contrived and I cared so little for the characters (NASCAR guy was just annoying) that I just didn't even care how it ended.

Hope the 11th Plum book is much better than this!