I used to be a huge fan of the Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Actually, I still am, I just stopped reading the books. The last Plum novel I read was Twelve Sharp and I didn’t find it nearly as funny as the previous 11, plus I found a lot more plot holes than normal (things that normally would have been cleared up weren’t). I imagine I’ll go back to reading them someday, but for now I’m burned out.

One of the things I’ve always disliked is the “in between” novels she releases. Not because they aren’t good additions to the series, but because she releases them in hardcover. Not just any old hardcover, either, but $17 hardcover. For approximately 150-200 pages. That is beyond ridiculous, IMO. I have a hard time paying $17 for a full length hardcover most of the time, so I’m definitely not going to pay that for a short one. Plum Lucky (St. Martin’s Press) is 176 pages and originally retailed for $17.95 (you can now buy it on sale at Amazon for $5.99 if you’re so inclined, though I still think that’s overpriced for a novella). Plum Lovin’ also clocks in at 176 pages and originally retailed for $16.95. Visions of Sugar Plums is 160 pages and originally retailed for $19.95. I have to go with NO on that.

But when I was browsing at Books on Board today I saw Plum Spooky, which is the first full length Between-the-Numbers Plum book @ 320 pages. I was curious so I read the blurb (it does sound pretty good) but then I checked the price and about fell over. Original retail price for this Between-the-Numbers Plum book? $27.95! WTF? If you buy it from BoB they’re offering a $5 discount right off the top and $10 in rewards if you email them with proof of purchase, bringing the total cost of the book down to just under $11. Amazon also has it discounted at $16.77.

But..almost $30 for a 300 page book? Really?

I don’t think so.

The First Full Length Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novel from #1 Bestselling Author Janet Evanovich.
Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.
Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He’s chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he’s chosen the Barrens as his new playground. Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He’s now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn’t made it out of the boys’ department at Macy’s. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn’t met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel. Diesel pops in and out of Plum’s life like birthday cake – delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He’s an über bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He’s after Grimoire, and now he’s also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn’t mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.
Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.

Plum Spooky is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.