Books › Smokin' Seventeen
Smokin' Seventeen
438 pages
A laugh-out-loud collision of bounty hunting, romantic entanglement, and pure Jersey chaos.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like catching up with a wildly dysfunctional but deeply lovable group of friends over a greasy diner breakfast. The pacing is brisk and bouncy, propelled by snappy dialogue and a relentless parade of slapstick mishaps rather than dark suspense. It wraps the reader in a mood of zany, low-stakes comfort, where even murder investigations take a backseat to exploding cars, eccentric relatives, and simmering romantic indecision. The prose is breezy and unapologetically colloquial, designed to deliver punchlines with perfect comedic timing. It is an absolute delight for anyone who craves a hilarious, chaotic escape filled with familiar hometown eccentricities and a heroine who survives on sheer luck, sarcasm, and a lot of hairspray.
- Mood
- chaotic
- lighthearted
- zany
- comforting
- Tone
- irreverent
- wry
- slapstick
- breezy
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- romantic indecision · found family chaos · workplace absurdity · hometown eccentricities
- The writing
- Snappy, dialogue-heavy, and unapologetically colloquial, prioritizing punchlines and pacing over literary flourish.
- The arc
- A chaotic romp through familiar romantic dilemmas and absurd dangers that resolves with a comforting return to the hilarious status quo.
- Who it's for
- Readers looking for a laugh-out-loud, low-stakes comfort read filled with eccentric characters and simmering romantic tension.
Content notes
- comic violence
- murder
- mild sexual tension
About the book
Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list. Short on time to find the murderer, Stephanie is also under pressure from family and friends to choose between her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom wants her to dump them both for a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, suggests a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Joe’s old-world grandmother gives Stephanie “the eye,” which may mean that it’s time to get out of town.
Description from Open Library.
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