Book ~ "Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine" (2022) Janet Evanovich

From Goodreads ~ Monday mornings aren’t supposed to be fun but they should be predictable. However, on this particular Monday, Stephanie Plum knows that something is amiss when she turns up for work at Vinnie’s Bail Bonds to find that longtime office manager, Connie Rosolli, who is as reliable as the tides in Atlantic City, hasn’t shown up.

Stephanie’s worst fears are confirmed when she gets a call from Connie’s abductor. He says he will only release her in exchange for a mysterious coin that a recently murdered man left as collateral for his bail. Unfortunately, this coin, which should be in the office - just like Connie - is nowhere to be found.

The quest to discover the coin, learn its value and save Connie will require the help of Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur, her best pal Lula, her boyfriend Morelli, and hunky security expert Ranger. As they get closer to unraveling the reasons behind Connie’s kidnapping, Connie’s captor grows more threatening and soon Stephanie has no choice but to throw caution to the wind, follow her instincts, and go rogue.

Stephanie works for Vince, her bail bondsman cousin, and Lulu, a former 'ho, works with her. When Stephanie and Lulu show up to work on morning, the doors are locked and the lights are out, which is very unusual because Connie, the office manager, is always there ahead of time. After looking around town for her, they get a call that she has been kidnapped and her ransom is collector's coin that was given to Vince as collateral when he bonded someone out of jail. Vince, though, has lost the coin and Stephanie and Lulu start hunting it down so they can save their friend and co-worker.

As usual, Stephanie and Lulu have a couple people they have to track down who didn't show up for their court date, including her boyfriend, Joe's evil grandmother, Bella, who puts the evil eye on everyone. 

This is the 29th in the Stephanie Plum series and I've read them all. As in previous books, Evanovich continues to follow her formula:

• Though dating long time boyfriend, Joe, she is lusting after both Joe and Ranger ... check
• Lulu talks about food all the time and eating lots ... check
• Lulu gets mad when people insult her about her weight ... check
• Stephanie goes home to mooch meals from her parents ... check
• Ranger calls Stephanie "Babe" and just wants to have sex with her with no commitment ... check
• Stephanie's car explodes ... check
• Lulu says "on account of" about a million times ... check

This book was okay. It's written in first person perspective from Stephanie's point of view.  Stephanie is still torn between Joe and Ranger which is tiresome ... she says she loves Joe but is still attracted to Ranger, which Ranger encourages. I found it surprising that she has marriage in her mind so much in this book considering she's cheating on Joe with Ranger. I don't know why she's even with Joe since they don't seem to spend quality time together ... they eat pizza, watch a hockey game and/or have sex. Ranger looks out for her more than Joe does.

Since it's basically the same story over and over, though, I stopped buying these books a long time ago and now borrow them from the library. It's a mindless familiar quick read. As a head's up, there is swearing.