This book unfortunately was a total bore for me. I’ve often felt that lately Janet E is pushing her luck by continuing to write these formulaic storylines and this one proves it. Terribly similar to the other 29 and just not enough going on to make it worth the read for me. DNF at page 94. Doughnuts, car wrecks and a senile grandma does not a good story make. Thanks NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this but this one gets a hard No from me.

4/5 stars

I picked up One for the Money in high school and promptly binged my way through the rest of the series that was released at the time. Every year, I eagerly wait for the new book in this series. Despite the fact that these books typically have the same plot—more or less—they are addicting and so fun to read. They are like the potato chips in the book world—so light and fun and easy to work your way through entirely.
I have tried to get into Janet Evanovich’s other series to limited success—but there’s no Lula! Or Grandma Mazur!!
Anyways, I read Dirty Thirty in one sitting on my Dirty Thirtieth birthday—so that’s pretty fun! I loved all the Bob scenes! He’s definitely a fave character of mine!
Most notable quotes that had me lol’ing:
“I didn’t have any antihistamine, but I found some Tic Tacs. I think they’re helping.”

“Maybe you had a panic attack.”
“No way. People of my persuasion don’t get panic attacks,” Lula said.
“What’s your persuasion?”
“I’m big and bold. I used to be Presbyterian, but I decided to change over when I was in high school.”
“So big and bold is like a religion?”
“You bet your ass,” Lula said. “It’s a belief, you see what I’m saying?”

Here I am, eagerly waiting the 31st book!

ARC provided by NetGalley! Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you, Janet. This book was more along the lines of some of the original Stephanie Plum books. So much more engaging. Yes it still has the same arch as all the rest, but I found myself once again enjoying the ride a bit more then I have in her last couple of novels. I will say the ending oh Janet you sneaky little author you. You can’t just let it go one way can you. Well, here is to waiting for another year to see what Stephanie ends up choosing.
Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title

The Stephanie Plum series is my go-to comfort read. I know they are silly and somewhat predictable, but that's part of what I love about them. The newest addition to this series (#30) is my favorite in several years. There's a lot of girl power in this one - Stephanie, Grandma Mazur and Lula all get plenty of action. There's a nice bonus at the end of the book of 30 quotes to commemorate the 30th book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader's copy.

First time reading a Stephanie Plum book in a while and it’s good to see she is still at the top of her game! Plum is searching for some stolen diamonds. Along for the ride is the very funny Lula, Bob the Dog, and a failed clown Nutsy. Some laugh out load moments made this a summer favorite!

Stephanie Plum, the bail bond recovery agent, is back in the 30th book in this series.

She got a message from a jewelry store owner, Martin Rabner, who offered to pay her to find his former security guard. The owner was convinced that the guard, Nutsy, broke into the store safe and stole some unset diamonds.
Coincidentally Stephanie was assigned to find Douglas Dugan. He had stolen jewelry from that store on the same day but did not show up for his court date.

Stephanie’s long-term police detective boyfriend, Morelli, had to go to Miami for a court hearing. He left his large dog, Bob, with Stephanie and the dog was with her for many of her adventures in the book.

Another love interest, Ranger, the owner of a high-end security company, was there to help when Stephanie needed it.

The other familiar characters include Lula, a retired prostitute who works with Stephanie, Connie the tough bail bonds office manager who keeps a gun in her desk, Stephanie’s long-suffering mother, and her feisty grandmother.

This book has some of the same situations as the other 29 books in the series. Stephanie’s apartment was firebombed once again. Ranger’s high-tech equipment & skilled staff helped Stephanie out when she is in trouble. Her grandmother attends yet another highly social viewing at the local funeral home. Stephanie went to high school with some of the people she is investigating.

The language is colorful and funny and the situations are what you would expect in an urban area with many unsavory characters.

The mark of a good book is how late one will stay up just to finish it and Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich hits that mark. A new Stephanie Plum book is always a pleasure to read and this one is no exception. Again, this is a fun, laugh out loud book with the usual cast of characters we love to read about.

As the title indicates, this is number 30 in the adventures of hapless recovery agent, Stephanie Plum of Trenton, NJ. It starts with a simple jewelry store robbery, but when is anything ever simple for Stephanie? Whatever you think can go wrong in Stephanie’s pursuits, does, and things you can’t even imagine go awry. All of the familiar characters are here; Lula, Connie, hunky Ranger, and my favorite, Grandma Mazur. Morelli, Plum’s on and off boyfriend, is mostly MIA, literally, for he is in Miami for a trial. Bob, his dog, has a major role in this story and is responsible for an incident near the end that made me literally LOL. All I will say is it involves a baptismal font.

Yes, the Stephanie Plum novels can be silly, but I really enjoy them. The ridiculous situations and the colorful characters are all very entertaining. Maybe it's the Jersey (I’m a Jersey girl at heart) setting/jokes/lifestyle that gets to me. This series is just plain fun. These books are always good for a quick, amusing read. I almost don't care about the plot...its the characters I enjoy. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the book ends with a dilemma for Plum.

Although I have probably read all of the books in the series, this can work as a standalone…but it would be so much more fun to go back and read some of the priors and gain a fuller picture of these classic characters.

Thanks to #netgalley and @atriabooks for the ARC

While I always enjoy this series, Dirty Thirty was a superlative entry. I laughed out loud all the way through! I particularly enjoyed Bob’s participation; AND, this book had the best cliffhanger ever! This series still has a lot of life.

You are in for another great romp with Stephanie Plum and Luna, in Janet Evanovich's Dirty Thirty. It's got everything you would expect from a Stephanie Plum novel with a dog thrown in to make things exciting. Stephanie has some decisions to make after her apartment was bombed, again. I look forward to the continuing saga in book 31.

As the title says this is the 30th adventure for Stephanie Plum. If you’re a fan of the series this is an easy book to recommend. Cases include finding a former security guard who may have stolen diamonds from a jeweler, while she also hunts a fugitive wanted for robbing the same store. Lulu and Grandma Mazur are there to lend a hand. Boyfriend Morelli is out of town but Stephanie is taking care of his chew everything giant dog. This is funny with twists and turns. I started the series in the middle of the books so you can join at any time. If you want you can always go back and read previous adventures. The author of course leaves you waiting for her next book.

OMG, I cannot wait to see what happens next! Talk about ending on a cliffhanger. This was so good that I finished it in one day. You will definitely want to read this one!

Stephanie Plum has a knack for getting into trouble. She’s a bounty hunter by trade and works for her cousin Vinnie. When she receives an off-the-books job, things go anything but according to plan.

Her boyfriend, Joseph Morelli, is a city cop. Morelli is in Miami for work and has left his dog, Bob, with Stephanie. Along with her sidekick, Lulu, and Bob, Stephanie will track down her man. Of course, she may need the help of Ranger, and this causes its own issue. Stephanie and Ranger have a chemistry that is hard to deny. Can she stay faithful to Morelli while he’s away?

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars. I will never ever get sick of reading about Stephanie Plum and the rest of the crew. As usual craziness follows Stephanie everywhere. This book has jewelry heists, murder, proposals, and references to Beowulf. This book is light on Grandma Mazur but heavy on Lula. All around entertaining and fun book.

For about the first 10 Stephanie Plumb novels, the writing of Evanovich was riveting. Then for about novels 11-17, the writing became repetitive. With each volume being more and more formulaic. Since then, I have periodically tried the newest installment to see if the story line / writing has returned to its original fresh-ness. And... each time, I am disappointed as the novels are basically a cut and paste of previous novels. So disappointing.

Another fun adventure with Stephanie and Lula. Stephanie is hired to track down an ex-security guard/possible jewel thief by the jewelry store owner, which as expected, does not go the way it should, as there is much more to the story than she is told.
Lula is being stalked by a mysterious demon, Grendel, from a video game.
And of course there are explosions, hilarity, and some all important time with Ranger!
As always, reading a Stephanie Plum book is like dropping in on old friends, seeing what crazy turns their lives are taking... and this one ends on a bit of an emotional cliff hanger!

*****I received this free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for me honest review.

I am a HUGE Janet Evanovich fan! I have read ALL the Stephanie Plum novels. I was thrilled to get my hands on this one early!

Stephanie and her sidekick Lula are at it again. Each FTA they encounter leaves you laughing. This novel really won me over as Stephanie is taking care of Bob, so he gets to tag along! That added a ton of laughs! (Everyone loves a dog!). As usual there is tension in Stephanie’s love triangle. This novel leaves you hanging and definitely wanting MORE!!!

Another interesting Stephanie adventure. This one had more funny moments than the previous title. If there is an upcoming book 31, Stephanie will finally have to make a decision.

Janet Evanovich is back with the next installment of Stephanie Plum in Dirty Thirty. I look forward to the new book in the series every time! It can absolutely be read as a stand-alone, however for optimal enjoyment start from the beginning. Stephanie, a struggling bond enforcement agent, is again joined by Lula, Morelli, Ranger, Bob, Rex, Grandma Mazur and a new set of wacky villains in Trenton. She is hired by a jeweler to locate his missing security guard who he accuses of stealing diamonds. Naturally, nothing is what it seems and Stephanie is drawn into the maze. The characters are well developed and the women are strong. Reading this book is like seeing some long time friends. There are laugh out loud moments and a surprise ending. I very happily received this ARC from Netgalley and Atria Books. My opinions are my own.
@janetevanovich

The newest adventures of Stephanie Plum. If you have followed Stephanie for years like I have you can't wait to see what the latest is in both Stephanie's personal life and her professional life. One thing for sure is that it won't be boring. In our latest meeting with Stephanie, Morelli's testifying in a trial in Miami and she is taking care of Bob. She has been hired to find some missing diamonds after a jewelry store robbery. Of course there are a few skip traces in between as well. One thing everyone looks forward to is Stephanie's sidekick Lula and the excitement she brings to any occasion. There will be totaled cars, fire bombs, a wedding and two proposals before we find out who done it! I can't wait for our next installment because Stephanie left us hanging.

I have been reading and enjoying Stephanie Plum’s adventures as a bond enforcement agent (bounty hunter?) for twenty-five+ years (gasp!), ever since One For The Money. And everytime a new one comes out, it makes me happy to know I’m in for hours of entertainment. Seriously, I can’t think of any that let me down…so when I received a copy of Dirty Thirty (yes, it is really #30 in the series), from Atria Books and NetGalley,I was happy to provide this honest review in exchange.

For anyone who hasn’t read any of the series, not to worry. Each stands on its own (although I think it’s fun to see how the characters and their relationships progress), so you can dive right in and you will know soon enough who these people are. Stephanie works for her Uncle Vinnie, a bail bondsman in Newark, New Jersey. Stephanie has an ongoing relationship with cop Joe Morelli, and then there is Ranger, super sexy owner of a “security company,” always there to help her when she destroys another car or gets into whatever bizarre trouble she manages to find — or initiate. As Stephanie says “...there were two men in my life, and I wasn’t prepared to choose one over the other. Not that it mattered, because neither of them wanted to marry me.”

Stephanie lives in an apartment with her hamster Rex and works with Lula, a former “woman of the evening,” and they frequently manage to get Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur involved. Stephanie says “Lula is a person of color and I’m a person of less color.” Either way, they are strong, funny women.

In this episode, local jeweler Martin Rabner hires Stephanie to track down his former security guard, “Nutsy,” who may have stolen a pile of diamonds from the jewelry store safe. At the same time, Stephanie is also looking for Duncan Dugan, who was arrested for robbing that same jewelry store on the same day. Stephanie’s cop boyfriend Morelli is away in Miami on police business, so Stephanie is taking care of Bob, Morelli’s giant orange dog who will devour anything, from Stephanie’s stray donuts to her couch to the upholstery in her car. Morelli’s absence also means the inscrutable, irresistible security expert Ranger is front and center in Stephanie’s life when things inevitably go sideways.

To complicate matters, Lula is convinced she is being stalked by a mythological demon (“Grendel”) then we follow Stephanie on an overnight stakeout with both her mother and Grandma Mazur. And Lula? What could possibly go wrong???

To repeat myself from an earlier review, “It isn’t by any means lofty literary reading, but it is well written, fun, and an awesome diversion. It is what it is, and for me it is 5 stars.”