Emerson Knight, a billionaire who seems like he would fit right in with the set of the show Elementary, once who is quirky (to put it nicely), a little socially awkward, and extremely smart is one half of the hilarious duo. In my mind, I pictured a Benedict Cumberbatch crossed with Sheldon from Big Bang Theory., The other half is a young, successful banking lawyer, Riley Moon, who becomes involved in an attempt to bring to light a plan to unset the national treasury.

As usual, Evanovich takes us on a wild ride with humor, twists, turns, and crazy antics. The characters are not flat, but rather colorful and lively. If you love her Stephanie Plum books, you will want to dig into this one soon!

I was looking forward to a funny new series by Janet Evanovich and ended up a bit disappointed.

The Good: I did enjoy Emerson Knight in this book. I liked that he was very socially awkward and reminded me of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. I even enjoyed his sense of humor even though it was questionable on if he was actually trying to be funny. The Knight menagerie was also fun and the zebra incident was reminiscent of the giraffe in a later Stephanie Plum book.

The Bad: While I listed Emerson's humor as a good thing the rest of the humor in the book fell a little flat. It seemed as if everyone had the same sarcastic sense of humor including Riley's big boss who insisted on calling her Moonbeam. The plot was problematic as well. The characters embark on an adventure where they either over explain what is going on and what they intend to do or we are left completely in the dark as Emerson has an elaborate plan figured out in his head and doesn't share it us or with his partner, Riley. The whodunit is easily solved early on as there were no other viable candidates or red herrings thrown in.

In a Nutshell: While I have enjoyed Evanovich's books in the past I was not enamored with this book at all. I might not continue on with the next book in this series based on this experience.

*I received this book through netgalley, but all following ideas and opinions are my own*

I am a huge fan of Janet Evanovich. Sometimes the writing and plot lines can become repetitive or the jokes are the same, but I still can't help myself from picking up a book and laughing. The same holds true for this book.

I feel like there is more structure to this book and the main male character is not the same as Diesel or Morelli! I was honestly intrigued as to who this character would be. Moon did seem a little bit like Kate O'Hare to me, but only a little and since I'm currently reading that series too, I see how I pull the small resemblances (Good with a gun, father had a security type job, eats unhealthy).

I had no idea where the story was going, it was a delight. Another great thing is how, while I'm assuming here that Knight and Moon will get together later, there weren't many comments about how good-looking he was or moments where Moon is distracted by Knight- Amazing!
One small thing kinda getting repetitive is the exaggeration of how crazy people can be, i.e. random animals being kept at Knight's mansion. Funny, but seems a little too out there (but on one hand that is kinda the point?). It isn't enough to actually make me dislike the scenes with the zebras or armadillos, I still smile or chuckle, just I have a part of me going 'really?'

It was a truly fun and crazy read and I am very much waiting for the sequel to come out. I cannot wait to find out what this team cooks up next!!

I'm a fan of this genre, though I've never read a book by Janet Evanovich. This book was great though, full of fun, excitement, and mystery! I found both main characters to be relatable in their own way. There's Emerson Knight who is an eccentric (read: mildly unhinged) millionaire with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to get to the bottom of a complex puzzle; and Riley Moon, a recent graduate who just wants to get started in her career, but instead is sent to placate one of her employer's biggest clients and finds herself racing around with him to get to the bottom of a major conspiracy.

The book is very witty, and an easy read; I kept wondering what the pair would get into next. I'd have to give it 4.5 stars though, because the dialogue seemed a little forced in some places, as a way to explain a situation or thought process to the reader. That was a very, very minor issue though, not enough to keep me from enjoying and recommending this book overall.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary review copy of Curious Minds.