Metro Girl

Metro Girl has a slew of unlikely elements stirred into a heady brew: treasures sunk beneath the ocean, bloody murder and (believe it or not) a highly sensuous stock car racer. The unreliable `Wild' Bill Barnaby has vanished, and his not-to-be-messed with sister Alex makes her way to Miami to track him down. Alex fights to keep body and soul together in the sultry climate, as both unmanageable coiffure and vicious thugs threaten her equilibrium. She discovers that Bill unwisely appropriated the yacht of the formidable Sam Hooker, and Sam realises that keeping close to Alex may lead him to Bill, with a little score-settling on the menu. Soon, both are heading into dangerous waters (both literally and figuratively) with Cuban gold and leftovers from the Cuban missile crisis making things very hot for the protagonists.

Alex is one hell of a heroine, and the perfect conduit for the reader through the unlikely (but strangely plausible) narrative. You've heard books described as a wild ride before--this is one time where that description really fits the bill. Get your ticket and climb aboard--and don't forget your hairspray.--Barry Forshaw

My friend had never read any other of the Evanovich books, Plum series, etc and she wondered why I raved about the first Plums.

I can't even imagine Evanovich fans would enjoy this. If are thinking about reading any of Janet Evanovich books, don't read this one, it is by far her worst. Try One for the Money or Two for the Dough.

Metro Girl is absolutely pathetic. I still can't believe Evanovich wrote it herself. If so, she has gone downhill very fast.


The star is for Lorlei King's narration The rest is rubbish.   January 25, 2006
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Only suitable for the trash can.

I disagree that men would prefer this book than women. Crap is crap, no matter what gender, age or sexual orientation you are. If you listen to it while driving, you will want to drive straight off the side of a cliff just to escape the ridiculous plot.

It starts bad, gets worse and then rallies onto to an....even more implausible and stupid ending.

Sad to think that books this bad can get published.

I used to laugh at my wife's Evanovich books, even though the bounty hunter ones are basically all the same, and became boring. Metro Girl plumbs new depths and we are both agreed this is the last Evanovich we'll buy.

You couldn't pay me to listen to anything by Janet Evanovich now.


Not for Evanovich Fans   December 31, 2005
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Probably the worst book I have read in the last 5 years and I read at least 2 books a week.

If you like the Stephanie Plum series, as I do, you will probably be disappointed with this book. If Evanovich was not already a household name, I am sure no publisher would have touched Metro Girl with a barge pole. It is embarrassingly bad.

The plot is ridiculous, but unfortunately it is not redeemed by the characters. Evanovich has tried to make them funny by adding some good one liners, and this is the only reason I give it a star at all. In truth the central characters are two dimensional, annoying in the extreme and the reader really couldn't care if they survive or not. I found it very hard to finish the book and it was only because I was stuck on a plane and had nothing else to read, but it was hard work. Every previous Evanovich book, I have not been able to put down.

Nascar man is beyond awful. I grimaced at every one of his lines. Where has the author been since 1970? Do men like that still exist? If so, who wants to read about them? Alex is the sort of person, you would cross the road to avoid. Tarty dresser, candyfloss hair, and is definitely quite a few pickets short of a fence. I couldn't think of a heroine I would least like to be or know than Alex.

There are too many characters in the book, and none are well developed. Janet Evanovich must be in her sixties by now, and trying to write from the viewpoint of 20-30 year old woman no longer works. I'm 34 and it is certainly not aimed at my age group, perhaps Metro Girl is a fantasy novel for old age pensioners/senior citizens.

All my friends and family spanning several generations love Stephanie Plum because the character has developed over many years and through 11 books from the pen of initially a younger author and the supporting characters such as Stephanie's parents, Grandma Mazur and the other oldies are usually so well written. Metro Girl is incredibly disappointing when lined up against Evanovich's other work, even including her early loveswept titles.


Not nearly as good as the Stephanie Plum series   January 14, 2005
 10 out of 14 found this review helpful

I found this book really disappointing. The plot line was okay, but the situations were totally unbelievable at time and without the asides and humour of the Plum series. The main character was okay, but seemed to rely on short pink skirts as much as her wits and made some ridiculous decisions - she was like Barbie with a lobotomy. The hero/love interest, self-proclaimed "NASCAR man" was infuriating. He talked about himself in the third person which was absolutely pathetic and no woman, excepting lobotomised Barbie types, would endure that. I kept wishing he would die, just to shut him up.

Janet Evanovich writes the other peripheral characters with some good lines and action, but you do need to suspend any sense of reality in order to make them believable.


Could turn out to be a new Stephanie Plum   January 8, 2005
 8 out of 13 found this review helpful

Janet Evanovich isn't going to win any literary awards with this book, but it's really wonderful entertainment. You're thrown straight into the action and then it just keeps going until the last page. There will be comparisons between Metro Girl and the Stephanie Plum books and I personally feel that Metro Girl has the same standard. It's funny and quirky and has many unusual characters. I guess the only thing that's lacking is an equivalent of Ranger, but that may come if Ms Evanovich decides to write sequels to this. Higly recommended both to Plum fans and those who are new to Janet Evanovich's writing.