Reviews

The Bounty by Janet Evanovich, Steve Hamilton

keen23's review against another edition

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4.0

I love this series. It's a perfect mix of madcap and heist. Plus no Alphaholes and a kickass female lead. Even switching up co-authors hasn't changed the books much at all.

last_leslie's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

kathydavie's review against another edition

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2.0

Seventh in the Fox and O'Hare romantic suspense series and revolving around an international thief and his FBI handler, tasked with conning the criminals.

My Take
I was disappointed with The Bounty. I don't know if Evanovich is getting bored with it or if it's the change in co-author, but it wasn't as funny as previous stories and felt ho-hum. A real bummer, as I'd been looking forward to a humorous adventure.

Sure, there's plenty of action and derring-do. And I do adore Kate's dad. Even if he is feeling his age, lol. I don't understand why Kate and Jake suddenly don't get along. They've always made for a great partnership... There is also an unfortunate lack of tension. A lack that could have been infused with keeping us guessing about Quentin. Or the professor.

That said, I did enjoy how smoothly Nick and his dad worked together. As smoothly as Kate and her dad operate. It is a crack-up to read about Kate's childhood "training". The "vacation" this "crack" team keeps referring to is another crack-up...and a piece of cake. Yeah, juvenile humor but at least it's something.

It was a smooth "info dump" about how Lewis became interested in German literature.

I must say, Franz is certainly the forgiving type. And why Kate is trusting him has me confused. It does, however, make for an easy lead-in to the next arc in the series.

I'd say this is a global subjective point-of-view with the majority of the perspectives coming from Nick and Kate. Quentin and Jake do have their bit parts.

So the action in the story was tough and adventurous, but the story was too easy, although Nick does prove that once a thief, always a thief. Luckily, he always tells a good story, lol.

The Story
The threat of that vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood joining up with the Roter Stern Korps and using the hidden treasure of $30 billion in Nazi gold to finance more terrorist plots is enough to send Special Agent Kate O'Hare and international con man Nick Fox on their trail.

It'll take the combined efforts of them and their dads on a desperate scramble to stop their deadliest foe in the biggest adventure of their lives.

The Characters
Special Agent Kate O'Hare of the FBI, a former Navy SEAL, is supposed to be detached in handling international thief, Nick Fox. Oh well. Jake O'Hare is Kate's dad and a retired Marine living in a garage casita on sister Megan's property.

Special-Agent-in-Charge Carl Jessup is Kate's long-suffering boss.

Quentin Fox is Nick's dad with a very shady, if patriotic, history. He majored in economics and art history and opened a gallery. After which, he married Olivia Price, Nick's mom, a painter with wealthy parents.

The SAS is...
...Special Air Service, a special forces unit in England. Major Hannon is their contact. Captain Richard Duckworth is retired. Technically.

Professor Hardian Lewis teaches Germanic literature at Oxford University.

The Gruppo Intervento Rapido is...
...the Vatican's Rapid Intervention Group led by the inspector general of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Lorenzo Vitali. Pope Francis.

Die Bruderschaft was/is...
...a secret Nazi organization, the Brotherhood, who had hidden 400 tons of gold, supposedly. Klaus Egger, grandson of one of the founding members, Gerhard Egger, who used to work for Hermann Göring, is its leader. Their members include Nils; the indestructible Franz Gruber, Egger's lieutenant; Oskar; Moritz; and, Rolf.

The Roter Stern Korps is...
...the Red Star Corps, a terrorist organization.

A Red Notice is issued by Interpol, a global most wanted notice. Raubgold is the gold stolen by Nazi Germany.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a cool blend of grays and blues in a stormy blue-gray sky above Paris and the Eiffel Tower that gradates into the black of Kate and Fox in the upper half of the cover against that silvery gray background. The silhouette effect of Kate and Nick gradates into a hint of flesh in their faces. The primary text is embossed with the primary author's name large and in white in the top half. The secondary author's name is in a deep sky blue below it. The title is in white and spans the Eiffel Tower. About the middle of the tower on the right is the series info in black.

The title doesn't suit, mostly because I'm thinking of Captain Bligh. I suppose the intention of The Bounty is the treasure at the end of this adventure.

alayna017's review against another edition

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2.0

I missed the crew from the previous books! It was good getting to see the interactions between Nick and his father and Kate and her father, and how they came together to solve the problem. I just think the old crew bring so much fun to the jobs, and that fun was missed. Hope the next one brings them back!

Overall, it was okay, so I’ll keep reading the series, but it’s not my favorite one!

awendland74's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

qobvmw's review

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adventurous funny medium-paced

5.0

missnatalieann's review against another edition

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4.0

I love a fast paced adventure story. This book moved quickly and kept the action coming. I enjoyed this from start to finish.

caryambler's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

sabrams_010's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mintlovesbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

At this point, I know what to expect when I read Janet Evanovich: an action-packed, light read that's not particularly realistic. The Bounty met, and actually surpassed my expectations.

Do note that for this book, there's a different co-author, Steve Hamilton, than for previous installments. Lee Goldberg was the co-author for books 1-5 and Peter Evanovich for book 6. With this co-author turnover, it's not surprising that this book is somewhat different to past books in the series.

There's less humour than the past books and the romance aspect of the novel is tamped down. I know some other reviewers have commented that they missed these aspects and that they found the characterizations of Kate, Nick, Jake, and Quentin to be lacking. This book is also more of an Indiana Jones/National Treasure style adventure than a con.

So, if you're looking for a book that hits all these marks as past installations have, this one might not be for you.

At the same time, this book has lots of great action. It's got a plot that's at least a bit more realistic than The Pursuit, which is the last book from this series I read. The prose is straightforward and easy to follow. It's a great quick, light, and escapist read.

I personally wouldn't mind if the series continued in this direction as I really enjoyed this read.

As this is a thriller, there is going to be quite a lot of violence, though it's not gory. There is minimal romance in this book and no foul language (as far as I can remember).

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