"Entertaining Romantic Suspense"

After ten successful Stephanie Plum novels, Evanovich switches gears slightly as she introduces readers to a new heroine, Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby. Barney, a Baltimore girl, has a mundane job working for an insurance company, though she spent her high school years and college summers working in her dad's garage. Her sedate life goes into a tailspin when younger brother Bill calls from Miami in the middle of the night informing her that he's leaving Miami for a while. Barney has been bailing her younger brother out of trouble for most of her life, and this time is no exception when he ends the phone call with a choice expletive right before the line goes dead.

Upon arrival in Miami, Barney discovers that Bill is nowhere to be found, and Sam Hooker, a NASCAR driver, claims that bill escaped Miami on Sam's boat. The chase is on, as together, Barney and Sam search for clues to Bill's disappearance while avoiding the goons that are constantly after them. With a healthy dose of testosterone, Sam is an engaging character, repeatedly referring to himself as "NASCAR guy", though his sense of humor overrides his male chauvinistic failings. Romance simmers below the surface while Barney and Sam manage, time and again, to outwit their pursuers.

Evanovich's latest has it all-entertaining characters, classic wit, romance, and a slice of mystery. Barney is every bit as charismatic as Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, albeit in a uniquely original manner. Fans of Evanovich's recent release will hope for future installments featuring the zany Barney Barnaby.

Reviewed by Sheri Melnick
Posted November 28, 2004

Summary

Buckle your seat belts. Number one New York Times bestselling author, Janet Evanovich, is moving into the fast lane with Metro Girl, a thrilling, high-octane misadventure with high stakes, hot nights, cold-blooded murder, sunken treasure, a woman with a chassis built for speed, and one very good, very sexy NASCAR driver who's along for the ride. "Wild" Bill Barnaby's dropped off the face of the earth and big sister Alex heads for Miami, Bill's last known sighting, on a harrowing hunt to save her brother ... and maybe the world. Truth is, Alex has been bailing her brother out of trouble since they were kids. Not that Bill's a bad sort. More that he acts first and thinks later. Unfortunately, this time around, Wild Bill will be Dead Bill if Alex doesn't find him in time. Alex blasts through the bars of South Beach and points her search to Key West and Cuba, laying waste to Miami hit men, dodging Palmetto bugs big enough to eat her alive, and putting the pedal to the metal with NASCAR driver Sam Hooker. Engaged in a deadly race, Wild Bill's "borrowed" Hooker's sixty-five foot Hatteras and sailed off into the sunset ... just when Hooker has plans for the boat. Hooker figures he'll attach himself to Alex and maybe run into Bill. Maybe Hooker can salvage what's left of his vacation. And maybe Hooker'll get lucky in love with Bill's sweetie pie sister. After all, Hooker is NASCAR Guy. And NASCAR Guy is good at revving a woman's engine. The race to the finish is hot and hard, taking Alex and Hooker into international waters, exposing a plot to grab Cuban gold and a sinister relic of the Cuban missile crises. Creative cussing and sexual innuendo included.