Review: Watch for the Lone Agent to ride again
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 22, 2013
A come-on for a new series of shoot-em-ups by mega-best seller Janet Evanovich (along w/ Lee Goldberg), "Pros and Cons" has as much going for it as its catchy title.The story introduces us to Special Agent Kate O'Hare, the "Pro" and her elusive foil Nicholas Fox, the "Con." They are the two characters who represent a new franchise for the prolific author.O'Hare is not your usual federal agent. She carries a Glock and is usually armed with a generous supply of Toblerone bars. We first meet her seated at her desk in the Federal Building in West Los Angeles. She's her usual mess. Working her way through a pack of Oreos, her "brown hair was clipped back in a snarly mess, her white shirt had a small pizza sauce smudge on it, and her blue eyes were narrowed in concentration."Now O'Hare thinks she onto something and has a bead on Fox's next scheme. There have been many of those in their many past games of cat and mouse. She almost nabbed Fox in St. Louis where he was doing color commentary in the announcer's booth at Busch stadium as a diversion. Or the time she thought Fox was trying to steal a giant panda from the National Zoo.For the past three years O'Hare has been chasing Fox. The chase has become a game for the crook and obsession for the special agent. And O'Hare thinks she now onto him and about to bring her fox to ground. She likes to quantify things. This time she's "almost 85 percent sure" she has him cornered. Oh, and not so incidentally O'Hare - as much as she tries to deny it - has a bad case of the hots for Fox.So there you are. Fox is planning a wedding heist. But details of the scheme aren't as important as the pursuit and you can be sure the chase will be frenzied, entertaining and glib as glib can get. And by the time it's over O'Hare's blouse will be smeared with avocado and spinach dip and Fox will have eluded her once again. It's all great fun. No one gets seriously hurt.And "Pros and Cons" is only the beginning of the story. The first novel featuring the dueling duo is due out in June 2013. And Evanovich fans aren't likely to be disappointed. Judging from this short introduction to the characters, the action will be fast paced, hilarious and there'll be plenty of messes for O'Hare to clean up. Almost 98 percent guaranteed.In a word: Zany