Full Bloom [Kindle Edition]

Janet Evanovich (Author), Charlotte Hughes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Beaumont, S.C., the fifth installment in Evanovich's Full series (after 2004's Full Blast) gets off to a raucous start. When photographer Wes Bridges comes looking for a room at Annie Fortenberry's B&B, a former bordello that's supposedly haunted, Annie mistakes him for her drunken handyman and hits poor Wes on the head with her rolling pin. Hilarity ensues as Annie and her cast of eccentric boarders provide first aid to Wes in the form of a local veterinarian who specializes in livestock tranquilizers. The comedy gives way to murky mystery when the police locate the body of Annie's philandering husband, Charles, who disappeared three years earlier, and arrest Annie for his murder. The romance between Wes and Annie heats up the sheets, even as the list of suspects grows. Unfortunately, the plot flattens out, and even boarder Destiny's efforts to provide the B&B's ghost with therapy fail to rekindle the novel's earlier humor. While readers will be amused by the wacky first few chapters, the mystery never reaches the intensity of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, and fans will likely be disappointed with this less than stellar entry. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Annie Fortenberry has knocked out Wes Bridges twice already, and he still wants to stay at her bed-and-breakfast, a former house of ill repute she's inherited from her grandmother. With a psychic/medium, perpetually tipsy handyman, aging ballerina, and kleptomaniac ghost who doesn't know she's dead as long-term residents, not to mention frequent visits from a dog named Fleas, the cat who hates him, and an absentminded 90-year-old veterinarian neighbor, the Peach Tree Bed and Breakfast is in a constant state of chaos. Now, with the discovery of Annie's missing husband's body in the garden, murder and mayhem have been thrown into the equation. Despite all of this, Annie, a prime suspect in the heinous crime, still has to finish the last-minute details of a secret, elaborate celebrity wedding she's hosting at the inn. With Wes, Annie might finally have found the love of her life--unless she learns the real reason he's checked into the Peach Tree. Part of the Jamie Swift and Max Holt series, this screwball comedy will greatly please readers with its rapid-fire dialogue, roller-coaster pace, and unconventional characters. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 433 KB
• Print Length: 349 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0312934300
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 6, 2008)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0018ZS4KY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,131 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quirky, entertaining tale that is quick paced!, September 16, 2005

By 

jeanne-scott (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Full Bloom (Mass Market Paperback)

In the little town of Beaumont, South Carolina things are not as "sleepy" as one would think. An extravagant and secret wedding is being carefully and lovingly planned at a local B&B. Everything seems to be going along when a boarder, Destiny reveals that there is a ghost with a secret residing in the B&B.
An unexpected boarder posing as a photographer begins to stir things up, and Annie, the owner of the B&B falls for the secretive boarder but what is he really doing in Beaumont??
Annie's missing husband also turns up under very unusual circumstances and accusations begin to fly.
What is the secret boarder investigating? What does the ghost know? What are the circumstances behind Annie's husband disappearing? Is someone in the quaint town of Beaumont capable of plotting a murder??
Throw in a cast of characters from a caretaker with a drinking problem, a friend who cares a little too deeply, the euthanasia prone veterinarian, and a scroungy looking dog named Fleas, just to highlight a few..............what you wind up with is a quirky, entertaining tale that is quick paced, funny and a lot of fun to read.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Romance, April 23, 2005

By 

Loves To Read "Nancy" (S. Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Full Bloom (Mass Market Paperback)

Now this is a book I could sink my teeth in to. A romance-Mystery-Comedy that I really enjoyed reading. As usual Janet Evanovich has done it again. Written something that is true brilliance. Hope to see her on the top of the New York Times bestsellers soon!
also read in same genre: Fire In The Ice by Katlyn Stewart and Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong comedic romantic mystery, April 5, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Full Bloom (Mass Market Paperback)

In Beaumont, South Carolina, Annie Fortenberry is trying to prepare her historical mansion turned B&B into a wedding reception for her best friend Jamie Swift and millionaire Max Holt. Her handyman Erdle Torney who came with the place she inherited from her grandmother has failed to do his job so she loses her temper and goes after him with a rolling pin. Visitor Wes Bridges gets in the way and is knocked out.

A gardener borrowed from her neighbor finds human skeletal remains in an isolated area where foliage has grown. The victim is Annie's spouse Charles who allegedly ran away several years ago. In fact, Wes is a private investigator working for Charles' mother to prove that Annie lost her temper and harmed her son. As the police suspect Annie as the killer, Wes believes she is innocent, but wonders if that is because he really likes her when she is not holding a rolling pin.

This amusing romantic who-done-it has the audience laughing from the moment Wes finds out how insane the Peach B&B is that is after he awakens from a bonking and swallowing a horse tranquilizer given by a retired vet. The story line gets even zanier, but never loses focus on the murder investigation handled by the cops and Wes separately. FULL BLOOM is a strong comedic romantic mystery that readers will want more plums from Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes.

Harriet Klausner