Motor Mouth (Alex Barnaby Series #2) [Hardcover]

Janet Evanovich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2006

Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby, first introduced in the #1 New York Times bestseller Metro Girl, returns in another wild and crazy ride.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of this cool comedy thriller from bestseller Evanovich, her second novel to star Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby (after 2004's Metro Girl), Barney and her unfaithful NASCAR racing honey, Sam Hooker, find themselves in trouble after discovering the shrink-wrapped body of ruthless businessman Oscar Huevo in a rival racer's car hauler. The pair must pull together to protect a high-tech gizmo that can revolutionize racing-and save their lives. Evanovich burns some rubber and only hits the brakes a few times, thanks to her bright dialogue, race-track savvy and expert depiction of romantic mayhem. Though sometimes it seems as if she's still taking a test drive with this new cast of eccentrics, the pages fly by as the racy tension between Hooker and Barney adds heat to the fun. Action on the menu includes destruction of valuable race cars, a dognapping and a kidnapping. While Barney isn't likely to beat Stephanie Plum in a popularity contest, she's still a hoot.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby has a degree in engineering and a passion for the way cars work. Her passion for NASCAR driver Sam Hooker, for whom she works as a spotter and R & D person, has been put on hold since his one-night stand with a salesclerk made it onto the Internet. When Hooker loses a race and Barney thinks cheating is involved--the fancy, electronic kind--a wild ride commences, one that begins in Miami, then moves to the Carolinas and back again A corpse shows up along the way, and there's lots of NASCAR detail (fascinating even if you're not a devotee) and lots of doggy subplot (Hooker's St Bernard Beans eats a box of prunes that ends up having a great deal to do with the plot). Barney and Hooker find themselves in one outrageously hilarious situation after another: saved by tough granny Felicia and her myriad Cuban American family members; clocking a bad guy with a six-pack; disposing of corpses in some remarkably icky but entertaining ways. Evanovich, of Stephanie Plum fame, appears to have another winner on her hands: this one is every bit as lively as Metro Girl (2004), the first in the Barney series. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060584033
• ISBN-13: 978-0060584030
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Janet Evanovich is the #1 bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series,) and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Floundering Story, October 12, 2006

By 

Kara J. Jorges "Avid Reader" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motor Mouth (Alex Barnaby Series #2) (Hardcover)

I was really looking forward to the release of this novel and had high expectations. Too bad they all fell flat. Alexa Barnaby, known as Barney, gave up her boring job in insurance to be a spotter for Nascar driver, Sam Hooker, after their first adventure. Barney and Hooker's personal relationship went south, however, after he cheated on her with a salesclerk. They team up to rescue their friend Gobbles when he gets locked in the car hauler of some shady characters, and find themselves framed for murder, as well as on the run from people who want to kill them.

It's obvious Evanovich is courting Nascar fans with this series, and while I am not a Nascar fan, I don't have any issue with that part of the story, which was actually somewhat interesting. What I do have a problem with is the way the book gets bogged down by silly pratfalls that fail to be funny. She relies on her old standby of a big, stupid dog, but people getting continually knocked to the ground by a drooling St. Bernard is just annoying, and not in the least bit funny. Toward the middle, I actually started to like the book as Barney and Sam were figuring things out, but then the story descended into a worn-out slapstick dog poop adventure we've seen way too many times now.

I really like Barney's character. How could I not like a woman with her skills? She's smart, fun, and capable, which just makes me wonder what she sees in Hooker, who is not so easy to like. First of all, he's a slut who cheated on Barney, and cheaters just aren't sexy. He's also not very smart, and his incessant horniness fails to be amusing. As for the dog, he's got to go. The very idea of him is worn out, and he's not funny, he's a menace.

I really think this series has potential, but I think Evanovich needs to put a little more effort into it. Sometimes it seems to have a unique flavor all its own, and then it seems as if the author didn't know what to do next, so she threw in some cheap slapstick. After all, it works with Stephanie Plum, right?

In all, I didn't hate this book, but I can't say I liked it all that much, either. I don't think I'll be all that excited when the next one comes out, but I'll probably read it just to see if the series is improving.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, October 15, 2006

By 

S. R. Loux (Fairbanks, AK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Motor Mouth (Alex Barnaby Series #2) (Hardcover)

I don't know who wrote this book, but they should refrain from insulting us again. I really had to struggle to get through this book. I love the Plum series; I've read them all several times over, but I could barely get through this dreck.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So dissapointed, October 7, 2006

By 

Cherise Everhard (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Motor Mouth (Alex Barnaby Series #2) (Hardcover)

First I have to say that I am a HUGE Janet fan. I have all her books and have read and re-read them a zillion times. When Metro Girl came out I was excited... I was not thrilled with Metro Girl, but I liked it. I felt like it was a rushed book, not the greatest but good. Then she started Motor Mouth and kept pushing back the release date so I thought she was really taking her time with this one and it was going to be better. I was wrong! My sister and I bought the book on it's release date. My sister called me later that day to say she disliked it so much she wasn't even going to finish it. It usually takes me no longer than a day to read her books because I can't put them down. This one took several days because I had to put it down, several times. The plot is so unbeleivable and ridiculous and gets more so as it goes on. The dialogue and humor is forced... Everything seems to be recycled from her previous books, right down to the dog, another version of Bob from the Plum series. It is revealed early in the story that Hooker, the hero, has cheated on Alexandra, the heroine of the story. He is so nonchalant about the whole thing you want to deck him... But Alex is just as nonchalant... It just isn't realistic. I wont be rereading this one... And I wont be rushing out to buy the next in the series.