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

~ (Author)

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: HarperCollins; 1St Edition edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060584033
• ISBN-13: 978-0060584030
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #407,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 51 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Forced my way through it, October 8, 2006

By	Holly Suthard "hsuthard" (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love many of Evanovich's books, but this one just wasn't very good. I love her dialogue, and the silly pranks throughout her stories, and this one had plenty of those. But the characters just aren't that interesting. And I agree that the NASCAR information was just over the top. A bit interesting if you're a fan, I'm sure, but I'm not. And, the characters are overly familiar as rewrites of characters from her other books. I'm sorry I bought this in hardcover -- I paid too much!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's a car wreck, October 8, 2006

By	A Jill of All Trades "ketchikan9" (Danbury, CT United States) - See all my reviews

I love Janet Evanovich, so I was excited to read another of her books. But it was a disappointment. With the second book of the series I still have no sense of who Barney and Hooker are. Secondary characters ... Felicia and Rosa are more fleshed out. I simply didn't care if Barney and Hooker succeeded in their mission.

Rather than NASCAR being a backdrop to the story, the book feels more like a NASCAR documentary with a fiction story behind it. Too much information about the inner workings of NASCAR racing felt forced and not really part of the story.

I actually enjoyed Janet's released novels "Back to the Bedroom" and "Man Hunt" more.

I agree with reviewer, Cherise, the first book in the series seemed rushed and this one does too. I'm not ready to give up on the series, but I hope book three focuses more on character than NASCAR fun facts.