Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Fox and O’Hare #6
Publication Date: 3/26/19
Number of Pages: 320

Wow! I’m not sure where to go with this review and this rating. I enjoyed the story, the humor was good and the plot was interesting, I even enjoyed the addition of Cosmo, who gave a good bit of comic relief to the story. What has me confused is the changes in the overall series. Up until this book, Nick and Kate were a ‘couple’ and I loved the two of them together. In this book, the relationship has regressed back to about the point it was in the first book of the series. Another thing is that kick-ass Kate isn’t so kick-ass anymore. Yes, she was tough, but Nick seemed to be the one with all of the physical skills. I’m sure a lot of it is because of the new co-author, but Janet Evanovich was still there and should certainly have seen to the continuity of the series. Kate and Nick’s relationship is what made the series work and I hope that their lack of a relationship in this book doesn’t sound the death-knell for the series.

Kate and Nick are handed an assignment to find a missing Silicon Valley billionaire. Since neither Kate nor Nick are good at doing the required paperwork, another member, Cosmo, is added to their team. Most reviewers didn’t seem to appreciate Cosmo, but I did. I thought he added a good bit of comic relief – he made me think of a Tim Conway type of character.

The missing man, an excellent pilot, took off in his plane and just disappeared. His wife and business associates want him declared dead, but Nick and Kate won’t declare that until they have proof of his demise. The only clue to his location is his game-playing, weed-smoking son who lives on a farm in Hawaii. When Nick and Kate arrive at the farm, it is to find several heavily armed mercenaries approaching the farmhouse. They manage to get rid of the mercenaries and then plan to follow the son to wherever his father might be hiding.

The story is action-packed and interesting. We travel from Hawaii to New Zealand to the Czech Republic and along the way we sink boats, blow up mountains, and set fire to vineyards. We have lots of page time with Kate’s father and I liked that part, but none of Nick’s entourage appeared at all and I missed them.

So, I’m rating this a three-star because it is such a departure from the previous books in the series. Had this been the first book, perhaps I wouldn’t have been disappointed, but as it was the sixth book, it should have added to the series rather than regressing it – no matter how good the story was or wasn’t.