Notorious Nineteen

I do not know how I could have missed this installment in Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" number series; I have read every single other one, including Takedown Twenty. Predictable in so many ways, but also predictably entertaining. Evanovich likes to keep the "big question" of who Stephanie will finally end up with going and going--will it be her cop boyfriend, Morelli, or the equally handsome and somewhat darker Ranger. Someone from Ranger's old special forces unit has gone off the beaten path and is threatening both Ranger and his friend and former fellow soldier, Kinsey, who is supposed to be getting married. The threats are scarey and are not limited to just Ranger and Kinsey but extend to Kinsey's fiancee, and now to Stephanie, since she has agreed to be Ranger's "date" and 2nd set of eyes at the various pre/wedding festivities. In the meantime, Stephanie and Lula are trying to bring in a variety of perps who have missed their court dates. The biggest monetary prize would come from Geoffrey Cubbin,  a man who embezzled $5m from the local retirement home, Cranberry Manor, and who Vinnie put up a lot of bail money for. Stephanie is behind on her rent and needs to score, and she just can't figure out how a man could go missing from a hospital floor--unless someone or some ones from the hospital staff are in on the disappearance. Turns out, this is not the first patient to go "missing" from the hospital. Cars blow up, apprehension situations are frequently slapstick (think arresting someone while you are naked), and the heat between Stephanie and Morelli and between Stephanie and Ranger never seems to die down. All the rest of the usual cast are present and making a good accounting of themselves. Good plot line; great light reading.