Full Tilt

By: Janet Evanovich, Charlotte Hughes

Narrated by: Lorelei King

In Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes's Full Tilt, he lives life in the fast lane and she's along for the ride - with no brakes....

Beaumont, South Carolina, has mint julips, ladies who lunch, good ole boy politics, and Jamie Swift. She's running her family newspaper, ready to marry the town's most eligible bachelor, and getting her future locked in.

Then mysterious, high-tech wonder boy Max Holt comes to town. Sexy, wise-cracking Max has turned from computers to crime-stopping. Now' he's got a case in Beaumont and a reason to look up Jamie Swift. He finds her impossible. She calls him infuriating. They're a perfect couple...except for her fiance and the arrival of two hitmen.

Sure enough, someone wants to kill Max. Someone else wants a town bigwig rubbed out. And suddenly Jamie's caught in the crossfire of her own emotions, Max's secrets, and the most irresistible desire...

©2003 Evanovich, Inc. (P)2003 Audio Renaissance, a Division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"A far-fetched mystery that [sounds] like a carnival ride spun out of control." ((Publishers Weekly)

great

great voice loved the adventure looking forward to the next book in series some romance

Fun

Loved it. Lots of laugh out loud moments Can hardly wait to hear the next book in the series!!!

Okay, but...

It was an okay book, but matched with her Stephanie Plum series, it pales in comparison.

Good book but not great!

I liked the first book in the series better, but it was still fun to read.

it was funny and well paced. just enough suspense to keep u guessing.

i enjoyed the book and the narrator. there was nothing I didn't like. thank you

awesome!

only issue is the music! It's so annoying lol I love Lorelei King!! she's is phenomenal!

Lots of Outdated Stereotypes

This book has a 2010 copyright. But, most of the human interactions and characters read like it was written in 1985.

The "independent" newspaper woman (Jamie) is a financial wreck and inept at running a financially sound business by herself only to be saved by a wealthy macho man (Max). She is trying to decide between the security of one father figure/fiance (Phillip) to another dominant male. When stuck out in a swamp, everything she does is dictated by the orders of a man, and the language refers to her doing as she is told. Somehow despite her being educated and "independent," her best friend, "De De" is a vapid woman with no interests other than making sure she looks perfect at all times. De De is treated as an emotional and intellectual baby by those around her, always protected from the truth even though she is in her late 40s and going through menopause. And her homosexual assistant is a cartoonish caricature. The narrative confuses being gay with being transgender in several places implying that being a gay man means that a man is in fact female.

On top of all of that, there is a stereotypical stripper and professional criminal boyfriend (also a stereotype) who seem to have almost no point in the story. It is unclear why so much space is taken up with describing them when their only real role in the plot is the 5 seconds when they shot up the newspaper building at the beginning. They are like extras who perhaps at one point played a larger role in the plot and that should have been edited out.

Even the wonderful narrator has some shortcomings in this book:

The voice of a criminal who is a paid killer for hire sounds like a mellow and harmless space cadet which is not really appropriate. Not all people who do drugs are super chill. This is completely borrowed from the likeable but quirky "Mooner" character of another Evanovich series But, this borrowing is misplaced given the differences in the two characters.

And the accent of the French assistant has an accent that isn't even vaguely French, but is vaguely Hispanic.

Can’t wait to listen to the other books in the series.

I love the continued story of Max Holt, Dede and Frankie. Would have liked it even more if there had been an update on Nick, Billie and her children. I enjoyed it immensely and am looking forward to the other Max Holt books.

Easy Listen

Love Janet Evanovich’s books! Easy to listen to throughout the day as I run errands.

Entertaining

Would you listen to Full Tilt again? Why?

Yes. A lot of action and multiple characters to keep up with.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the unusual characters who still manage loyal friendships.

What about Lorelei King’s performance did you like?

Once again multiple characters with voices unique to each one.

If you could rename Full Tilt, what would you call it?

Full Circus.

Any additional comments?

No this is not Stephanie Plum. Anyone who expects that will be disappointed but not if they listen to the story. I read for entertainment not deep philosophical material. I found this book just that...entertaining. I am surprised that anyone would be upset this is not a Plum redo. I sure don't expect all Nora Roberts books to be Eve Dallas. Janet Evanovich is a talented writer not a one hit wonder. If you don't try this series you have lost that chance to be entertained by a great storyteller.