On this page I'm posting information about any other books/authors I run across (ones that aren't on any of the 19 recommendation lists) that seem like they would appeal to Evanovich fans.
MaryJaniceDavidson - (January 2006) MaryJanice Davidson's series (4 books to date) about Betsy Tayler is often described as "vampire chick-lit." It's not a bad description, although I generally don't like chick lit and do like this series, a lot. Compared to the Stephanie Plum series, Betsy is much more ditzy (I think she has ADD, actually) and Betsy is fashion-obsessed in a way that Stephanie isn't. Betsy's relationship with Sinclair definitely has some similarities to Stephanie and Morelli, and the strong cast of offbeat supporting characters is Evanovich-like. Definitely give these books a try if you've liked Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series or even Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series. To read about Undead and Unwed, click here for its page on Amazon.
(January 2007) - The fifth Betsy Taylor book was a bit of a disappointment, lacking a bit in terms of plot, especially painful because this series is now published in hardcover (I got it from the library, but would've been very irked if I had actually paid $20+ for it). She's also said some rather nasty things online about readers who dare to express anything less than 100% satisfaction with a book, which does make me think less of her, especially as the quality of her books seem to be deteriorating.
Deborah Donnelly - (January 2006) Veiled Threats, the first of Donnelly's wedding planner mysteries, was recommended to my by Amazon because I had bought books by Donna Andrews, an "If You Like Janet Evanovich" author. It's a decent recommendation for Evanovich fans, especially if you liked the wedding-themed Andrews' Murder With Peacocks and an Andrews-like character patterning (more serious heroine with zanier supporting characters). I will say that these books are more suspensful than Evanovich or Andrews, especially the first one (I felt like the additional books were lighter) and that Donnelly is a master of the sometimes-misleading cliffhanger. And speaking of cliffhangers, the one that ends the fourth and most recent book is a real doozy, and if things turn out the way it was implying, these books will take a much more serious turn. To read about Veiled Threats, click here for its page on Amazon.
Suzanne Enoch - (October 2005) Flirting With Danger is the first contemporary from Suzanne Enoch, who has written historical romances for years. Now usually, when an author makes a big shift like this the result is pretty disastrous, but Flirting With Danger is actually quite good, and I think it would appeal to Evanovich fans. To read about Flirting With Danger, click here for its page on Amazon.
(January 2007) - I've read the 2 books following Flirting With Danger. I wasn't completely thrilled with the second book, but then oddly enough I liked the third a lot. I think the problem is that I'm not exactly warming to the characters -- the hero feels like a Roarke rip-off (from JD Robb's In Death series) and the heroine, well, she's a thief, and it's a little hard to identify or sympathize with her sometimes. I liked the third book better because it was very plot-oriented, so the emphasis was off of the characters that I'm not exactly in love with.
Julie Garwood - (August 2002) Mercy struck me as being very Evanovich-like. The heroine is upbeat, the supporting characters are eccentric, and the dialogue is funny. This is a "romantic suspense" book, the second from an author who previously wrote a couple dozen historical romances, and before that wrote series romances. The book is related to her first romantic suspense, Heartbreaker, but I'm not convinced you need to read it before reading Mercy (I did, though, so it's hard for me to say). I did like Heartbreaker, too, but I don't think it necessarily had the same feel. To read about Mercy, click here for its page on Amazon.
(October 2005) Note that I don't necessarily recommend either of the two Garwood books I've read since 8/02. Murder List was just bad -- I managed to make it through it, but turned the book back in to a used book store for credit because I knew I'd never want to read it again. I liked Killjoy, but don't think it was particulary Evanovich-like.
Karen Robards - (October 2005) Karen Robards has been writing romantic suspense for about 15 years now, and I've been reading her books for almost that long. While in general I don't think her books are particularly Evanovich-like, occasionally her books take a more comedic turn, and these few might appeal to Evanovich fans. I'd start with To Trust a Stranger (click here for its page on Amazon), which is about a former beauty pageant winner whose husband is trying to have her killed (it is funny, though!). Another possibility is The Senator's Wife; I remember that one as being fairly funny. I'm looking over the book list on her website, and although I haven't read them in a long time, I'm now recalling vaguely that some of her earliest romantic suspense books were kind of funny -- Wild Orchids, maybe Night Magic, too.
Vicki Lewis Thompson - (October 2005) Like several of the authors on recommended list, Vicki Lewis Thompson got her start writing short romances for Harlequin and Silhouette, and has recently begun writing full-length novels. I've read a few of these longer books, and have generally liked them. I think the one I would particularly recommend for Evanovich fans is The Nerd Who Loved Me (click here for its page on Amazon), as there's a mob subplot or two to bring in that New Jersey feel. Her heros, though, are, well, nerds, which might be a problem for fans who are into Evanovich's more-alpha-than-though heros.
(January 2007) - I didn't like her third book as much. I think her formula is getting a bit dull, even for her, and the book just seemed silly. She's released like three or four more books since that one (Nerd Gone Wild) but I haven't been motivated to read them.
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