Title: Dangerous Minds
Author: Janet Evanovich
Series: Knight and Moon #2
A fun, humorous romp
When Emerson Knight’s friend Wayan Bagus, a buddhist monk, discovers the island where he had been living as a hermit has gone missing, Knight and his impromptu, unofficial team of investigators go on an adventure to find out what could possibly have happened to make an entire island disappear. Their questions lead to a larger mystery that has been guarded by the National Park Service for a century, and as they shed light on the conspiracy, they have to dodge bullets—and hatchets—because someone doesn’t want the truth known.
I don’t remember much from the first Knight and Moon book, Curious Minds, but I didn’t need to. This is classic Evanovich. Superficial but thoroughly entertaining storytelling, characters that manage to be developed without much backstory, and a fascinating, exciting suspense plot. It was SO funny. Rarely books make me laugh out loud (in a good way), but this managed it several times. I want badly to describe my favorite jokes, but I don’t want to ruin it. I went in knowing nothing but the characters, not even the jacket blurb, and I think I enjoyed it more without being able to anticipate the gags.
Emerson Knight is tall, dark, and handsome, an eccentric of Sherlockian flavor. At first you think he’s going to be annoying, but he’s really rather mellow. He’s also rich, which bothered me a little, because it’s pure convenience, as is the fact that he had a geophysicist friend and her helicopter-driving father. The story wouldn’t have been nearly as fun or fast-paced—or possible altogether—if they actually had to worry about funding or talking to the right people. But that’s fiction for ya.
Riley Moon is the straight man (or woman, as it were), representing both the general audience and the ordinary 99 percenters. She’s a bit cliche in that she grew up in rural Texas with a county sheriff father and four brothers, and that explains why she can hike and shoot, etc. Her background is as convenient as Knight’s, honestly, but it works here, because the book isn’t supposed to be taken seriously.
The little romantic subplot—not even a subplot, really, more like a thread—was well-woven. I liked that Emerson treated Riley as not a member of the weaker sex but as someone of equal strength, mind and body, and though he’s clearly falling in love with her, he didn’t get all cave-man and order her to stay where she’s safe, forcing her to be defiant and stubborn. While the cave-man thing can be sexy, so can a modern mindset.
As for the secondary characters… Some people might have issues with Vernon, who was stereotypical and cartoonish, but I didn’t mind him. He was hilarious, and he managed to show a vulnerability that humanized him. I wasn’t sure what to think about Wayan Bagus; on one hand, he was so adorable that I just wanted to put him in my pocket, but on the other, he was slightly irritating. His vague philosophical mumbo-jumbo became increasingly annoying and at times seemed pretentious to me. Also, he had no purpose other than to get Knight started on finding a missing island. During the adventure, he was like a child being babysat by a lazy teenager, plunked down in front of the TV so he’d stay quiet and be out of the way. He had a moment or two, though, when he pulled a ninja move or provided a fresh viewpoint.
There were a couple of things that I thought were unnecessary. One, that weird random scene in the commerce department; I have no idea why they bothered to include that. And two, Alani’s personal history with Vernon. All she needed to do was be in an advantageous position for Knight in Hawaii; she didn’t need to have been romantically involved with Vernon in the past. The only way it served the story, as far as I can tell, is to prove that Vernon isn’t a total ass, and that point is debatable.
Also unnecessary is a large-print edition of these books. The text is so big!
Oh, and I have to commend Evanovich for deftly handling the deep science necessary for the plot. She only skimmed the surface and my eyes crossed, I can’t imagine the headaches I’d have gotten doing that research. However, she seems to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan, what with the Star Wars and Star Trek references, so maybe it wasn’t difficult for her to grasp. Either way, I was impressed.
Overall, if you need a way to escape the stress of life, this light, amusing read will likely improve your mood.
