Book Review: Curious Minds

Author: Janet Evanovich & Phoef Sutton

Publication Date: August 16, 2016

Publisher: Bantam Dell

Series: Knight and Moon # 1

Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, teams up with Emmy-winning writer Phoef Sutton for a brand-new series of thrillers featuring the invincible and incompatible pairing of Knight and Moon.

Emerson Knight is introverted, eccentric, and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he’s also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he’d probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with mega-bank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight.

What starts off as an inquiry about missing bank funds in the Knight account leads to inquiries about a missing man, missing gold, and a life-and-death race across the country. Through the streets of Washington, D.C., and down into the underground vault of the Federal Reserve in New York City, an evil plan is exposed. A plan so sinister that only a megalomaniac could think it up, and only the unlikely duo of the irrepressibly charming Emerson Knight and the tenacious Riley Moon can stop it.

“Riley reminded herself that she was a professional, and stabbing Emerson with her nail file wouldn’t be appropriate.” 

“If she had any sense at all, she’d clean out her desk and look for another job. Something safe and sane, like catching alligators or looking for land mines in Afghanistan.” 

“Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.”

“It was one of the biggest mansions in Washington, D.C., and it was appropriately called Mysterioso Manor. Emerson Knight, the resident owner, was appropriately known as a nutcase.”  

“She’d expected Emerson Knight to look like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.”

Janet Evanovich has forever been one of my favorite authors to read. And while I didn’t like this new series as much as the Stephanie Plums, I must say that I am very excited for what this series will hold. Emerson Knight and Riley Moon are such an unlikely pair, but extremely comical. I must say that the way Emerson Knight was depicted reminded me heavily of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Riley is written to be much more grounded and cautious. Emerson makes a plan and he is sticking to it. His character carried the unlikely pair and added so much depth to the story. I was so glad to see that Evanovich has started a new series and I am happy to say that it was modern and I can see the story and characters progressing greatly over time.

The mystery here was incredible! There were so many possible scenarios that I was imagining while reading that could possibly play out. Missing people, murders, and missing gold was enough to keep me interested and on edge. It felt as if around every corner Emerson and Riley were discovering crucial evidence and adding to the already eccentric mystery. One thing that I have always loved about Evanovich was her ability to make readers laugh out loud. The witty banter shared between Emerson and Riley was too much to bare at times. Their personalities are so different and listening to them argue and plan together was what will keep me coming back to this series!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Bantam in exchange for my honest review***