Can Murder be Funny?

Janet Evanovich

Other main characters are Joe Morelli, a Trenton cop and a sometimes love interest of Stephanie’s. Who she best describes in One for the Money.” There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Joseph Morelli did this to me-- not forever, but periodically."

Ranger, a bail bondsman, for who Stephanie sometime moonlights.  He can best be described as “extremely bad in an incredibly good way. He's a security expert, and a bounty hunter, and he moves like smoke. Ranger is milk chocolate on the outside ...a delicious, tempting, forbidden pleasure. And no one knows what's on the inside. Ranger keeps his own counsel. (Hot Six)

And then there is Lula, “a size sixteen black woman squashed into size ten leopard print spandex” and Stephanie’s often sidekick.  In Two for the Dough we learn that “the weird thing is in her own way, Lula looks pretty good in the animal spandex.”

So to answer my question.

You bet.

In Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum mystery series you’ll find yourself not only smiling, but often laughing-out loud.

It’s not just me, even USA Today found Good in Bed to be "Utterly hilarious . . ."

Good in Bed (which comes from the title of an ex-boyfriend's first magazine column) tells the tale of one woman’s struggle to come to terms with her larger-than-life self.  Cannie’s honesty and sidesplitting wit make for a hilarious and heartwarming journey.

Fannie Flagg                           Standing in the Rainbow

Fannie Flagg gives us a story of beguiling characters and small-town life. The day to day things that cause both laughter and tears.

As the story begins, it is 1945, the war is over, the American economy is booming, and there is no better place in the world than Elmwood Springs , Missouri . Ten-year-old Bobby Smith's father is the town pharmacist and his mother is a local radio personality, Neighbor Dorothy. Over the next several decades, the plot expands to include many people who interact with the Smith family--among them, the Oatman Family Southern Gospel Singers, Beatrice Woods, the Little Blind Songbird, Tot Whooten, the beautician with bad hairdressing skills and others who make up every day in a small town.  To quote Time, this book is "utterly irresistible."

Ruth Reichl                                                          Garlic and Sapphires

As the New York Times restaurant critic for most of the 1990’s, Ruth Reichl wielded more power than any other food critic in the country did. Restaurant managers circulated her picture and offered bonuses for advance notice of her visits. Knowing that "to be a good restaurant critic, you have to be anonymous," Reichl went undercover, wearing elaborate disguises-which included wigs, makeup, thrift store finds and unstylish outfits.  She once even dressed as her deceased mother Miriam and dined with a friend of her mother’s. Garlic and Sapphires records Reichl's amusing career, and then there's the food: she excels at making meals live vividly on the page. Spicy and sweet with laughter and bite throughout. The Washington Post states “at times laugh-out-loud funny -- and smart and wise… Reichl is a gas.”

Weiner, Eric
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

A reviewer states "Laugh. Think. Repeat. Repeatedly.”

Lastly, there is Calvin and Hobbes, one of the funniest comic strips to ever grace a newspaper.  Bill Watterson retired, but the adventures of six-year-old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes can still be found in the bound pages I list below.  Don’t read these while drinking any beverage, you just might find yourself laughing until it comes out your nose. (Gross, but known to happen)

The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes
The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
Yukon Ho!