As comical as these books are, I had forgotten how mature they could be as well. I wonder if this is one of the reasons the movie series never made it past the first one. By ignoring some of the darker elements of the story, the movie seemed more like a spoof than a semi-realistic world.
Another interesting facet of this series is that the first books were written (and set in) the mid 1990s. The changes in technology, inflation, and society between then and now are fascinating as I find myself thrown back into the past with these works. I wonder how much of the world changes around Stephanie Plum as the books pass by the point which I had last read.
What's really surprised me is that I have almost no recollection of the individual stories. I remember the main characters and some of the general beats that play through the first dozen books, but almost none of the specifics. This makes this readthrough almost as though I'm reading the books for the first time (which will be the case by about book 13).
It's certainly lighter reading than the news.