Janet Evanovich. Months ago that name would have meant nothing to me, New York Times bestseller or not. I never pay attention to that kind of stuff. I do, however, pay attention to word of mouth books. I’ve never had three people recommend a book/series to me, so when it happened I was sure to listen. I also don’t often read mysteries, so this made for a fabulous change for me.

If you’ve read the previous two books, you already know who Stephanie Plum is. If not, don’t despair, because she sums up briefly. Lost her job, used some dirt on her cousin to get a job as a bounty hunter, and has a rash of good/bad luck when it comes to bringing guys in, not to mention stumbling upon things that get way bigger than she can handle on her own. Granted, there aren’t many details and it’s a lot better if you start from square one, but my mom started on #7 of the series, so no sweat.

Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter extraordinaire (well, maybe not so much, but bounty hunter nonetheless), has been given the job of snagging Moses Bedemier, aka Uncle Mo. He runs a candy and ice cream shop – everyone loves him. In short, Mo can do no wrong. Things seem pretty straightforward; Mo was caught carrying a concealed weapon, missed his court date, and now needs to be brought back in. Simple as pie…except no one can find him. So now Stephanie is on a Mo-manhunt, except it seems like there are several masked men that don’t want her to succeed. To make things even more frustrating, Joe Morelli, studly vice cop, seems to be losing his interest in her, Lula, ex-hooker turned file clerk wants a piece of bounty hunting action, and somewhere along the line Stephanie’s hair gets a madcap makeover. Not to mention the fact that her not-so-new-but-just-purchased pickup keeps having death throes.

Apparently pie is not so simple.

Well, what do you know? My first Stephanie Plum book to be graced with five stars! Things are just nonstop in this book. The only downtime is when Stephanie is coming home to her hamster Rex, but even then, that can be fraught with danger. I read this book in about one day. I say “about” because though I could have finished it yesterday, I finally put it down and read the final fifty pages about 5 minutes ago. So pace yourself. Yes, this is hard to do considering Lula is a crackup, Stephanie is being shot at every other chapter, and there are bodies showing up everywhere. Snappy comebacks and Ranger as Batman. Makes me happy.

You learn a little more about Stephanie and her world with each book. At least it seems like it. You hear more about her divorce this time around, and a little about how she thinks in certain terms. This isn’t some classic novel we’re talking about, just something really fun to read and enjoy, so don’t get too serious about it. Naturally if you’ve read any of the others in the series, you should already know what to expect. Not so say that is going to dull down the book any. Quite the contrary – you’re waiting to see what happens next between Stephanie and Joe, and just how screwed up things will get for Stephanie this time around. I love the language Evanovich uses, including some words I haven’t heard since I was a little kid (i.e. dookey). I read these things and I just laugh because it’s so juvenile, and yet at the same time, not quite. Perfect for Stephanie and her world.

And the final test? Can you see the end before you get there? Mm, not quite. You get the idea, but the final turn probably won’t show up. Though there was some confession going on near the end, it wasn’t the complete spill-guts style, and that always pleases me. More like tying up loose ends; final puzzle pieces.

Get it. Read it. And get a fudge sunday while you’re at it. It’ll be delicious.

NT


Stephanie Plum Novels:
One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Four to Score
High Five
Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
Visions of Sugar Plums: A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones
Eleven on Top
Twelve Sharp

Recommended: Yes