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If there is one person Stephanie never wants to collect on it’s the mysterious Ranger. When he’s suspected of murder, he skips bail, determined to figure it out and clear his own name. Her arch nemesis Joyce is assigned the job and insists on following Stephanie, convinced she knows where Ranger is. Unfortunately Joyce isn’t the only one and in typical Plum style, she quickly finds herself on the receiving end of a lot of attention. Never knowing who will show up in her apartment next on a midnight visit, she also copes with Grandma Mazur moving in for a while. Then there is Bob.

I’ve had a lot of pleasure reading these books one after the other and number 6 in the series is another good installment. Stephanie makes me alternately shake my head and laugh out loud, she is just so human. Her escapades and penchant for getting into and out of trouble make for a very funny read and they are hugely entertaining. I love the interplay between her, Morelli and Ranger and her attraction to each is really well written. Her family, as usual, are hysterical and Grandma Mazur makes me cringe but laugh.

I felt the plot was a little more twisty than usual but it wasn’t too hard to keep up and there were a couple of times I really thought that was it for Stephanie. Yet she gladly prevails and I can’t wait to read book 7!

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Life is never dull for Stephanie Plum.  Her Uncle Fred has gone missing after entering a dispute with his garbage company and no one has seen him.  Some odd evidence turns up but no one knows what it means or how it relates to the absent Fred.  On the job front, Stephanie is assigned the task of Randy Briggs, a little person with a large attitude.  He refuses to come quietly and Stephanie has to resort to more elaborate schemes to bring him in.  Then there is the new guy following her called Bunchy who is also trying to locate Fred.  The icing on the cake is Ramirez, free from jail and vowing to kill her, and does  Morelli now have competition from the mysterious Ranger.  The only answer is doughnuts!

One of these days Stephanie will get comfortable with carrying a loaded gun and the books will get much less amusing.  Her inventive ways of getting out of trouble without resorting to fatal methods are inspired and very much a part of who Stephanie is.  Her family are hilarious, and the supporting cast are larger than life, as always.  I thought it was good that Ranger is finally showing his interest in Stephanie beyond being her mentor, and it will be interesting to see how that turns out.  Very enjoyable and I’m going to dive straight into book six.

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Stephanie is assigned the task of bringing in bail jumper Maxine Nowicki, a seemingly simple task. When Maxine is nowhere to be found and her ex-boyfriend starts receiving strange cryptic notes for a treasure hunt, Stephanie resigns herself to figuring it out. Hoping to find Maxine at the end of the trail, she calls on the help of a codebreaking whiz in the form of 6 foot 4 drag queen, Sally Sweet. When a couple of odd occurances involving a severed finger and a scalping come to light, are they related to the case and can Stephanie get the mess sorted out before anyone else gets hurt. Especially her.

With each book, I come to like Stephanie more and more. She’s gutsy but often a little inept, street smart but gets a little silly over chocolate, doughnuts and Morelli. Oh and she loves her Hamster, Rex. She gets into so many fixes you wonder how on earth it will get straightened out but she manages it with her sanity and sometimes her dignity intact. I have yet to come across a dull character in any of the books and the major players are just full of colour and personality.

Another great read from Janet Evanovich with many laugh out loud moments.

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Everybody loves Uncle Mo, he’s the favourite seller of candy and ice-cream in Trenton and in everyone’s eyes can do no wrong.  Unfortunately Stephanie  is sent to find him after he jumps bail and Trenton isn’t pleased with her.  Relying on help from Lula, Ranger and the interference of Joe Morelli, she starts to uncover facts that point to Uncle Mo not being the sweet, harmless man everyone loves.  But will anyone believe her.  Holding her hamster to ransom is the biggest mistake anyone can make because now Stephanie means business.

This is the third book in the Stephanie Plum series and the character of Stephanie continues to grow on me as she tries to get to grips with being a bounty hunter.  She has a great knack for uncovering things that make life much more complicated and her humour and gutsy attitude combine to make for an entertaining book.  The characters of Lula and Ranger are again taken further and I have to say I love their inclusion as major characters.  I also like that things between Joe and Stephanie have been taking a long time to heat up.  The chemistry was there from the first book but it’s not really until now that it really starts taking off.

Another great book from Janet Evanovich and unfortunately I have to wait until the fourth book is delivered before I can get stuck in.  Curses!

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Determined to stay on as a bounty hunter against everyone’s objections, Stephanie takes on the case of finding the missing Kenny Mancuso, accused of shooting his childhood friend in the knee, he then jumped bail.  It should be a simple task,  except for the friend then being murdered, a lot of military ammunition being on the streets and the odd occurance of twenty coffins going missing.  Do they tie in or are they all odd coincidences and why is Joe Morelli on her case.  Then little pieces of corpses keep appearing and Grandma Mazur goes missing.  Definately time to up the ante and find the elusive Kenny.

Two for the Dough is the second book in the Stephanie Plum series and without a doubt is as good as the first, if not better as you start to learn more about the major characters and what makes them tick.  Fast paced, funny yet somber at times, it leads you on a chase around the streets of New Jersey and the trouble Stephanie manages to get into.  A couple of characters from the first book who you thought you weren’t going to see again feature more prominently in this one, and they are a really good addition.  Their interactions with Stephanie as well as the continuing banter and tension between her and Joe Morelli contribute to the depth and humour in this book.  It was another great read and I can’t wait to dive into the third book!

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Stephanie Plum is in a fix.  She lost her job, had her car repossessed and was running out of furniture to hock.  When she hears her low-life cousin Vinnie is looking for someone to do filing at his bail bond company, she goes to see him but since the position already got filled, persuades Vinnie to let her try her hand at bounty hunting.  Setting her sights on bringing in Joe Morelli – a cop accused of murder who went on the run, if she can catch him, she could earn herself enough to stave off the debt collecters.  Morelli though, isn’t that eager to be found.

I’d not come across Janet Evanovich before and found a couple of the later books in the Stephanie Plum series in a charity shop.  I bought them, putting them aside until I could get the previous ones.  My friend Jody said they were very good so I kept an eye out and finally got started on this series.

I love the character of Stephanie Plum.  She starts out bounty hunting with no skills other than being gutsy and in need of money.  She isn’t a superhero or a kick ass martial arts expert, just an ordinary girl trying to make a living.  She’s real, makes mistakes, has a knack for getting herself into trouble but manages to come through in the end.  She has history with Joe Morelli and their interactions are very amusing and often very sweet.  Her family are also hilarious, especially her grandma who is larger than life.  I was entertained throughout and the pace of the book worked very well and by the time I was finished, I definately wanted more.

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