From Publishers Weekly
"My same is Stephanie Plum and I was born and raised in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, where the top male activities are scarfing pastries and pork rinds and growing ass hair." Within pages of this elegant introduction to the latest installment in Evanovich's bestselling numbered series, the less-than-stellar bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has managed to haul in a fat, naked and, yes, furry "skip" who has greased himself up with Vaseline to literally give her the slip. In the midst of taking him to the police station, however, Plum drops everything to help her beloved Grandma Mazur, who calls to say that Stephanie's mom locked herself in the bathroom to escape the craziness of the Plum family. Finally, Plum checks in at the office, where her employer and cousin, the bailbondsman Vinnie, assigns her back-up duty on the thorny case of a missing Indian man, Samuel Singh. Vinnie previously wrote a bond ensuring that Singh would leave the country when his visa expired, so the latter's disappearance drives Vinnie to call in the devastatingly attractive Ranger, his star enforcer, and assign Stephanie to help him. As fans know, the mysterious Ranger has long competed with the equally sexy Morelli to be the object of Plum's desire, so his presence-just as Plum has temporarily moved in with Morelli-keeps the sexual tension high. An awkward plot that takes Plum to Vegas is the weakest course in this meal. Yet Evanovich's many fans will be more than happy with their latest serving of Stephanie Plum-that cute, bumbling, irresistibly average Jersey girl-who just happens to have more laughs, more sizzling sexual tension, and more nonstop, zany adventure than anybody else around.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Starred Review Stephanie Plum is a Jersey Girl, a bounty hunter, and a resident of a part of Trenton where you can still go to Mom's for dinner and your cop boyfriend Morelli's grandmother has visions that include you in a coffin. Stephanie is on the trail of an Indian contract worker named Singh who disappeared when his visa was up. When she interviews a McDonald's employee who knew him, he's shot as she stands there. Then rose-and-carnation bouquets with very sinister notes start appearing in Stephanie's apartment and in her e-mail, and a few more bodies turn up with bullet holes. Meanwhile, Stephanie's sister, Valerie, is about to give birth; her sidekick, Lula, goes on the loudest diet ever written; and a trip to Vegas--yes, it's business--involves both Elvis and Tom Jones impersonators. Evanovich, and Stephanie, are at the top of their form here: laugh-out loud moments jostle with sticky, visceral terror; Stephanie's mentor, Ranger, and Morelli don't so much vie for her favors as bestow them in turn. Ever smarter, funnier, sexier, scarier. GraceAnne DeCandido
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