Book Review: Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich
No vampires in this series. No werewolves, no ghosts, no fairies, no trolls. The most supernatural thing that happens is Stephanie’s intuition when she’s on a case.
Stephanie Plum starts out unemployed and then becomes a bounty hunter, finding people who skipped out on bail and returning them. As a former lingerie buyer for a department store, she’s not really qualified to be a bounty hunter, but she needs the money. Between the gossip she gets from her mother, grandmother, cousins, and friends she manages to pull enough clues together to get her guy (or gal). And when gossip doesn’t do it, surveillance and asking questions of strangers and good old women’s intuition do it for her.
This series has no underlying themes of good vs evil, or the shades of gray in between. Nothing to make you think much about stereotypes. And the kick-butt female is often kick-butt by accident. It’s just an enjoyable read. Entertainment that doesn’t make you think too hard, but makes you laugh. A lot.
The biggest thing the series has going for it is that it is funny. Not just LOL funny, but laugh until tears are streaming from your eyes funny. Laugh until you can’t breathe and you get lightheaded, funny. Laugh until you have to run to the bathroom so you don’t wet yourself, funny.
Much of the humor comes from her grandmother. Some of it comes from Stephanie’s inability to keep a car. They keep getting blown up, or stolen, or set on fire. It’s never her fault, but she just doesn’t keep a car for very long. Some of the humor comes from her friends and other family members.
To be honest, someone recommended the series and I checked the book out of the library and got about 30 pages into it and didn’t like it, so I never finished it. After a few more people talked about it, I tried it again and liked the first book okay once I’d gotten a few chapters into it. I’m glad I kept going. It’s a really enjoyable series, and the farther you get into it, the better it gets. Even after you’ve read it, it’s something to pull out again if you just need a good laugh.
The ‘number’ books are the main ones. I’ve added in two of the between the numbers books that are half way decent, but don’t bother with Visions of Sugar Plums. It was a ridiculous little holiday novel. The ‘between’ books are short and a little disappointing when compared to the numbered books, so stick with the numbers first and just hit the between books if you happen to find them at the library or find them on sale.
I’ve put the boxed sets in below that include three books at a time, but you can certainly buy them individually if you want. The books are written in a way that when you finish one book you want to just pick up the next book and keep going, so the boxed sets are handy for that.
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One For the Money (1994)
Two For the Dough (1996)
Three to Get Deadly (1997)
Four to Score (1998)
High Five (1999)
Hot Six (2000)
Seven Up (2001)
Hard Eight (2002)
Visions of Sugar Plums (2003) (don’t bother)
To the Nines (2003)
Ten Big Ones (2004)
Eleven on Top (2005)
Twelve Sharp (2006)
Plum Lovin’ (2007)
Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
Plum Lucky(Holiday Novella)(January 2008)
Fearless Fourteen (June 2008)
And, no, there are no new rumors yet. If any pop up, I’ll share them.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Love, love, love this series! I haven’t read 13 or 14 yet though. I need to get them soon.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I am a big fan of this author! Can’t wait for 14.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Fourteen is out, just follow the link above. I haven’t read it yet, either.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Ahhh – thank you! I know religion makes some cringe … but werewolves, ghosts and such make me crings. Glad to see something a little more on the lighthearted side!
These books are a ton of fun to read and I’ve found myself staying up way late at night to finish one because I just couldn’t put them down. The whole triangle of Morelli (sp?), Stephanie and Ranger … oh man. Good, fun stuff.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I love this series because I use to live in RI. Stephanie’s family reminds me of some of the people I knew back then and the types of relationships they had with each other – Grandmothers, aunties and the like. I love how the world can fall apart around them but all can be better by having some pastrie.
Stef
June 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am
You forgot the best part about these books: the romance angle with Mike the cop and Ranger the bad guy. I keep waiting for a movie of these books so I can see which hunks play these guys!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:53 am
When I had the summers off from teaching, I would spend hours by the pool reading this very series of books! They are hilarious! I’m excited to find out that number fourteen book is out. However, those responsibility “free and single” days are a thing of the past. :)
June 27th, 2008 at 10:50 am
LOVE this series! You don’t have to think, you can just enjoy and laugh out loud!! 14 does not disappoint!
June 27th, 2008 at 11:07 am
These books have made me laugh hysterically. Grandma Mazur is the funniest one in the books.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Don’t know if anyone saw that lovely movie on turner classics last night. It was the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. A beautiful movie that to me told the story of mothers and daughters. Its a funny, tear jerker and gives a wonderful glimpse into the lives of Chinese Americans.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
shamrock…if you liked the movie definitely pick up the book….you will enjoy it!…Amy Tan is a superb author.
Anyone who likes Stephanie Plum stories will throughly enjoy all things Carl Hiassen…http://www.carlhiaasen.com/books.html….these books are quite funny in a crazy sort of way….Enjoy!!!…good luck to everyone with the next group of referrals….mew
June 27th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
The Joy Luck Club. Yeah, now there’s a good book.
I don’t quite get all the blog’s amazon book-cover links under the lengthy review. Can’t we just take the author’s name to a bookstore or order online the usual way? Is it still the same person running the site?
June 28th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Oh, I wish we could form a book club in real life, RQ! Seriously, you have hit on all of my faves. I don’t think I would have survived infertility treatment, the wait for DD #1 and the first sleepless year without Stephanie Plum and Anita Blake. They were my escape hatch from all of the craziness. I’ve been restraining myself from going out and getting #14 because I’m saving it for poolside during my vacation and I don’t think I could leave it alone until then!
June 30th, 2008 at 10:41 am
OK, I just finished Fourteen, and I had the same terribly let-down feeling that I had after finishing Thirteen. I loved, loved, loved this series, and it has become boring, repetitive and terribly predictable. There were a few laugh-inducing moments in the book (loved the potato cannon), but very little Grandma Mazur, and woefully little Ranger. No steam this time around.
And like Thirteen, the ending is really rushed with no drama or even suspense/fear that something might happen to one of the major players.
I do agree that I would love to see a movie of the series — especially based on the early books. I have started picturing a younger version of Antonio Banderas (like in the Pedro Almodovar films) as Ranger. Mmmmm….
June 30th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Stephanie Plum series. I just bought number 13 and can’t wait to read it.
By the way, spiritualknitter, Stephanie’s on again off again romance is with Joe the cop not Mike the cop. I love the conflicted feelings she has over both men (Joe and Ranger). I also love grandma Mazur. Does anyone remember what grandma Mazur got in the mail in book number 2? I almost busted a got laughing.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I wasn’t going to bring up the men in Stephanie’s life, since that’s a bit of a spoiler for someone who hasn’t started the series.
But, since ya’ll did, it’s obvious to me which guy is right for her. (and yeah, this will have spoilers, so just skip the rest of this comment if you don’t to read them.)
Simple dating rules, if a guy wants to change you, you dump him. He either likes you, all of you, as you are, or he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t, then he’s history as a boyfriend.
Stephanie is a bounty hunter now. When she quit doing it, she missed it, she missed being a part of the takedown. Missed being part of the action. She had to get into it and figure it out. It’s in her blood now.
One of her guys wants to change her, wants her to stop doing dangerous stuff.
The other one teaches her, gives her skills. And tries to watch out for her when she’s got someone trying to kill her, so she can have her independence. So she can be who she is.
Also, in Plum Loving, I think we’re basically told that. When the cupid character says it’s obvious who is the right man for her, as she disappears without saying the end of the sentence, the Rangers score on TV.
Honestly though, I like both guys. A lot. I just have this thing against guys who try to change the girl into what they want them to be. But even though he does that occasionally, I still really like him. I mean, I get that he is terrified that someday he may be having to worry about the mother of his children this way. I get that he doesn’t want her in harms way because he loves her and worries about her. I just wish he’d deal with it and let her be who she is.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:58 am
RQ — I’d be interested to see if your opinion changes after Fourteen. I agree with your preference, especially since I don’t really see Steph as a “settle down into the house with the white picket fence” kinda gal, and I think that’s what Joe wants deep down. But in Fourteen, Joe really treats her more like a partner, and seems almost supportive of the whole bounty hunter gig. It was a surprising shift to me, and it made me wonder if I missed something at the end of the previous book?!
August 25th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I think to say that Joe is trying to change Stephanie isn’t accurate. He’s never wanted anything about her or who she is to change – besides her “career”. I don’t blame him, and I think it’s very sweet and endearing. He worries about her (wouldn’t you?? I love all the little remarks about his acid reflux, and pepto bismol, and rolaids – it shows how much he loves her), and in the earlier books it was more of an issue. I think as time has progressed, and as their feelings for each other have strengthened, he has eased up on her the career bashing. All of the moments of him “staring at his shoes” and anger management techniques show just how much HE’S changing for her…
I like Ranger a lot too. He is there for her in a way Joe can’t be. But there’s no way Ranger is Stephanie’s soul mate. She and Joe have way too much history, affection, and commonalities. Ranger would never change any part of himself for Stephanie. He doesn’t want to marry, he doesn’t want to settle down, he doesn’t even share the most basic of information with her (like an address). I would be devastated if Janet Evanovich had Stephanie and Ranger together at the end of it all.
Just as an aside, I felt like 14 was a major disappointment. At times, I felt like I was reading another author. The dialogue wasn’t as witty or as sharp as the previous 13 books. While I loved where the story ended (Stephanie and Joe stronger than ever), I found that the characters weren’t really themselves. Stephanie was much too domesticated – and wasn’t her usual snippy, funny self. I agree with the lack of Grandma Mazur – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the dinners at home, and there wasn’t enough of that. While I read the entire book, I kept catching myself thinking that everyone – and everything – was out of character.
I’m SO looking forward to 15. I hope, Hope, HOPE that Janet can get this back on track.