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Summary: How fun!!
Review: Maybe it was timing-but I loved this book! I read it in two days after spending my summer wading through two 900 page novels. I was desperately seeking an easy, breezy read. Does this ever fit that bill! Like many other readers, I couldn't help giggling out loud at some of the ridiculous situations Stephanie Plum gets herself into. This would be the perfect book for a long plane ride-as long as your seatmate doesn't mind your occasional outbursts! I look forward to catching up with the rest of this series.
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Summary: What a Great Book!
Review: I think the basic plot of the book has been well documented, so I'll just offer my own opinion... I started this book a bit skeptical - I hadn't heard of the author before, and I was going by reviews from other Amazon readers. The first few chapters really hooked me, though, and I couldn't put the book down. The writing is clear, sharp and witty. Stephanie Plum's life in New Jersey is truthful and funny. I was rooting for her until the end, and the plot twists kept things going at a fast pace. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series!
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Summary: You'll love this series
Review: What I love about the Stephanie Plum series is the fact that the humor is never self-conscious. With some books you get the feeling the author is saying, "Look, I just said something funny." Never the case with these! It's rare to find books that make one laugh out loud, but these never fail. I just hate having to wait a year in between books!
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Summary: Taut Crime Story Filled with Offbeat Comedy and Romance
Review: This book is simply the best first crime novel I have ever read. The characters, plotting, pacing, and writing all reflect years of experience by Evanovich as a romance writer. I have read three other books in the series, and this one exceeds the others in overall quality. That's most unusual in a series. Usually, they start slow, get better, and then slide downhill as the author overworks the formula. Even if you don't like female detection stories, you will like this one! If you are like me, you will read it in one quick sitting! Stephanie Plum is an original character in crime fiction, and an appealing one. You'll be rooting for her to get the bad guy (and the good guys, too) every step of the way! She has a toughness, yet vulnerability, that charm more than repel. She's pursuing the American Dream in her own unique way by doing whatever it takes to succeed, but trying to be a decent person while she does it. To understand how good the plot is imagine the writer's problem: You take an unemployed former discount lingerie buyer in a crime-ridden department store, and turn her into a successful bounty hunter in one book, without having everyone think the story is ridiculous. Naturally, Stephanie Plum isn't very good at doing something that is hard to do, and that she hasn't done before. Her learning is turned into wonderful comedic episodes. But gradually she gets better, and I was very excited for her. The story itself works at several levels. There is the surface one of Stephanie becoming a bounty hunter to escape total poverty (her car is repossessed early in the book, she has sold most of her furniture and her apartment is at risk). To get a job, she blackmails her cousin (threatening him with exposure to his wife for his very kinky sex habits) into giving her the task of bringing in Joe Morelli, a cop up on charges of killing an unarmed man. Even this conditional assignment is hers to lose, and she has to keep at it to get other assignments. No one in her life wants her to be a bounty hunter, but her. The second level is the development of a romance with Morelli. The two have a relationship from their youth. Morelli played choo-choo between her legs at age 6 and did more than that in high school before leaving for the Navy. When Stephanie next saw him, she ran over him with her car because he never called again, and left a note about his second deed in the rest room of a restaurant. Stephanie is able to find Morelli quite often, but cannot subdue him. Pretty soon, he's looking for her. The scenes and by-play will appeal to all who like romance with their crime. The third level of the story is about Stephanie learning the bounty hunting trade. She gets lots of help, and you'll like the other characters who help her. All of them repeat in important ways in future stories. Ranger (Stephanie's mentor) and Lula (Stephanie's future sidekick) make indelible impressions. The fourth level of the story is Stephanie's relationship with her family. They want her to be 'normal' and she does just enough of that to get free food at the family dinner table. This is a wonderful story of becoming independent in a traditional family. The fifth level of the story is a mystery of about who did what to whom, leading up to Morelli's killing of the 'unarmed' man. Morelli claims the man was armed, and that there was a witness. He is avoiding jail to find a way to show his innocence, and tries to persuade Stephanie to help him. The sixth level of the story is about a sexual sadist who decides he wants to have his way with Stephanie. This side of the story is dark, and takes a valuable look at the problems such people present to women everywhere. Evanovich brings all the strings together into a tidy package at the end. Her plot resolution is excellent. Yet she leaves lots of areas where you'd like to see and know more. Fortunately, you have five more novels to read right away. I also recommend that you continue with the series. Although the future books are not as balanced and outstanding as this one, they are fine stores of crime and romance in the comedic vein. On a personal note, there is a lesson here for us all about the untapped potential we have to do more than we think we can. Taking on a major goal is the starting point. Usually, we wait until we have no choice but to get better. However, we have the choice to decide to get better whenever we choose. We can have more, be more, and have better relationships with others by deciding to do so. When sociologists study those who have accomplished the most in their lives, what they usually find is that these people had written goals that they stayed focused on. You can do that, too! I hope you will find this book inspirational in encouraging you to fulfill your purpose in life...
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Summary: Jersey Girl on a Mission
Review: Stephanie Plum is on the job, and Trenton's never going to be the same. Plum, an unemployed department-store lingerie buyer, has turned to "skip tracing," a.k.a. bounty hunting, more to keep the wolf from the door than from any burning desire to make Trenton a safer place. Plum is a Jersey girl through and through; she knows how to make her hair "big" when she wants to, she's unabashed about driving around town in a car with "pussy" graffitied on its sides, and she knows how to remove a distributor cap (the only way to be sure your car will still be in long-term parking at Newark Airport when you return from your trip). What she doesn't know is mostly everything about apprehending criminals. But Plum is a fast learner, and downright lucky. By the end of this first novel, she's gotten her man, in more ways than one. She's also rekindled her relationship with Joe Morelli, who took the Plum's plum, so to speak, as a teenager. Morelli, totally by coincidence, is her first FTA (bailbondsman lingo for "Failure to Appear"--in court, that is ). Locking Morelli in a refrigerated truck with 3 dead bodies goes a long way to settling the score. And the $10,000 reward doesn't hurt either. Among the lively cast of characters is Ranger, a fellow bounty hunter who gives Stephanie some pointers and steps in to help when needed. He's an enigmatic guy, but likeable, and I for one hope we haven't seen the last of him. Psycho/boxer Benito Ramirez fulfills the requisite creeposity factor. And then there's Stephanie's family--Grandma Mazur, an septuagenarian with the heart of a teenager; Mr. Plum, a retired postal employee who drives cabs mostly for refuge from his wife and mother-in-law; and Mrs. Plum, pot-roast-cooking mom who never gives up on trying to coax Stephanie to get a "normal" job and get married, like her other daughter (conspicuously absent from this debut novel). These folks are so eccentric that you'd swear that the author had been eavesdropping on your own family. Plum is a down-to-earth, self-deprecating, and witty heroine, and this first adventure tale will leave you both laughing and triple-checking the locks on your door. And maybe even wishing you lived in Trenton, where there's no shortage of good guys to tend to the crooks.
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Summary: Comedy, Suspense, & Sex....What More Could You Want?
Review: Janet Evanovich's debut into the mystery genre is a fanciful flight of refreshing riff-raff. I resisted long enough what I thought would be a piece of fluff. This woman can create more comedic havoc with charming central character, Stephanie Plum, than a bunch of senior citizens hustling & nudging each other to get into a cafeteria's early bird special. In "One For The Money", New Jersey native, Stephanie, desperately needs money. So desperate, she worms her way to be a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie. Having no clue as to what she is doing, we readers laugh our way through her antics of bringing back Joe. Add some suspense, classically vivid characters and we get a delicious, deceitful, diabolical plot. Do not wait as I did on "Money"--buy into Evanovich now. Thank you for your interest & comments--CDS
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Summary: Outstanding entertainment
Review: Several friends had recommended this series; I was slow to warm to the idea. The books are entertaining, light, humorous and a real page-turner. For an afternoon "escape" this is the read.
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Summary: What a great book--couldn't put it down
Review: What a fantastic book, although it should come with a health warning since you will experience pains in your sides from laughing so hard and your cheeks will develop permanent cramp from the constant smiling. This is a well written and very witty novel. I am so glad that it is part of a on-going series. I just love Stephanie Plum--she is so very funny and sassy. I guarantee that if you are looking for a good mystery that's easy to read with lots of humorous moments, this is a must read. I have just finished "Two for the Dough" and it is equally as sharp and witty. I highly recommend this book/series and hope that Janet Evanovich keeps them coming!
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Summary: My best friend was right!
Review: When my friend said that I had to order these books -- ALL of them -- immediately -- and read them in order, I wasn't convinced. So, I ordered "One . . ." and "Two . . ." and, boy, am I sorry now! (Hurry, Amazon, with my next installment!) These books are a real romp! Funny and snappy dialog; great characters; lots of food; and some fashion (well, not HIGH fashion). And, some nice crackling sexual tension. In short, everything you'd want in a summer book. So, order them ALL, so you won't be waiting to go racing through all of Stephanie Plum's adventures!
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Summary: One for the Money
Review: The humor is REAL. Found myself laughing outloud. Down to earth characters that could really exist in the "Burg". Fast moving action that keeps you from putting it down chapter after chapter. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
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