Rating: 
Summary: More emotion, still quite shocking at times
Review: 8th in the series. Trenton, New Jersey's Stephanie Plum, bond enforcement officer, a.k.a. bounty hunter, has her hands full with a charity case. Evelyn Soder and her daughter Annie are on the run. Her ex-husband is threatening to collect on a child custody bond that will force repossession on Evelyn's grandmother's house. As always, nobody's telling the whole truth. There's always more to Stephanie's cases than meets the eye. Eddie Abruzzi, Evelyn's landlord, has threatened Stephanie to stay away from Evelyn and her house. What's it to him?On the side, Stephanie's also looking to bring in Laura Minello-auto theft, and Andy Bender-domestic violence. As always, Lula, ex-lady-of-the-evening, rides shotgun with Steph, along with Albert Kloughn, Evelyn's divorce lawyer. Kloughn is like a pain-in-the-butt little sibling, always latching onto you. But he may have the hots for Steph's sister. Trenton cop, Joe Morelli, is still trying to decide if he wants to continue as Stephanie's love-interest. While he's deciding, he's always there for her, to help out or just grin. And then there's Ranger, the best bounty hunter ever. Ranger's the Wizard "because he's magic. He mysteriously passes through locked doors. He seems to read minds. He's able to refuse dessert. And he can give me a hot flash with the touch of a fingertip." A new character is also introduced. Jeanne Ellen Burrows, the female equivalent of Ranger, sporting a black, leather Donna Karan catwoman outfit. I'd like to see her again in future books. What else? Snakes, tarantulas and a 6-foot killer bunny. Yes. A 6-foot killer bunny. Like other reviewers, I agree that Hard Eight was a bit more light-hearted than the first seven books, but only through the first two-thirds. I couldn't put it down for the last 100 or so pages, constantly laughing out loud and dropping my lower jaw. There's much more emotion and reflection on Stephanie's part. The reader really gets into her head with sympathy and understanding. Don't misunderstand. It's funny. I was also shocked by so many actions by so many characters, like Steph's Mom, her sister Valerie, Ranger and Grandma Mazur, as always. Steph's Dad gave us a few sentences longer than 2 words. Shocking. Bring on number 9!
Rating:
Summary: Good listen for working out
Review: Anyone starting the Stephanie Plum series with HARD EIGHT is sure to get hooked. It's Stephanie at her wackiest. Plum is a disaster-prone bounty hunter working for her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman in Trenton, NJ. In this novel, Stephanie volunteers to help out her parents' next door neighbor, Mabel, who's put up her home to guarantee a child custody bond taken out on her granddaughter, Evelyn, who had one imposed on her by the judge in a recent divorce ruling. Now, Evelyn has skipped town with her daughter, Annie, and Mabel will be tossed into the street if the missing child isn't found. But, as becomes evident in all of Stephanie's adventures, there's more to the story than is obvious. Especially after the corpse of Evelyn's aggrieved husband, Steven, is left on the couch of Plum's apartment. Steven had been sawed in half. The imagination of author Janet Evanovich worked overtime in making HARD EIGHT perhaps one of the craziest to date. It's a nice touch that Stephanie faces off against a virtual menagerie. And she's finally beginning to take her .38, usually kept unloaded in a cookie jar, seriously. And her unfortunate association with fire-bombed vehicles reaches a record high. Notwithstanding these plot devices, however, books one to eight in the series are basically interchangeable. (I'm struggling, perhaps unsuccessfully, to keep from writing the same review over and over.) Evanovich needs to mature her heroine, who seems to have a slow learning curve. I suggest that Plum finally marry, or at least permanently set up house, with Detective Joe Morelli. It might not be a relationship made in heaven, but it would supply grist for any number of new episodes. And Lula, Stephanie's sometime partner in her Keystone Cop takedowns, is growing tiresome, as is the fact that the author refuses to bring Stephanie's Dad more into the limelight. Mind you, I'm still finding the Plum novels immensely enjoyable in a mindless sort of way. But even the best of a good thing, like a premium chocolate chip cookie, begins to get stale after awhile. Perhaps I've read too many in too short a time, and should alternate with the likes of WAR AND PEACE and the works of Plato.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining yet predictable
Review: Even knowing how most of the characters would react, knowing that Stephanie would fantasize over Ranger and Morelli, knowing that her car would be destroyed and that Grandma Mazur would be obnoxiously witty and smarty - it was still a good read. I loved the introduction of new characters and Kloughn is one of the best.The handcuffs act got old after a while but the dialogues, inner thoughts and comments made up for it. The scene with Ranger was great although she will probably end up with Morelli in the end. The plot to this one was on the thin side but then everyone can't be an Elizabeth George.
Rating: 
Summary: Great! More Please!!
Review: Hard Eight is the eighth in the series of novels staring Stephanie Plum, a gun-toting semi-inept bounty hunter, from New Jersey. In this installation, Stephanie is asked by an old family friend to locate her daughter and missing grandchild, who have skipped town and are now involved in violation of their bond agreement. To make matters worse she has an encounter with a psychotic mob boss and a bumbling attorney who has latched onto her like glue. Toss in her angelic sister Valerie, her best friend Lula and a crazed killer in a bunny suit, and you got another week in the life of Stephanie Plum. I really enjoyed this latest installation of Stephanie Plum. Especially the 'hitman' in the bunny suit. The addition of the character of "Klowne" was really great, although, the character was very under-utilized in the second half of this book. On the negative side, I DO think that the Steph-Ranger-Morelli romantic triangle is getting old. Especially since Steph herself prefers Morelli. I think a new love interest would recharge Steph's character and put more tension in Steph's life. I would also LOVE to see a return of Sally Sweet, the transvestite singer from a previous books. Overall, another great addition to the Stephanie Plum legacy! Pass the coffee cake!
Rating:
Summary: Eight Isn't Enough!
Review: I can't say anything negative about this book. I laugh out loud every time Klough spells his name - "it's K-L-O-U-G-H-N". Ha-ha. Contrary to some of the reviewers, I think Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books just keep getting better. Since Five I have been laughing harder every time. Sure, some of the story lines are somewhat repeated (e.g. Stephanie being hunted down by mad man - again) but characters like Kloughn and Bender (?), and Jeanne add something new. And who can get tired of the antics with Lulu, Saint Valerie, and, of course, Ranger and Morelli.
Most of the time I have to read is at 11 o'clock at night or on a long drive in the car, so I enjoy something light. This is it. If you haven't read a Stephanie Plum novel, this would be a great one to start with. If you've read others and are dying to hear what in the world she'll get into next, this book won't disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: are you KIDDING??
Review: I don't know who is writing these reviews, but you've got to be kidding me. This was one of the most trite books I've ever read. It was like every cop/action movie, but worse. The humor is NOT funny (unless you find Full House hilarious, in which case, buy the entire Janet Evanovich series), and sex scenes are tossed about shamelessly in places where it is entirely inappropriate... for instance, after Stephanie is abducted, beaten, and almost killed. she's gone for SEVERAL HOURS, and as soon as she gets back, she gets it on. WHO DOES THAT??? "yeah honey, i was just diagnosed with cancer... whaddya say we head upstairs?" i recommend you stay far away from this book, unless you're okay with an obvious storyline, a plot lacks any sense of reality, and humor that yearns for comparison to Yakov Smirnoff.
Rating:
Summary: Murder and mayhem in Trenton...
Review: I first read Janet Evanovich's Hard Eight in hardback, and then recently listened to the unabridged audio version on tape. This book made a long and tedious car trip much more enjoyable.
At the beginning of Hard Eight, Stephanie Plum's world is pretty normal for her. She shares an apartment with her hamster, mooches meals off her folks, hasn't had a date in months, is still torn between Ranger and Morelli, and keeps a gun in her cookie jar (with no bullets). Things quickly change when a neighbor asks for some help. The neighbor put her house up for a child custody bond, and is in danger of losing her house when her daughter and granddaughter disappear. Stephanie agrees to "look into it," but when Plum is around, you can be sure it won't be done with discreteness. In fact, she uses the stumble-bumble method of investigation.
Stephanie soon finds herself in a mystery that is more complicated than a simple missing persons case. She also finds herself up against a number of bad guys including a psychopathic war-gamer and four men in costumes (a bunny, a bear, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon). As the case unfolds, it is difficult to estimate whether Plum loses more handcuffs, cell phones, vehicles or FTA's (failures to appear). Dead bodies also turn up all over Trenton including one on her living room couch. Evanovich's observations about Trenton and New Jersey are a scream and the plot will have you laughing out loud.
My one complaint about the audio version is that the reader, Lorelei King, has perfect diction. People from New Jersey (and especially Trenton) don't have perfect diction. It hurts my ears to hear Trenton pronounced with two "t's" (it should be pronounced Tren-un) and Mazur butchered in every book recorded so far. Mazur has a long "a" with the accent on the first syllable. There have been numerous readers for the Evanovich series, and each one has pronounced it differently and each one was wrong. Just once, it would be nice for a reader to consult with the author for correct pronunciations.
But despite this, Hard Eight is a fun book. Some books have been stronger than others, and this is one of the better ones. Let's hope Evanovich still has some tricks up her sleeve.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to the Series
Review: I was suprised to read the reviews of other long-time readers of the Stephanie Plum series. For my intro to the series, I found it to be a fun ride. Grandma Mazur is hilarious just like her Granddaughter Stephanie. But I enjoyed the book more for its comic relief and humor than the mystery.
The plot was fairly predictible and the finale anticlimatic but I really enjoyed the characters. Lorelei King did an excellent job on the dramatization, however her efforts on male voices were not the greatest.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Not to Like!
Review: I'm in the process of devouring the Stephanie Plum books in order. Having just finished Hard Eight I was quite pleased with the story. I felt it was a big improvement over Seven Up, which was lagging.
In this book Stephanie teams up with the usual crew along with a new character Albert to help find a missing woman and her child. Her mother's neighbor, Mabel, needs help finding her daughter Evelyn and grand daughter Annie because they are on the run for a mysterious reason and in violation of a child custody bond.
Stephanie takes on the case as a personal favor and finds herself racing against Jeanne Ellen (think female Ranger) the bounty hunter looking into the child custody bond, and Eddie Abruzzi a local "businessman" with an unknown interest in finding Evelyn. Stephanie finds herself running from a giant rabbit, trying to capture a couple FTA's, dealing with her crazy family and attempting to figure out what is going on with her love life.
The book isn't perfect. Stephanie's bounty hunter wardrobe seems to be getting better, but her skills are getting worse. She seems unable to finish anything in this book without getting tons of help from Ranger or Morelli. Plus, Evanovich does little to explain why everyone is willing to invest so many resources into a case that isn't official bounty hunter business and nobody is getting paid for.
All in all though, the story is great. I'd recommend this book, to anyone, but it would probably be enjoyed most by someone who has read the first seven books.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but Evanovich can do (and has done) better...
Review: In many ways, "Hard Eight" is a typical Stephanie Plum novel. You've got your love triangle, you've got your bad car-ma, you've got your tag-along bounty hunter wannabe's. There are some fun moments, but overall, the book reads like a rough draft rushed to the press. "Hard Eight" hits the ground running as neighbor Mabel Markowitz makes a tearful plea to Steph - find her granddaughter and great-granddaughter or she'll lose her house. Nothing makes a Burg woman more uncomfortable than an outright display of emotion, and Steph reluctantly agrees to help. In the course of her search, she crosses the wrong kind of folks, and, as usual, finds herself up to her neck in very bad guys. Unfortunately, a story with so much promise fizzles out in the midst of tepid new characters - such as lawyer Albert Kloughn, whose big recurring joke is that people call him "clown" and he's forced to repeatedly spell his name - and storylines which wrap up a bit too hastily for all the time and emotion invested. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is in how the Ranger/Morelli love triangle is handled, with swift, forced, and out-of-character pronouncements stuffed in between dead bodies and exploding vehicles. One of the series' most endearing qualities has been the emotional tango Steph has been dancing with these two sexy guys. In "Hard Eight" the tango turns into an awkward clomp through muddy terrain, with no one staying true to character. While I don't begrudge Evanovich her well-earned success, I wish it didn't come at the cost of the quality of the work. The more visible an author is, the higher the pressure to turn out the next money-maker, and sadly that's how "Hard Eight" felt to me as I read it. Another draft would have done wonders for the book... here's hoping Evanovich has the time to do the series justice with "Nine."
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