Rating: 
Summary: Was this a Stephanie Plum novel at all?
Review: Just finished reading Hard Eight in four hours straight, and after eagerly waiting for its release for a year I'm extremely disappointed. Its a good enough book, well written, etc but its not the happy-go-lucky romantic comedy that I've come to expect from Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum. ...For those who think the Stephanie Plum series is unrealistic fluff, you'll like this book. Die-hard fans like me are going to read it anyway, hope you're not as disappointed as I was.
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: Ranger...finally!
Review: Okay, maybe I've been in the minority, but I've been rooting for Stephanie to finally get together with Ranger, so I'm happy about that. I hope the Stephanie/Ranger relationship continues. Okay, so this isn't great literature but it is a fun read and I thoroughly enjoy this series. I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because I do agree that it is degenerating into silly and Stephanie is becoming somewhat incompetent, which is a disappointment.
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: Still good
Review: More of the same, but I think this one was a walk in the park for Evanovich. She adds a few plot devices that lack inspiration and toys with them long enough to fill the book... take Bender in already. The lost handcuffs got tired. The Rabbit. And I'm glad Albert Kloughn's, Joe Pesci character got distracted from bounty hunting midway through the book. Lula's character is good, but there only needs to be one.
I'm ready for Stephanie Plum to get some skills. I want Stephanie to get the upper hand on Abruzzi and to be a part of bringing him down. I like that when she gets scared she walks right up to her fear and tells him to back off, but why not put some bullets in the gun and keep it handy instead of half loaded at the bottom of an overstuffed handbag. This ending was a disappointment.
This series is fun enough to continue following, but I'm glad to be almost caught up so I can cut down to one book a year. Maybe that will help keep it fun. 2.5 stars
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: 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: are you KIDDING??
Review: Janet Evanovich is able to keep me Laughing Out Loud with her Stephanie Plum books. Hard Eight was no exception. It all starts when Mabel calls asking for help in finding her granddaughter and great granddaughter. This happens to be a child custody bond, a kind that Vinnie isn't into yet, so if Stephanie does this, it'll be out of the goodness of her heart:) She does! Of the people she meets, which include a bunny and
Bill Clinton, is a lawyer who she gets a job from, for her sister. All her sister wants is someone to marry. They do start dating. Like always, our little lady gets the job done but, IMO,
she could never get the job done without good old Ranger and
Morelli. I love Stephanie Plum and these books. Again I
recommend this,like all Stephanie Plum books. This reviewer gives Hard Eight a rock hard five:)
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