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Summary: Praise for Lori Petty
Review: Other reviews have done a great job analyzing the content of these delightful little books, but I was introduced to Stephanie Plum on CD during a road trip (that went through Jersey, which made the books that much better). I have to attract attention to Lori Petty's fantastic reading. Her hooker voice made me laugh over and over, and she does a great job of developing distinctive voices for all the other characters as well. The tone is perfect, she's totally clear on every word, and she really does add another level of enjoyment to the experience of listening to these books on CD.
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Summary: I Was So Entertained!
Review: This has to be the most enjoyable book I have read this summer. I had never read Evanovich before. I came across this book while strolling through a "Message Board" from Kelly Rippa's book club (Regis and Kelly Show). Someone had mentioned it and I'm so glad that I picked it up. In all three books there are colorful chartacters starting with Joe Morrelli, Ranger, Grandma Mazur and Lula. Stephanie Plum the main chartacter is a delight to follow as she takes on a new job as a bounty hunter. I can't say that the series is particularly suspenseful OR that it is not predictable BUT I can promise that you will find yourself pulled in ... and along for the ride. In all three books I found myself laughing out loud ... even in the middle of the night ...and wishing there was someone I could share the storyline with. If you like a fast read, good writing and a lot of laughs ... This is the book for you.
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Summary: Great to revist old favorites
Review: This is a great Evanovich primer if you've never read the Stephanie Plum books, but also a great collection for the Plum aficionado. Amazing how far Stephanie has come in the bounty hunting game since book one, and you get to see a good chunk of her transformation in this collection. Fast paced and sassy!
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Summary: A hardcover of first three books for almost paperbacks price
Review: This is where you start the Plum novels, 1, 2, and 3. You can read the reviews and story summations on the other reviews listed here. Yes, all her books are wonderful, yes they are worth the price, but why indeed this 3 in 1 hardcover?
I bought the first in paperback, and my wife and I loved it so much, I went out for the second, and maybe the third. Sitting next to them on the shelf was this inclusive volume. With 30% off, it was about the same price as the three paperbacks put together, and I loved all three books. Get it.
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Summary: Great
Review: This one is for mystery lovers everywhere.
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Summary: Fun and easy reading
Review: This series introduces you to the world of Stephanie Plum, how she becomes a bounty hunter,and her family. You have to be pretty desperate to start a dangerous career in which you have no experience but her resiliency and attitude gets her through it. There were times my family heard me laughing out loud at some of the funny portions of the stories. The characters are believable and are introduced into the stories to complete the plot but many of the characters reappear in all of the stories. I liked Ranger, Joe Morelli, and Grandma Mazure. There is adventure, humor, and sexual tension that really make these stories hard to put down. I read all three of these stories in one weekend and it left me wanting more.
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Summary: I LOVE this series!!
Review: This series is absolutely hilarious. I love Stephanie and the rest of the gang. The situations she finds herself in are priceless, and the men in her life are dangerous, sweet and oh so sexy. I think I have decided I would like her to pick Ranger over Joe. Ms. Evanovich has a sense of humor that is amazing. My son keeps asking me what the heck I am laughing about as I'm reading. Maybe I can get him interested in Stephanie's many blunders and triumphs. My only disappointment is I wish more of the books in the series were available as e-books. I love the convenience of e-books. Anyway, anyone looking for a great read should run out and get this book IMMEDIATELY!
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Summary: You are going to LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!
Review: This was a wonderful 3-in-1 book!! It was cheaper then buying each of the three books. I heard that these books are in the works of possibly becoming movies!!! I sure hope so!! The grandmother is quite a riot! While you can usually figure out the plot the book is still worth every bit! Almost every page you turn has something for you to laugh about. There is even moments of suspense!!! I highly recommend this book. Wish I could be a bounty hunter!! Hee heeee
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Summary: A lot of fun characters & laughter
Review: _One for the Money_: The first book I read by Janet Evanovich was _Hot Six_, in which I fell in love with all of the characters, and vowed to read the entire series. The first book in that series, _One for the Money_, didn't disappoint. Stephanie Plum is someone that nearly any woman can easily relate to, thanks to Evanovich's singular ability to make her characters incredibly human. On nearly every page, there is something to make the reader chuckle in appreciation and self-recognition, and the belly laughs are liberally sprinkled in as well. The wit and humor aren't the only draws to this book, as they were with Dave Barry's _Big Trouble_; Evanovich has a good plot, and she develops it well, cultivating suspense and curiosity throughout the story. As Plum learns How to Be a Bounty Hunter while chasing after a cop charged with murder, she develops very believable relationships with her partner, (Ranger,) the cop she's chasing, (Morelli,) and sundry other people throughout the book. We follow her as she's chased by a sociopathic champion boxer, lives through really bad financial times, rummages for the keys to the car she's "comandeered" from Morelli after he throws them into a
dumpster, deals with her overly-protective mother, and suffers through numerous embarrassing situations that rarely feel too contrived. A thoroughly enjoyable and quick read that'll keep you turning the pages. Evanovich writes the way I truly wish I could, and I look forward to the rest of the series. _Two for the Dough_: Sadly, _Two for the Dough_ lacked the sparkle of the first story in this book others. The belly-laughs were largely missing, as was a compelling plot. The characters are not as lively, and it felt like the whole thing was forced rather than enthusiastically and easily written. Grandma Mazur plays a larger role in this book, and is generally enjoyable, but the idiosyncracies that were so entertaining in the first book are overdone and feel contrived here. The chemistry between Morelli and Stephanie doesn't sizzle as convincingly in _Two for the Dough_, and Ranger is almost entirely absent. This book was fairly disappointing, and I found myself wishing it would end much sooner than it actually did. Still, I have high hopes for the remainder of the Evanovich books, though, because she has incredible talent. I just think _Two for the Dough_ was a bit rushed and that she didn't have a lot of passion for it. Hopefully, her spark and humor will return in _Three to Get Deadly_. _Three to Get Deadly_: Thankfully, halfway through _Three to Get Deadly_, Evanovich once again found her fantastic wit and seems to regain her footing in the characters. Stephanie's self-deprecating humor and bumbling about learning to be a bounty hunter buoys the luke-warm plot during the first half of the book; there are some laugh-out-loud moments, and a myriad of snorts and chuckles. I really enjoy the character of Stephanie - I see much of myself in her, and a lot of the laughter was from self-recognition in her assorted neuroses and thought processes. The development of Lula's character was a very nice addition to the story as well. One thing which disgruntled me during the first half of the book was the almost total lack of the spark that Stephanie had in the first two books; her character virtually crackled with life previously, but here it feels more like plodding until the second half of the story. Additionally, in the first two, she was 5'7" and a basically unapologetic 145 pounds - sturdy, and chuckling at how she was really "not fragile." In _Three to Get Deadly_,
she is 125 pounds and fretting about her weight. 5'7" and 125 pounds is not a weight to fret about! Alas. Pleasantly, though, Ranger is much more a part of this story than he was in the second book, and the tension between Stephanie and Morelli picks up steam again in the last quarter of the story. I'm hoping Evanovich will continue the tradition of vivid characters who continually surprise the reader in the
other books in the series. Grandma Mazur thankfully drops back into the role where she adds a wonderful element to the story, but isn't a driving part of the plot. I'm glad there are many more already written, so I don't have to wait. If only Patricia Cornwell and JaneT Evanovich could kind of merge into one fabulous writer, we'd have Evanovich's tremendous sense of humor and character, with Cornwell's ability to write a suitably complex and interesting crime plot. If you're new to Evanovich, _Three Plums in One_ will definitely give you a taste of her style, to let you know if you'll enjoy the series or not. Having the first three volumes compiled together in one handy volume is a nice way to save bookshelf space, too. If you haven't read the first book in this series, I really recommend picking it up to learn how Stephanie gets into the whole bounty hunter business. Skipping the second book wouldn't leave much of a gap, as important points are mentioned in _Three to Get Deadly_. _Three_ is worth the time to read, though, and I'm looking forward to _Four to Score_.
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