Change of pace book in which Steve Crow realizes quickly that he's in love with Daisy Adams. She's the one who's resistant to more committment, since her life is overextended with responsibilities already. Some classic Evanovich scenes (including a wrecked car!). I've noticed that the sexual encounters in her Loveswept series books are a little more graphic than those in her Stephanie Plum novels, for those of you who care about such things. Also appearing in this book are the prototypes for Grandma Mazur and Uncle Sandor's car. The characters were sexy, sneaky, witty and just plain funny. It's a book worth finding.

Daisy Adams offers to take on the temporary job of traffic reporter, but her boss can only think of more than enough reason why she should not. In the end, she wins out. But, several false starts seem to prove she is doomed to failure. Plus, she is being threatened. So, Steve insists she hires someone for protection. Little did he know it would be an elderly woman who is just breaking into the business! They have several hair raising events such as the time when Elsie's car is stolen and then they are rammed by another car. Daisy and Steve become very close and his dog helps bring them even closer. Evanovich has added humor to this wonderfully light and "feel good" romance. You can see a lot of the mixture from her number series in this book. Happy reading!

After reading the paperbacks in order, I've recently begun reading these books in their unabridged audiobook form in reverse order. I started with #8 (Hard Eight), recently finished up #7 (Seven Up) and the latest listen has been Hot Six. Reading these backwards has been an eye-opening experience and I'm now able to pinpoint exactly where things began to become repetitive for me as a reader (the very beginning of book #7, for those interested).

Hot Six has all of the wit and the fun its two follow-ups lack. Stephanie's car blow ups are still funny, the tension between Stephanie, Ranger and Joe is starting to wear thin but still shows moments of spark and the one-liners are abundant and are grin-worthy. In Hot Six things are just beginning to get that "same-old, same-old" feeling about them.

This time around Stephanie is on the hunt for fellow bounty hunter and lust interest, Ranger, who is a suspect in a murder case. Stephanie doesn't have a chance of catching Ranger and she knows it but she takes on the assignment anyway. Ranger soon visits her in the wee hours of the night and asks for her assistance in helping him prove his innocence. Agreeing to this, of course, only gets bumbling Stephanie into trouble with some very shady characters. As if that weren't enough Stephanie's every move is being followed by two inept bad guys and her nemesis Joyce (AKA the tramp who slept with Stephanie's ex-husband) who all hope to cash in when they bring in Ranger. Hot Six is also the book where we are introduced to Bob the pooping retriever with the eating disorder. I love, love, love Bob. His intestinal distress makes for many a laugh out loud moment. Rounding out the cast is the usual group of oddballs: Lula, the hilarious former prostitute, zany Grandma Mazer (who moves in with Stephanie!), Mooner & Dougie the dopey potheads and Joe Morelli the sexy cop and other object of lust in Stephanie's life.

The plot, the characters, heck just about everything about Hot Six is over the top and silly but that's why I enjoyed it. It's escapist fiction at its best.

Read by C.J. Critt this has been my favorite of the recent unabridged recordings. Critt has a full bodied voice, rich and nuanced with just a touch of sexy raspiness that never gets monotonous or over-the-top. The book was a pure pleasure to "hear" and comes highly recommended.

I have read books one thru 6 and half of book seven. They are all great - it is some of the most enjoyable reading I have done in years!

I guess you have to have a sense of the absurd to enjoy these books. Or to have experienced being female, single over 30 and feeling directionless. None-the-less, these books are laugh your rear off funny and entertaining. They are not to be taken seriously but they are cetainly to be enjoyed.

This a witty romance with snappy dialogue and an entertaining romantic duo. If you've enjoyed Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, you're going to get a kick out of her stories for the Loveswept Romance imprint.

This one tells the story of Megan Murphy, a potter who works part-time as a weekend aide in Colonial Williamsburg, and Patrick Hunter, a newly minted doctor who's taken over a pediatrician's practice there. They meet as a result of a rabbit attack and have to deal with one another because of a temporarily abandoned baby. There's instant... chemistry between them that they both immediately (but not very successfully) try to tone down, and the mixed joy of pretend parenthood as they both try to take care of the baby. Of course, both of them have commitment issues - Megan as a result of her past, and Patrick due to his uncertain future. But since this is an Evanovich book, it isn't bogged down with excessive introspection and instead perks along with witty repartee, the aforementioned cute baby, a suspiciously overweight horse, matchmaking sets of parents, a former suitor who's a victim of a dart attack, and, needless to say, a destroyed car.

If you can find a copy of this book, it's definitely worth buying for the amount of amusement and sweet romance it provides.

I've read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels and must say I look forward to every one with bated breath. While we're not talking about the "Great American Novel" here each and every one is an enjoyable read. Any woman can imagine herself bumbling through Stephanie's predicaments which must be the key to having a best-selling novel. If I found myself a bounty hunter I could easily imagine myself being afraid of my gun and keeping it in the cookie jar! I thought the introduction of the Ranger romantic complication was great. Joe Morelli needs some competition! Like the other readers who reviewed this book I can't wait for #6 to see who was waiting at the door in the end (although I wouldn't kick either one of them out!). My only caveat with the book was I thought the wrap-up of the crime story was a little too quick. One scene with the bad guy and all the loose ends are tied up. It was a bit of an anti-climax. But don't let that discourage you from reading High Five and hurry up Janet! We're waiting for #6!

In High Five, the fifth book in the Stephanie Plum novels Janet Evanovich continues on her roll of terrific stories!!!!
Stephanie Plum is trying to find her Uncle, although her Aunt doesn't really seems to mind the fact that he is missing. Along the way the bodies begin to pile up and her car meets with disaster. The wedding scene is memorable, and when her Grandmother gets hold of a stun-gun people start dropping left and right! When a missing Uncle turns into a bigger investigation involving the police and federal agents, no one is more surprised than Stephanie, and no one is less surprised than Joe Morelli!! How does a person of small stature fit into this picture can only be imagined. The boxer who has threatened her in past novels makes his ugly and intimidating return leaving Stephanie fearing for her life. Tie all these together and throw in Evanovich's delightfully hysterical sense of humor and add an edginess with Ramirez's return and you have a great book that is fast paced, exciting, funny and gritty.

This series just gets better and better! Laugh out loud funny, and full of high power action. Truly a winner.

Stephanie is back to blowing up cars and nothing but attitude, you got to love her! She has broken up with her policeman boy friend Joe Morelli. She is broke, she has no work to do. She does get an unpaid investigative job to find her annoying cheapskate Uncle Fred. Stephanie ends up with a house guest of a dwarf. She does get some paying work moonlighting for none other than Ranger!!! Even gets a couple company cars that either get blown up or stolen.

There is attraction now not only between Stephanie and Joe but Stephanie and Ranger. The ending leaves you hanging as we don't know who it was she invited over and put on her hot dress for.

This book was the best in the series yet. I say that with each book as they keep getting better. The humor has you laughing off the chair and you can't put the book down. I recommend this series but I would read them in sequence from the beginning so you really get to know everybody.

At the risk of appearing to be the dog in the manger while everyone else is giving this book glowing reviews I'm going to add my 2 cents worth. I've read all of the Stephanie Plum novels and felt that this one was the weakest of the five. While I always enjoy Stephanie's antics I felt that the author is introducing too many wacky characters. By novel #4 we now have crazy Grandma Mazur, flamboyant Lula the ex-'ho and now Sally Sweet the cross dressing rock star. It's beginning to look like a dog and pony show in here! I also thought that the central crime story was boring in this one. BUT, I still do love the Stephanie Plum character and the author's following book, High Five, was an improvement over this glitch so I'm giving Janet Evanovich my vote of confidence and looking forward to book six of the series. Bottom Line: Read Four to Score for the full Stephanie Plum experience!

This fourth book in the series is one of nonstop falling off your chair laughter. Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter is after Maxine Nowicki, who is free on a stolen automobile charge. Her boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, also offers Stephanie money in hopes that she can retrieve something extremely valuable to him...love letters, he claims.

The chase is on in this page-turning craze, and all of the extra added details that makes this adventure that much more funny! The cast of characters is helpful to Stephanie once again. Stephanie's family, especially Grandma Mazur, add pizzazz, depth, and a heck of a lot of humor to this great plot.
Joe Morelli is also back and yes him and Stephanie finally get together!
Lula, the large prostitute-turned-file clerk-slash-wannabe is hysterical in this book. Her quick wit and street humor keep you rolling.
This fourth book also introduces Sally Sweet, a code-breaking transvestite 'drag queen" musician. Grandma Mazur comes right out and asks Sally what a drag queen does with his ding-dong and I died laughing. Stephanie's enemy, Joyce Barnhardt, also has a larger roll in this book, as the newest bounty hunter at the Vincent Plum bail bonds agency.

This book is truly hysterical, pages keep turning with the fast paced humor and wit. This is the best book yet in the series and I thought three was good. This series is highly recommended!

A long-time devotee of Kinsey Milhone, Sharon McCone and Kay Scarpetta {whatever happened to V.I. Warshawski?), Stephanie Plum has jumped to the front of the line and, as far as I'm concerned, is numero uno in above said cast of lady sleuths.

I looked forward to this book's release and I was not disappointed at all. Maybe those who find the plot a little weak have a point but, personally, I was just too happy finally getting my hands on the book and getting together again with Steph & Joe, Lula & Grandma, and adding Sally to an already eccentric cast was ingenious! How this amazon cross dresser fits in so well with the rest of this zany cast of characters clearly demonstrates Janet's talent and skill. And the first time Steph & Joe get together?! I was in stitches! Been there - done that! I laughed {out loud} so much, it hurt and tears were running down my face. I could have read the whole book within one day of purchase and, as hard as it was, I l! ! imited myself to only a couple of chapters after reading half of it in one sitting because I wanted it to last longer - I didn't want to say goodbye to these characters and wait another year {much too long} for our next visit.

If you care about these characters, you won't be disappointed.

Someone has shot Homer Ramos in his father's office building and then set the building on fire. Trouble is, there's a security tape showing the delectable Ranger as the last person out of the building. Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum needs to find Ranger fast, for both professional and personal reasons. While Stephanie is busy looking for Ranger, her Granny Mazur moves in with her. Granny's taking driving lessons and the proud owner of a red 'Vette bought at a 'fire sale.' She's still toting her .45 in her purse and is as big a hoot as ever. Between Granny's snoring, arch-rival Joyce's hounding her, Ranger's midnight break-ins, and Morelli's proximity, Stephanie isn't getting a lot of sleep and a regular job at McDonald's is starting to look pretty good to her. To further complicate matters, Stephanie's being tailed everywhere she goes by two goons who work for a man who thinks Ranger has something that belongs to him and that Stephanie will lead him to Ranger. Lula and Connie are back in 'Hot Six', plus Bob, the dog Stephanie has inadvertently acquired. Bob is a loveable idiot who I hope sticks around. All of these volatile characters combust off the pages in an explosion of lunacy and laughs which is just sheer delight to read. I laughed out loud 'til my stomach hurt. The mystery gets solved and Stephanie escapes immolation by the seat of her pants; alas, another couple of her cars aren't so fortunate. Stephanie proves once again that she can get the job done, but her love life is as schizo as ever. Evanovich just keeps getting better and better. Bravo!

This is the sixth book in the Stephanie Plum series, New Jersey's hysterical bounty hunter.
In this book, she is asked to pick up Ranger! Her friend and fellow bounty hunter, her mentor Ranger, who is also sought by the police for questioning in the murder of an organized crime figure. Can she do this and go after her friend? Stephanie believes Ranger is innocent and if anything, only kills bad guys.

Joe Morelli, gorgeous cop friend, is here in all his glory and the end was very surprising from Joe. Stephanie's hysterically funny grandmother has moved in with her. This totally ruins Stephanie's sex life!
A cop friend has asked her to dog sit while he goes on vacation, and doesn't return to take the dog back. Move over Rex here comes Bob! A new character emerges, Mooner. Mooner is an always stoned guy and funny. He adds considerably to the laughs in this Plum mystery.

This is a very entertaining series. I have never laughed out loud with any book as I do the Plum series. The pages really turn as they are truly delightful reading. Hot Six is no exception, it is a 5 star book!

For all those fans who have followed bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum's haphazard adventures, 'Hot Six' is well worth the wait. Those looking for a funny and exiting read will also be fulfilled. Stephanie runs through the book in a comedy of errors; plagued by a killer zit, Pakistani hitmen and her near senile Grandma Mazur. Ranger, Stephanie's mentor and sometime partner (not to mention object of her lust) has Failed To Appear to court. To make matters worse, he was caught on security camera leaving a building that was soon after torched, and contained one very dead gangster's son. Stephanie tries to help him stay on top of the law (and is dangerously near to ending up underneath him) as well as dealing with a new room-mate (her Grandma), a new furry friend, a boyfriend so hot that he's almost melting, and a plethora of dangerous but amusing FTAs. The gang from Vinnie's Bond Agency are all there, Lula, Connie and even the repulsive Joyce Barnhardt. It has been interesting to follow the character growth of (especially) Stephanie and Joe Morelli. We find this here as Stephanie gets a little more hardcore and Joe shows one or two emotions. This book slots in perfectly with the continuing Plum Saga, Evanovich proves that sequels can still be rivoting and quality material. And as for the end...... well all I can tell you is that Evanovich throws in another surprise, and leaves me waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book! Read it for yourself!

This is the second book in the Stephanie Plum "bounty hunter" series, and Janet Evanovich puts forth another incredibly solid effort. This book actually made me laugh out loud.

Stephanie Plum, fresh off of her "lucky" recovery is back chasing after Kenny Mancuso, who skipped his court appearance. Fresh out of the military, Mancuso is accused of killing his one-time friend. It turns out some "cop-killing" munitions are missing from the military compound he was stationed at, and they have now surfaced on the streets of several different cities. Add in the search for 24 missing caskets, believed to have stored the munitions, and you have one amazingly intense story.

All of the regular characters are back. Stephanie Plum, seemingly the world's worst bounty hunter, is also one of the luckiest people around as the trouble just seems to find her...literally. The virginity stealing, straight-faced cop, Joe Morelli is back with his protective, yet secretive ways. Ranger, the bounty hunter and mentor is also back, but plays a somewhat smaller role than the first Stephanie Plum book. However, the witty Grandma Mazur clearly steals the show in this book. She is an intricate part of the storyline, and she truly adds the real color to this novel.

The plot is well-developed again, and the twists and turns are plentiful. Evanovich keeps you guessing throughout, as the suspense is great. The story truly doesn't unravel until the final 20 pages of the book, and when it does, it happens so fast, you can't believe what you have just read.

Overall, this is a truly good book. The writing is very good, and it flows quite nicely. The humor is outstanding. TWO FOR THE DOUGH will not let you down.

Rookie bounty hunter Stephanie Plum returns to Trenton's "burg" in the second installment of Janet Evanovich's action-filled series. This story revolves around Stephanie's efforts to find the fugitive Kenny Mancuso, who is on the lam, accused of the murder of his high school friend Moogie. The story twists and turns through Stephanie's New Jersey neighborhood as Steph and her cop friend (and hopeful lover) Joe Morelli seem to be constantly one step behind Kenny. To liven up the story, Kenny sends Stephanie and her family members a number of threats, in order to encourage her to give up the chase.

The action in this novel is fast-paced. There's a lot of humor too, as Stephanie tries to deal with her meddling mother. Stephanie's Grandma Mazur emerges in this second novel as a quirky and very "hip" grandma who is essential to Stephanie's case.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the rest of the Stephanie Plum books.

One is always careful (and sometimes skeptical) when reading the first book of a series. You read the first book as a test. If you like it enough, you'll read the second book. In all honesty, it's the second book that is the most important. If the second book in the series is up to your standards, you know the series is gold. You know you can run out to the book store (or sign online) and buy the remaining books of the series. At least, that's what I did. And in this case, I'm not sorry yet.

I loved 'One for the Money,' the first book in the Stephanie Plum series. It was funny, appealing and best of all, Stephanie immediately became one of my favorite fictional characters. She's funny and vulnerable, but sometimes lacking common sense. An everywoman, if you will. Someone I could relate to as well as admire.

Stephanie is back on her second case for cousin Vinnie in 'Two for the Dough,' trying to track down Kenny Mancuso. He grew up in Stephanie's neighborhood, a blue-collar area of Trenton called 'the burg.' He's wanted for the murder of his best friend and skipped his court date, so it's Stephanie's job to bring him back into the system. Kenny, consequently, is also distantly related to Joe Morelli, the vice cop who stole Stephanie's virginity behind a bakery counter in her teenage youth. This is the start of their working relationship -- as bounty hunter and cop. But theirs is never a 'working relationship,' it's war. He holds back information, sometimes uses her as bate, and Stephanie tries her best to get even. It's a valuable pairing, however, for with her dumb luck and his expert cop's intuition (and we can't forget Ranger, Stephanie's mentor who usually assists her with the takedown once she's found her man), they are able to crack a case.

All the characters you know and love from the first book return and I can tell you this book was just as funny as the first one. Add some new, wily characters to the mix for extra comic flair, a new car Stephanie will ultimately destroy (as I've read all the books I can tell you Stephanie changes cars like Elizabeth Taylor changes husbands) and you have a reader who couldn't wait for the third book of the series.

Survey says? Gold, baby. You want a fun, beach read? You want something to make you laugh? Go with Stephanie Plum. You won't be sorry.

I've been aware of this series for several years and finally decided to give it a try. My first impression was that it reminded me of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series written by Sue Grafton which started out about ten years before ONE FOR THE MONEY was published. Both series feature a female protagonist who is sometimes out of her league in the rough world of crime and murder. I do have to say that the Sue Grafton series is perhaps a little more realistic than this book by Janet Evanovich. Having said that, I will also have to say that as a person who enjoys mystery series that feature many of the same characters in each book, I know that the author probably has developed her main characters more with each of the books that follow this one and this was a cute story.

ONE FOR THE MONEY is the first book about Stephanie Plum, a young woman who lives in New Jersey and who has just lost her job as a lingerie buyer and needs another job quickly so that she won't have to move back home with her parents. Her cousin Vinnie is a bail bondsman and Stephanie blackmails him into letting her work for him and try her hand at being a bounty hunter. Unfortunately, her first case involves the apprehension of Joe Morelli, a vice cop who is accused of murder. Stephanie's known Morelli her whole life and is still angry with him for what happened when they were teenagers. In fact, she can't wait to get even. This is a light hearted and fun caper.

This is the only series for which a new six star catagory ought to be made which I normally describe as 'pants wetting funny'. I found this, the first of the series, from amazon browze, and thought I'd be getting another tough gal private eye, coroner, detective, etc. It's helpful if you just consider sugarplums to be a christmas special. In this first book you are introduced to ex lingerie buyer Stephanie Plum and the first of her cars, and many lovable secondary characters. As soon as I saw she was an unemployed lingerie buyer I almost quit, but the hysterical dinner with her family won me over. Stephanie stumbles into a job as a bounty hunger because the filing job with her cousin is taken and slogs through the adventures with a combination of guts, luck, and a scary lack of reality about how underskilled she is for the job which comes naturally to the girl who once tried to fly off the garage roof. I expected to her to toughen up as the series continued, but with a sneak peek I'll admit that by book eight she is still scared of guns if much more used to exploding cars and finding people waiting in her living room who picked her lock. The book and series would be totally unrealistic if Stephanie wasn't sel admittedly 'lucky' rather then skilled. Her relatives on the police force and her home grown knowlege of the 'Mafia retirement community' in New Jersey with its net of families and friends makes her survival more plausible. Delightfully nearly all the wonderful secondary characters grace the sequels (including her hamster), something I really enjoy. It's a good crossover of romance, comedy and mystery for those of us that like our books varied. The sicker your sense of humor, the funnier this book is. Titled numerically I don't have to include a sequel chronology here, except that 'visions of sugar plums' (a christmas special) comes between eight and the soon to be published 'nine'.

I have read all of the Stephanie Plum series and can not wait until the next one comes out. These books are a definate joy for anyone who has ever had a bad day go worse. When reading these books I try to be alone, not only to be undisturbed but also because I laugh so loud I disturb others. At a book signing I learned Janet is as funny in person as in her books, she comes by the humor naturally. Stephanie always finds herself in situtations due to her lack of a better career and her stuborn personality that will not allow her to listen to others advice. Stephanie is a very real character that is very easy to identify with even if you don't live life as close to the edge as she does. The stories have it all from danger, humor, sexuality, and moves so well that you carry it around hoping to find a few minutes to read just a little bit more. This whole book keeps you coming back for more with great characters that are humorous and outrageous, but could easily be someone you already know. One of my favorite characters is the grandmother that gets into just about as much trouble as Stephanie. Read this first one and I guarantee you will be back for the rest of the series.