I thought I had read this book before but I did not remember it. I love Stephanie Plum. I have read a few of the books that stand-alone.

We are introduced to Stephanie Plum. She needs a job and decided to work for her cousin Vinnie, as a bounty hunter. I love meeting Ranger and Morelli.

Stephanie decides to take on the Morelli case since that has the largest payout. This book was entertaining and the fact that it takes place in nearby New Jersey is nice. ( )

2.5* maybe. To be exact, it’s a bunch of unlikeable characters in a 1.5* story, but mechanically it’s well written (4*).

Reading this in 2024 and realizing it was published 30 years ago, I can that see part of the problem is so much of the story and dialogue aged like milk. But beyond that, it’s trying to be funny and cute while also being a quasi-crime fighter situation, and then there’s some in-your-face assault and beyond violent predatory behavior, and general misogyny… it’s a lot, and I imagine it was considered scandalous in its native 1994.

This was recommended to me by a friend who loves this series, so I felt obligated to see it through, otherwise it would be a DNF for me. I just don’t see much that’s redemptive about this book. ( )

Stephanie Plum is down on her luck - she has lost her job as a lingerie buyer and needs to earn some money fast, or she won't be able to pay her rent. She's already hocked quite a few of her possessions, including some of her furniture. Her mother suggests that she ask her cousin Vinnie - a bail bondsman - about a job at his office. The problem is, the office job has already been filled. The only thing she can do for him to earn any money is to bring in the "customers" who have skipped out on their bail. A bounty hunter. How much can she make doing that? Well, it depends on how much bail was posted - and the biggest bail skipper on Vinnie's radar is a local cop named Joe Morelli. Morelli happens to be an old flame of Stephanie's - if you can call a couple of one-night romps a flame. She decides to go after him, but she really doesn't know what she is doing as a bounty hunter and is likely to get herself killed. Her experiences during this chase are not only suspenseful and full of action, they are often very funny. She has a major attitude - and I always appreciate someone who can speak fluent sarcasm. The scenes with her family - particularly her grandmother - and Joe's mother are fantastic.

Miss Plum has the littlest bit of a potty mouth and there are some scenes that are slightly graphic, so if you are looking for pure as the driven snow, look elsewhere. However, if you like action, humor, attitude, and a little romance and don't mind a little coarseness, give this one a read! ( )

This is a beautifully crafted, funny, and thoroughly enjoyable read. I'd read Up to the Nines (later in the series), which tended, just slightly, towards plodding, but this was fresh and fun. A good foil to more weighty tomes. After I put the book down, I watched a badly scripted and poorly cast film version. Such a shame to remove the grit and sexual tension. What a waste!

I sat in front of the television until noon, keeping my windows closed and my curtains drawn to the crime scene below. Every once in a while I'd wander into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror to see if my eyebrows had grown back yet.

( )

Audio/1st in Stephanie Plum series. Pretty funny crime novel about how Plum becomes a reluctant bounty hunter when she loses her job & is broke. Discovers a drug running business as she pursues her first case.