In school they used to teach us April showers bring May flowers. April showers also bring twelve-car pileups on the Jersey Turnpike and swollen, snot-clogged sinuses. The upside to this is that we frequently have reason to shop for new cars in Jersey, and we're recognised worldwide for our distinctive nasal version of the English language.
- Seven Up

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, site of George Washington's first military victory, location of the New Jersey state capital, and home of Stephanie Plum - bounty-hunter at large.

The Stephanie Plum series of novels by Janet Evanovich follows the misadventures and romantic dilemmas of second-rate bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum as she tracks down bail-jumpers in the heart of New Jersey. Full of witty dialogue, a dysfunctional cast of characters and page-turning cliff-hangers, each book in the series is a thrilling, laugh-out-loud read.

The world of Stephanie Plum centres around the Chambersburg neighbourhood in Trenton, colloquially known as 'the burg'. The burg is a loosely-defined residential area made up of duplex townhouses and row houses, and an abundance of architecturally-deprived redbrick buildings. In the burg, lawns and minds are proud to be narrow, all the residents have always lived there and everyone knows everybody else. Little girls in the burg grow up to be burg housewives and have more burg babies; little boys in the burg struggle to survive misspent youths to take burg wives and continue the tradition of life in the burg.

Stephanie works as a bond enforcement agent¹ for her cousin Vinnie, who is a bail-bondsman. When someone is arrested on suspicion of a crime, the court will usually set a bail amount that the arrestee (or someone on their behalf) can pay to the court as surety they will return on a specified date for trial. If the person paying the bond doesn't have enough money they can use a bondsman, who will accept a percentage of the bond and collateral for the remainder and pay the whole bond to the court. Once the bond is paid, the bondee is free to get on with life outside of jail until their court date. Vinnie has a little neighbourhood shop-front office, providing bond service mostly to residents of the burg. If someone he bonds out misses their court date, or Fails To Appear (FTA or skip), Vinnie has a limited time to present the 'skip' to the court or suffer loss of the bond amount. It is the bond enforcement agent's job to find FTAs and cart them back to jail. For a successful apprehension, the bounty-hunter collects a percentage of the bond.

Stephanie isn't wildly successful at her job, but with the help of family and friends, not to mention (quite) a bit of dumb luck, she always gets her man.

Dramatis Personae

Stephanie Plum was born and raised in the Chambersburg neighbourhood. Even though she has managed to find an apartment outside the invisible boundaries of the burg, a strong familial pull drags her back to her parents' supper table regularly at six o'clock sharp. She is divorced from lawyer Dickie Orr after finding him in a compromising position on the dining room table with Joyce Barnhardt, Stephanie's arch-enemy, resulting in the shortest marriage in burg history. These days, Stephanie can occasionally be found in the company of sexy Trenton cop Joe Morelli or even sexier fellow bounty hunter Ranger, but mostly she shares her space with her hamster-roommate, Rex. Stephanie and her partner Lula could be considered the Abbot and Costello of fugitive apprehension.

Mrs Plum: You got knocked out! I have to have a daughter who goes around getting herself knocked out.
- Three To Get Deadly

Joe Morelli is also a burg native, from a family of local notoriety: the Morelli women are the utmost respected and revered housewives in the community, the Morelli men are worthless philanderers prone to early graves as a result of drinking and brawling. Mothers state-wide warn their daughters about Morelli boys, which only served to make six-year-old Stephanie more curious when eight-year old Joe invited her to play choo-choo in his father's garage. The experience would set the tone for future encounters with Joe over the years, creating a repetitive history of Joe seducing Stephanie then disappearing for extended periods. Joe manages to outgrow the Morelli gene for self-destruction and has become a decent person and a good cop. He even has a house and a dog, eventually. Joe's Grandma Bella is the scariest person in the burg, always threatening to put 'the eye' on someone. 'The eye' is Italian voodoo, and it scares the bejezus out of Stephanie. Joe is Bella's favourite grandson.

Mrs Plum: Isn't that Joe Morelli? I didn't know things were still friendly between you two.
Stephanie: It isn't, and it never was.
- Three To Get Deadly

Ranger is the epitome of the Man of Mystery. Possibly the best bounty-hunter ever, Ranger is Stephanie's mentor, teaching her the ropes of fugitive apprehension and occasionally coming to her rescue. He has a secret past and he probably kills people, but Stephanie's pretty sure he only kills bad guys. He's Cuban-American, only wears black, only drives black cars, and smells really, really good. He's a bounty-hunter because finding people is what he's good at, but he's also a security expert running his own little security empire with an army of shady characters at his disposal. He doesn't always operate within the law, but always follows his own moral code.

Stephanie: Omigod! You're the big bad wolf.
Ranger: There are some similarities.
- Twelve Sharp

Lula used to be a 'lady of the night', but after a near-death experience has given up prostitution to become a file clerk and Stephanie's sometime partner. Lula's career may have changed but her wardrobe hasn't, and she is frequently seen trying to apprehend skips in brightly-coloured spandex and Via Spiga heels. She carries a Glock hidden in her purse which might not be entirely legal, but in New Jersey who doesn't have a little firepower hidden away somewhere²? She has perfected the Lula Bootie Bomb method of fugitive apprehension.

If people were cars, Lula would be a big, black '53 Packard with a high-gloss chrome grille, oversized headlights, and a growl like a junkyard dog.
- Four To Score

Grandma Mazur is Stephanie's maternal grandmother, who lives with Stephanie's folks now that Grandpa Mazur is betting his chips at the big poker table in the sky. She'd like to be a big, bad bounty-hunter just like Stephanie, and often volunteers to help with investigations. Grandma is plugged in to the burg's gossip network, regularly attending the social hour - the evening viewing at Stiva's Funeral Parlor. There's nothing more disappointing than a closed-casket viewing, and the lids have been known to mysteriously open when Grandma's in the room.

Ranger: My grandmother is a little Cuban woman who cooks all day and speaks Spanish. Your grandmother watches pay-per-view porn.
- To The Nines

Supporting Cast

Frank and Ellen Plum are Stephanie's parents, her older sister Valerie lives on another planet called LA. Her mother has lunch on the table every day at noon and dinner at exactly six o'clock and heaven help latecomers. When upset she can iron for hours on end, pressing shirts twice when there aren't enough wrinkled items in the basket. Dad spends most of his time with his head bent over a dinnerplate or glued to the television, usually muttering something about Grandma along the lines of 'Crazy old bat'. Eddie Gazarra and Carl Costanza are Trenton cops who regularly respond to Stephanie's emergency calls, usually having a bit of fun at her expense. Terry Gilman is one of Joe's former girlfriends who has since married into the mafia. Occasionally it's necessary for the cops (Joe) to negotiate with the families (Terry) to prevent all-out crime sprees, which usually leads Stephanie to question the nature of the 'working' relationship.

A Number of Adventures

It is not strictly necessary to read the books of the series in order, as each of the books tells a gripping story with a twist at the end. However, there is a lot of character development over the course of the series, and in that respect the series is more enjoyable if read from the beginning.

One For the Money

We meet Stephanie Plum, unemployed lingerie buyer. Her credit cards are maxed, her car's about to be repossessed, and she eats dinner daily at her parents' house. In a moment of desperation she blackmails her cousin Vinnie into giving her a job with his bail bonds office, only the filing position has already been filled so if she wants the job she'll have to be a bond enforcement agent. Hoping to discourage her, Vinnie assigns an impossible catch: local vice³ cop Joe Morelli who failed to make his court appearance after being arrested on suspicion of murder. With no idea where to begin, Stephanie investigates the scene of the crime and happens upon Morelli, who she fails to apprehend. When Vinnie realises she isn't going to give up he asks badass bounty-hunter Ranger to show her the ropes.

Two For the Dough

Stephanie is assigned to find Kenny Mancuso, who was arrested after shooting his friend in the knee. Kenny's nowhere to be found, and Stephanie keeps receiving notes trying to scare her off the case. Meanwhile Spiro Stiva, the undertaker's son who is minding the shop while his father's on the mend, has hired Stephanie to find some missing property. Spiro then hires Steph to be his bodyguard, because he's also getting threatening notes and there are some odd things happening at the funeral parlour. Stephanie begins to think Spiro's troubles and Kenny's disappearing act are tied together somehow.

Three To Get Deadly

Stephanie is set to become public enemy number one when she hunts for Moses 'Uncle Mo' Bedemier, proprietor of the burg's favourite ice cream and candy shop. The shop's been closed for a couple of days now, and Mo is nowhere to be found. There are lots of bodies to be found though, and Stephanie finds them all. In the minds of the burgers, Mo is a hero - single-handedly waging war on the local drug dealers and putting them out of business. A search of Mo's apartment turns up some unexpected finds, and soon enough Stephanie and partner Lula are canvassing Stark Street, Lula's former stomping grounds and one of Trenton's seedier neighbourhoods where pimps, dealers and crime abound.

Four To Score

Stephanie searches for Maxine Nowicki, who disappeared after stealing her boyfriend Eddie's car. Maxine is leaving cryptic notes for Eddie, yanking his chain before she leaves town for good. Also, someone is stalking Stephanie; her car's been torched and her apartment firebombed, all seemingly by some deranged jealous girlfriend who thinks Stephanie's stolen her man. But that thing between Joe and Terry Gilman was over ages ago, wasn't it? If that wasn't enough, Vinnie has hired Stephanie's arch-enemy Joyce Barnhardt for fugitive apprehension, and assigns her Steph's case.

High Five

Things have been slow at the bond office; everyone's been showing up for court lately. But Stephanie's Uncle Fred hasn't shown up anywhere lately and Aunt Mabel is worried. Fred disappeared one afternoon while out running his errands. When Stephanie starts her search she immediately finds a disturbing set of photographs in Fred's desk. Turning the photos over to police, Stephanie is concerned that Fred might be in trouble and steps up the search. But searching for Fred won't pay the bills, so she turns to Ranger to help diversify her income potential, trying out different jobs in his security business.

Hot Six

Stephanie has never yet failed to get her man, but that may change now that the FTA is Ranger. Knowing that she could never find him if he doesn't want to be found, she gives the case a pass and it goes to arch-enemy Joyce Barnhardt. Ranger, meanwhile, asks for Stephanie's help conducting surveillance on the Ramos family while he is avoiding police capture, wanted for questioning in the murder of a Ramos son. Grandma Mazur has moved into Stephanie's apartment after a disagreement with Steph's dad, and having Grandma for a room-mate is doing serious damage to her social life, although perhaps putting off a certain dilemma may be for the best.

Seven Up

Eddie DeChooch is a semi-retired, somewhat depressed gangster who missed his court date after being caught smuggling cigarettes through the greater Trenton area. But that isn't Stephanie's only concern; her friend Dougie has been missing for a few days and his friend Mooner can't imagine where he's gone. Could Dougie have received a partial shipment of stolen cigarettes? And when Mooner goes missing too where can Stephanie turn for help? Ranger offers his assistance, but Stephanie feels his price may be too high.

Hard Eight

In addition to hunting for the usual miscreants, Stephanie is working pro bono trying to find neighbour Mabel's missing granddaughter Evelyn and Evelyn's daughter Annie in hopes of not having to see Mabel cry again (the Plums don't deal well with emotional displays). Stephanie isn't the only one searching; Evelyn's ex-husband would like to find them, too, along with Evelyn's landlord. Someone's leaving unusual presents on Stephanie's doorstep and in her car, then she's being chased by a homicidal, fire-bombing rabbit. To make matters worse, her on-again, off-again relationship with Morelli is off again, and the thought of Ranger filling the void scares the bejezus out of her.

To the Nines

Vinnie sticks his neck out writing a new kind of bond, a visa bond, for guest-worker Samuel Singh, only the landlord's reporting that Singh has been gone for days when his visa is almost up. Vinnie stands to look very bad in the local press if Singh isn't found, so he assigns all of his bounty-hunters to the case. As Stephanie investigates, her contacts start turning up dead, and she's receiving mysterious bouquets. A tip places Singh in Las Vegas and since Ranger can't make the trip it's up to Stephanie and Lula to make the capture. Even after Singh is found, the flowers keep coming, and Stephanie is caught up in a mysterious Internet game.

Ten Big Ones

Stephanie and Lula witness the latest hold-up in a string by the Red Devil, and when his getaway is botched, Stephanie gets a good enough look to make an identification. Soon she ends up on a street gang's hit list, and nowhere seems safe enough to turn except maybe for the one place no one's been able to find: Ranger's secret lair. If she can find it she'll be protected from the gang, but who will protect her from Ranger? And what would Morelli think?

Eleven On Top

After one last tumble in the garbage to capture a skip, Stephanie's had enough and is ready to turn in her cuffs and fake badge. But if not a bounty-hunter, then what? Stints at the button factory, the dry-cleaners and Cluck-in-a-Bucket are disastrous and Stephanie is about to apply to stuff tampons into boxes at the personal products plant when Ranger saves her from a fate worse than death by offering her a job with Rangeman. Getting out of the fugitive apprehension business might not keep her from being targeted by a bomber/arsonist, and Lula's been promoted to bounty hunter in Stephanie's absence so Stephanie still gets to roll around in rubbish when she helps Lula on her first few apprehensions.

Twelve Sharp

Stephanie's back in the fugitive apprehension business, and the FTA files are piling up on the office manager's desk. Ranger heads off to Florida leaving Steph with the stack, and close on his heels is a heap of bad press. Suddenly Ranger is the target of a manhunt on suspicion of kidnapping and murder, and he needs Stephanie's help to find the missing girl and expose his doppelganger.

Lean Mean Thirteen

Lawyer Dickie Orr has vanished under mysterious circumstances and, as his ex, Stephanie is under scrutiny as a suspect, having raved like a madwoman in his office earlier in the day. Joyce Barnhardt, now Dickie's girlfriend, sticks to Stephanie like stink on a monkey while Stephanie tries to find Dickie to clear her name. Meanwhile Dickie's partners are disappearing and the fur flies as rodents explode left and right (well, something has to explode, right?) as Stephanie tracks down the requisite assortment of FTAs.

The Last Peep

This is a short story written for the anthology The Plot Thickens. The project was a benefit for Literacy Partners and included works from about a dozen contemporary mystery writers. The copyright places the story after Three To Get Deadly, but the storyline doesn't have any bearing on the rest of the series. The most noticeable thing about the story is the total absence of Morelli and Ranger.

Stephanie and Lula are looking for 'Sammy the Squirrel' Franco, who has skipped his court date on an indecent exposure charge. They find him right away, only he's dead. But who would want to kill Sammy; he might be the burg's best known peeping-tom, but he was mostly harmless. Before the police can be brought in, the body disappears only to turn up later in an abandoned van amid some very incriminating evidence. With some help from Grandma Mazur they just may solve the case in the end.

Visions of Sugar Plums

This festive little Christmas-themed novella takes place between books eight and nine. There are a few events that are referred to in later books, but not so much so that this would be a required read in the series.

Stephanie is not having any success tracking down Sandy Claws when a strange man pops into her kitchen. It's only five days to Christmas, and Claws' finder's fee will make or break the holiday. The man in her kitchen introduces himself as Diesel, and is so mysterious he makes Ranger look like the boy next door. Diesel wants to help, and with Ranger out of town and Morelli tied up with work Stephanie has little choice in accepting his offer. Another car goes up in flames (along with the scrappiest Christmas tree in the burg), but with a little holiday magic it just may turn out to be a merry Christmas after all.

Plum Lovin'

Stephanie is searching for Annie Hart, who recently skipped her court date, but is having trouble locating her because Diesel has Annie hidden away from Bernie Beaner who thinks she ruined his marriage. Annie is a relationship expert and has made Diesel promise to work on her caseload while she's in hiding. So Diesel needs Stephanie's help to catch Bernie, clear Annie's name, and help Annie's five open cases have a happy Valentine's Day. They have to work fast, though, because Valentine's Day is only four days away. With Morelli stuck on a case and Ranger out of town, it looks like Stephanie may have to spend the most romantic day of the year with Diesel!

Plum Lovin' takes place between Twelve Sharp and Lean Mean Thirteen.

Plum Themes

In Stephanie's topsy-turvy world, there are at least a few things you can always count on:

Stephanie's Cars

Grandma Mazur: Where's your car?
Stephanie: It sort of caught fire.
- Ten Big Ones

Stephanie will go through cars like other people go through underwear. It is, of course, never her fault. She buys lemons and junkers due to budgetary constraints, her cars are stolen or crashed, but most often they catch fire or are blown up. Since losing her job as a lingerie buyer, Stephanie has driven a Mazda Miata⁴, a Chevy Nova, a Jeep Wrangler, a Nissan pick-up truck, a RollsWagon⁵, a Honda CRX, a Honda Civic, three black Honda CRVs (one of which was Ranger's), a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a Ford Escape, a Lincoln Town Car, a Saturn SL-2, a Mini Cooper, a Ford Crown Victoria, two of Morelli's SUVs, and on loan from Ranger a Porsche Boxter, a BMW, a Ducati Monster and Ranger's personal Ford F-150 Custom Supercab and Porsche Cayenne. Stephanie has also been present for the destruction of various other vehicles she wasn't driving at the time, including Lula's Firebird, a garbage truck and a couple of cars that were tailing her.

Lula: Boy, if I had a nickel for every car you destroyed I'd be able to retire.
-Hot Six

When all else fails, she can always borrow 'Big Blue' from Grandma Mazur. It's a 1953 Buick Roadmaster in a delightful shade of baby blue. Borrowing this car is to be avoided at all costs, Stephanie feels it doesn't fit her image.

Ranger's Cars

Ranger's cars were always black. They were always new. They were always expensive.
- Four To Score

Ranger's cars were also always of mysterious origin. Anytime there's a sleek black set of wheels at the kerb you can be sure Ranger's in the driver's seat. Unless he's loaned it to Stephanie, in which case the driver's seat probably won't last too long. In the course of her partnership with Ranger, Stephanie has seen Ranger in a Ford Bronco, a BMW 851 Ci, a Range Rover, a Mercedes S600V, a Porsche Boxter, a Land Rover, a Dodge Ram, a Porsche Carrera, a Porsche 911, a Porsche Cayenne and the Ford F-150 Custom. Under the banner of Rangeman, he also has a fleet of town cars and assorted SUVs.

Stephanie's Apartment

Stephanie's flat is broken into regularly. It doesn't matter that she always locks her door or that she's even had an extra bolt installed, everyone can still get in. People have broken in and vandalised or left clues or body parts; many have even just made themselves at home and waited for her to return. Ranger usually breaks in at night, and he can even get past the security chain without waking her up. Sometimes it seems that everyone in Trenton can get into Stephanie's apartment - except for Stephanie. When locked out she has to borrow the key from the neighbour across the hall.

Stephanie: You broke into my apartment again! I hate when you do that.
- Seven Up

Stephanie Plum on the Web

A new Stephanie Plum novel has been published every summer since 1994, usually in mid-June. After the first few titles, author Janet Evanovich decided to offer the opportunity to name subsequent books to the readers, and the person submitting the winning submission receives an advance copy of the novel when it's published. The naming contest usually runs over the summer prior to release, so when Eleven On Top was released in June of 2005, the naming contest for the twelfth book was already in full swing.

Other features on Evanovich.com include a monthly poll, a monthly game or puzzle sometimes with prizes, fantasy casting, Q and A, a semi-annual newsletter and excerpts, usually the first two chapters, of all of the books. Occasionally there is also merchandise available for purchase.

A Gentle Warning

The Stephanie Plum books aren't for pedants. Sometimes a character's name or address will change from book to book, one character has a roving scar, some of the cars have interesting, non-factory features, and at least one person has come back from the dead. If, however, you don't mind a bit of inconsistency for the sake of a good, fun adventure, Stephanie Plum will deliver as promised.