Evanovich is lean and mean in Book 13
By: Joan Ruddiman
Janet Evanovich fans wait as anxiously for a new edition of Stephanie Plum’s adventures as do the Potterheads for Harry. Fortunately, Ms. Evanovich seems to have no inclination to bring Stephanie’s antics to an end either through death or marriage.
Right on schedule, "Lean Mean Thirteen: A Stephanie Plum novel" hit stores in early July. I finished it the day I bought it even with breaks to recover from the bouts of laughter that forced me to close the book to catch my breath.
For the uninitiated, you must read this series. But do start with the first, "One for the Money" (Macmillan, 1994), where Ms. Evanovich sets up the premise of how a bumbling goofball like Stephanie Plum becomes a "fugitive apprehension agent" a dressed-up way to say bounty hunter for her sleazy cousin Vinnie.
The mis-adventures take place in Trenton specifically, The Burg home to great restaurants and other Italian delights including Joe Morelli who is and isn’t Stephanie’s main man.
Keep reading through books in the series such as "Two for the Dough" (Scribner, 1996) and "Three to Get Deadly" (Scribner, 1997) the numbering game is now open to fans who suggest titles and get to know the other man in Stephanie’s complicated life.
Carlos Manoso, a.k.a. Ranger, is heart-stoppingly awesome. (Ask any woman who reads these books.) He runs a highly efficient (unless Stephanie is involved) international security company called RangeMan where his Special Forces skills, perfectly conditioned body and devious mind serve his friends well and intimidate his enemies.
Then there is Stephanie’s family. Over the course of now 13 novels, readers know them well, but are still entertained by moments of madcap mania.
Grandma Mazur over the years has wrecked cars, burned down a funeral home (it’s ok, the owner was a creep and the new owners make better cookies) and taken on crime solving with her granddaughter with outrageous results. The only thing predictable about Grandma is that she will make you laugh so uproariously that you have to stop reading to say to whomever is nearby, "I just can’t tell you … you have to read it for yourself."
That’s the brilliance of Ms. Evanovich. The story moves right along with the characters in their groove, the setting wonderfully familiar particularly for those of us in Central New Jersey and then, POW! She hits us with such an unexpected, totally bizarre moment that we are left breathless.
A toupee "beaten to death by a wine bottle," exploding road kill, stapled … oh, better not go there. For those who have never read an Evanovich novel, you get the idea. For those who are fans, you can fill in the blanks!
Here’s a rather clear assessment of Stephanie’s world from the perspective of her partner and pal Lula, who Stephanie found on the streets of Trenton: "I swear, you’re a crazy person. You go around up to your eyeballs in snakes and dead people and exploding beavers. It’s just not normal."
Lula has no room to talk about what is "normal," but she is endearing.
"Lean Mean Thirteen" will satisfy the ardent Evanovich fans as more of Stephanie’s past life collides with her current Morelli/Ranger/bounty hunter life.
Those who know the series will recall that Stephanie was married to the sleaze Dickie Orr for "about fifteen minutes." As she tried to "just do a favor for a friend," always a bad idea when the friend is Ranger Stephanie finds herself the prime suspect in what seems to be Dickie’s murder.
In the last few years, Ms. Evanovich has taken pity on fans of her Stephanie Plum series who pine for the novel’s annual release. In 2002, just in time for the Christmas season, she wrote "Visions of Sugar Plums: A Plum Holiday Novella" (St. Martin Press) that introduced another hunky guy named Diesel who just happened to appear in her apartment on a cold day.
This year, Stephanie was back with a romantic (of sorts) Valentine’s adventure in "Plum Lovin’: A Between the Numbers Novella" (St. Martin’s Press, 2007). Joe is on an under-cover assignment, Ranger is out of town, Valentine’s Day is coming, and Stephanie gets into even more bizarre situations than normal including a wedding. Oh, and Diesel is back. Nothing is ever simple in Stephanie’s life.
For those who miss, in "Thirteen," Stephanie’s crazy sister Valerie, with her assortment of seriously odd offspring and her significant other Alfred, "Plum Lovin’" fills in those gaps very satisfactorily.
One has to think how happy Ms. Evanovich must be. Not only does she sell bazillions of books, but also, in Stephanie Plum and company, she has characters that we know so well and like so very much that they can practically write themselves, which might explain her latest venture that tests her creative talents.
"No Chance," coming out in October from Grand Central Publishing, is a potential new series co-written with her long-time friend (platonically, she implies) Stephen Cannell, who is an Emmy-Award-winner with over 40 television hits to his credit. When you recall the witty writing of "The Rockford Files" or "The Commish," the pairing with Ms. Evanovich makes sense.
Ms. Evanovich had a busy year. In 2007, she also co-wrote with Leanne Banks "Hot Stuff" (St. Martins Press), which one reviewer described as the Plum novels "shaken and poured."
Cate Madigan is an Irish version of Stephanie who wants to teach school but is really a bartender. Her hunky Kellen is Stephanie’s Joe, and "Beast" is Bob the Dog in a different coat. Boston provides the setting with quirky characters and situations.
You might also want to try Ms. Evanovich’s Barnaby series, which is based in Miami. I read "Metro Girl" actually, listened to it on tape (HarperAudio, 2004). It was good, but just not as over-the-top funny as the Stephanie Plum novels.
Fans of Ms. Evanovich seem willing to follow her anywhere, though, including where "No Chance" might take us. But for her Jersey fans, nothing can compare to the ultimate Jersey Girl herself: Stephanie Plum.
Joan Ruddiman, Ed.D., is a teacher and friend of the Allentown Public Library.

