The ‘ultimate Jersey girl’ does it again

A review of Janet Evanovich’s mystery, "Lean Mean Thirteen"

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 the stores early this month. 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" (that’s a dressed-up way to say bounty hunter) for her sleazy cousin, Vinnie.
   The misadventures take place in Trenton — specifically, in The Burg (Chambersburg), home to great restaurants and other Italian delights, including Joe Morelli — who is and who isn’t Stephanie’s main man.
   Keep reading through the series. "Two for the Dough" (Scribner, 1996), "Three to Get Deadly" (Scribner, 1997) — the numbering game is now open to fans who suggest titles — will acquaint you with Ranger, the other man in Stephanie’s complicated life.
   Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, is heart stoppingly awesome. (Just ask any woman who reads these books.) Carlos runs a highly efficient international security company called RangeMan, where his Special Forces skills, perfectly conditioned body and devious mind serve his friends well and intimidate his enemies all to heck.
   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.
   Over the years, Grandma Mazur 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 explain to whomever is nearby, "I just can’t tell you … you just have to read this 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 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, whom Stephanie found on the streets of Trenton (again, best not to say more).
   Lula to Stephanie: "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 past few years, Janet Evanovich has taken pity on those fans of her Stephanie Plum series who pine for the annual novel’s 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, Diesel, who just happened to appear in Stephanie’s apartment one cold day.
   This year, Stephanie was back with a romantic (of sorts) Valentine’ Days adventure in "Plum Lovin’: A Between the Numbers Novella" (St. Martin’s Press, 2007). Joe is on an undercover 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.
   One has to think how happy Ms. Evanovich must be. Not only does she sell bazillions of books, but in Stephanie Plum & Co. she has characters that we know so well and like so very much that they can practically write themselves.
   Which might explain the latest test of her creative talents. "No Chance," coming out in October from Grand Central Publishing, is a potential new series co-written with her longtime friend (platonically, she implies) Stephen Cannell, the Emmy Award winner with more than 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 has had a busy year. In 2007, she also co-wrote with Leanne Banks "Hot Stuff" (St. Martin’s Press) that 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, 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. The second in the series featuring Alex Barnaby, girl NASCAR wizard, is "Motor Mouth" (Harper Collins, 2006).
   Fans of Janet Evanovich seem willing to follow her anywhere, including where "No Chance" might take us.
   But for her Jersey fans, nothing can compare to the ultimate Jersey Girl herself — Stephanie Plum.