High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5)
By Janet Evanovich
Editorial ReviewsAmazon.com Review"Uncle Fred was someone I saw at weddings and funerals and once in a while at Giovichinni's Meat Market, ordering a quarter pound of olive loaf. Eddie Such, the butcher, would have the olive loaf on the scale and Uncle Fred would say, 'You've got the olive loaf on a piece of waxed paper. How much does that piece of waxed paper weigh? You're not gonna charge me for that waxed paper, are you? I want some money off for the waxed paper.'"The speaker is Stephanie Plum, the glamorous if slightly ditzy bounty hunter from Trenton, New Jersey, and one of the most original creations in recent mystery fiction.
In this fifth entry in Janet Evanovich's increasingly popular series, Stephanie's problems are many and varied. She's not making enough money picking up FTAs (Failures to Appear) for her cousin Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds; her red-hot love affair with Detective Joe Morelli has cooled off; and her giant extended family is no help at all. For instance, Uncle Fred the cheapskate has disappeared, leaving behind some suspicious photographs of body parts in garbage bags and links to some really dangerous people.
When Stephanie turns to her friend and mentor, Ranger, for financial advice, he gets her involved in a gang of toughs doing instant evictions for landlords. (She complains to Ranger about the job and its dangers, prompting one of the hired thug to say, "Man, you don't like to get shot. You don't like to get arrested. You don't know how to have fun at all.")
Most of Stephanie's charm, of course, comes from her attitude--a combination of the brazen bravado that turns a failed lingerie model into a bounty hunter in the first place and the normal fears of a person in over her head.
Other Plums in paperback, by the numbers: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, and Four to Score. --Dick Adler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
http://www.amazon.com/High-Five-Stephanie-Plum-No/dp/0312971346/ref=sid_dp_dp#
Now ... My take on the book:
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 that is a dwarf. She does get some paying work moonlighting for none other than Ranger (OMG … why can’t it be me!!)!!! 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. Uh oh … what will Ms. Plum do … hard choice … bad boy gone good or scary bad boy still scary but scary sexy!! The ending leaves you hanging as we don't know who it was she invited over and put on her hot dress for. At this point I am still on Team Morelli but I am beginning to wonder about him ...
But seriously, folks...forget about what Grandma Mazur did at the all-male strip club (she put the dollar bill WHERE?). This book marks a change in this hilarious series that bodes well for the future. Every book in this side-splitting series has been a treasure. But this outing goes for less laughs and more plot, and the result is stunning! Not that I didn't find myself howling with laughter, once again in public, not that Evanovich's incredible bon mots don't grab you when you're not looking, but this time, there is actually a mystery with several subplots, and some real suspense.
In this adventure, Stephanie's bounty-hunting activities are somewhat sidelined by her search for her missing Uncle Fred, a nasty miser whose possible widow, Aunt Mabel, is planning a Caribbean Cruise within 2 weeks of his disappearance. Nevertheless, the Code of the Burg is strict, and when one's relative is missing, one must do the right thing and bring him/her home. At her family's urging, Stephanie reluctantly accepts the task.
But this is Stephanie Plum we are talking about here. And lest we think that things will run smoothly, there is the small matter of the angry dwarf. Then we have the exploding Porsche (NEVER let Stephanie drive anything other than her indestructible 1950s-model Buick!!!), more exciting viewings at Stiva's Funeral Home, the stolen Beemer (that belonged to RANGER!), the psychotic homicidal rapist Ramirez, fresh out of prison and Eager to Stalk (we met this dude in Book 1, and he is not a nice person), and at least one serious stun gun mishap (I'm not telling, but watch out the next time you eat potroast at the Plum residence). I won't even talk about the spoiled son of the Arab Sheik, or what he wants Stephanie to do for $5.
This series just gets better and better! Laugh out loud funny, and full of high power action. Truly a winner.
