Eleven on Top

May 30, 2005
New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum (last seen in 2004's Ten Big Ones
) stumbles out of the gate due to some forced humor, but she eventually hits her usual entertaining stride in a tale that includes exploding cars, volatile wedding preparations and heated romantic entanglements. Stephanie decides to quit her job and seek less dangerous work after receiving a couple of disquieting notes. But the notes turn to threats and attacks, and she learns that her ineptitude is not confined to bounty hunting but transfers well to a succession of low-paying, sometimes humiliating jobs. After taking on Stephanie's previous duties, sidekick Lula naturally calls on Stephanie to lend a hand so that her bounty hunting travails continue unabated. Foul-mouthed Lula proves to have some pretty brutal ideas about how to bring 'em back. Bestseller Evanovich may be performing the same tricks over and over at this point in the series (the bumbling sleuth act, sexual-tension jokes, etc.), but most readers will find this a pleasing romp. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. 1.25-million printing; author tour.

Starred review from May 15, 2005
It's wonderful to watch both a beloved character and a cherished author grow, and both Stephanie Plum and Evanovich do not disappoint. Stephanie no longer wants to work for her cousin Vinnie, the bail bondsman in the Burg, a section of Trenton, New Jersey. Her first three tries at new gainful employment --the button factory, the local dry cleaner, and the infamous Cluck in a Bucket fast-food joint--engender firebombings, exploding cars, and even the death of a local everyone is way too happy to see go. Meanwhile, several local businessmen have disappeared, and a lowlife Stephanie has known since high school is leaving lurid and scary notes in her apartment. Although brimming with lines that will have readers howling with laughter, this installment also allows flashes of insight into the men in Stephanie's life, Morelli the cop and Ranger the bounty hunter, as well as into Stephanie herself and her (over)extended family. It's hard not to love a tale where Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's mother, and Stephanie have a food fight with the remains of her sister Valerie's (unused) wedding cake. The spectacular denouement indicts a long-running member of the cast of the Burg and allows Stephanie and her faithful readers to savor her ambivalence to the max.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)