‘Ten Big Ones’ a standout novel
Stephanie Plum, the world’s most incompetent and appealing bounty hunter, shows no signs of growing up. And that’s a good thing, because no one wants author Janet Evanovich’s decade-old heroine to ever take herself or the series seriously.
Evanovich barely gives the reader time to recover from one laugh before the next one explodes in “Ten Big Ones,” a standout 10th Plum novel that zips along to its top-this finale.
Ever since former romance writer Evanovich burst onto the mystery scene with 1994’s “One for the Money,” this series has created its own niche with its irreverent dark humor, outlandish situations and characters who, no matter how over the top, always seem real.
Plum — New Jersey’s big-haired, always hungry former lingerie saleswoman torn between two lovers — could be called the Lucille Ricardo of mysteries. Except Lucy’s antics were child’s play compared to Plum’s life. She is the antithesis of the serious detective or the gimmick-laden amateur sleuth.
Evanovich’s unapologetic impudence and politically incorrect approach have meshed to put the last six novels on best-seller lists, brought thousands to the author’s book signings and accounted for an estimated 4.5 million monthly hits to her Web site.
While she has churned out enjoyable reads, cracks have become to appear in the latter novels, making the formula drag at times. There are no such reservations in “Ten Big Ones.”
The plot goes a bit beyond what’s usually summed up by the phrase “bad things happen in Trenton, N.J.”
Plum and her cohort Lula, a hooker turned file clerk and would-be bounty hunter, are debating the merits of nachos vs. a sub for lunch when they witness a robbery. Plum identifies the robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang. Now a price has been put on her head and the intrepid bounty hunter really ought to go into hiding.
But she needs to bring in a few bond-skippers first, including a woman driven crazy by a low-carb diet who robs a corn chip truck; help out with her sister’s wedding to Albert Kloughn (say the name out loud); and keep Grandma Mazur under control.
Hit lists aside, Evanovich’s real emphasis is still Plum’s love life. Will she choose Joe Morelli, her longtime on-again, off-again lover with whom she lost her virginity in the back of a bakery? Or will she give in to hotter-than-hot Ranger, the enigmatic bounty hunter/security expert who makes James Bond look like a toddler?
“Ten Big Ones” also brings back Sally Sweet, the swearing, cross-dressing rock star moonlighting as a school bus driver.
Little is taken seriously in Evanovich’s novels, except entertaining the reader. Bond-skippers will be apprehended — or not; cars will be demolished and handcuffs will be lost.
Evanovich is possibly the only mystery writer whose extreme humor can turn what should be serious moments into boisterously funny scenes. The boundaries of good taste are deliciously stretched as she makes lowbrow comedy into a kind of art.
Longtime fans won’t be disappointed, but those just discovering the series should start with “One for the Money” to learn how Plum started down this road.
Now that the plucky little bounty hunter has made her latest stand, Evanovich’s next novel will be “Metro Girl,” which will launch a new series that’s being billed as “the big sister to the Stephanie Plum series” and will take place in Miami.
“Metro Girl” is slated for a November publication. Meanwhile, Plum will offer plenty of amusement.