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Overview
"Fugitive Apprehension Agent Stephanie Plum has a big problem on her hands: Seven-year-old Annie Soder and her mother, Evelyn, have disappeared. Evelyn's estranged husband, Steven, a shady owner of a seedy bar, is not at all happy. During the divorce proceedings, he and Evelyn had signed a child custody bond, and Steven is demanding the money guaranteed by the bond to find Annie. The money was secured by a mortgage on Evelyn's grandmother's house, and the True Blue Bonds Bail Agency wants to take possession of the house." "Finding a kidnapped child is not an assignment for a bounty hunter. But Evelyn's grandmother lives next door to Stephanie's parents, and Stephanie's mother and grandmother are not about to see their neighbor lose her house because of the abduction." "Even though Stephanie's plate is full with miscreants who missed their court dates, including old nemesis and violent drunk Andy Bender and an elusive little old lady accused of grand theft auto, she can't disappoint Grandma Mazuri. So she follows the trail left by Annie and Evelyn - and finds a lot more than she bargained for. Steven is somehow linked with a very scary Eddie Abruzzi. Trenton cop and on-again, off-again fiance Joe Morelli and Stephanie's mentor and tormentor, Ranger, warn Stephanie about Abruzzi, but it's Abruzzi's eyes and mannerisms that frighten Stephanie most. Stephanie needs Ranger's savvy and expertise, and she's willing to accept his help to find Annie even though it might mean getting too involved with Ranger." Stephanie, Ranger, Lula (who's not going to miss riding with Ranger) and Evelyn's lawyer/laundromat manager set out to find Annie. The search turns out to be a race among Stephanie's posse, the True Blue Bonds' agent, a Rangerette known as Jeanne Ellen Burrows, and the Abruzzi crew. Not to mention the fact that there's a killer rabbit on the loose.Synopsis
Hard Up
Fugitive Apprehension Agent Stephanie Plum has a big problem on her hands: Seven-year-old Annie Soder and her mother, Evelyn, have disappeared. Evelyn's estranged husband, Steven, a shady owner of a seedy bar, is not at all happy. Finding a kidnapped child is not an assignment for a bounty hunter. But Evelyn's grandmother lives next door to Stephanie's parents, so Stephanie follows the trail left by Annie and Evelyn-and finds a lot more than she bargained for.
Hard Risk
Steven Soder is somehow linked with a very scary Eddie Abruzzi. Trenton cop and on-again, off-again fiancé Joe Morelli and Stephanie's mentor and tormentor, Ranger, warn Stephanie about Abruzzi, but it's Abruzzi's eyes and mannerisms that frighten Stephanie most. Stephanie needs Ranger's savvy and expertise, and she's willing to accept his help to find Annie even though it might mean getting too involved with Ranger. Stephanie, Ranger, Lula (who's not going to miss riding with Ranger), and Evelyn's lawyer/Laundromat manager set out to find Annie. The search turns out to be a race among Stephanie's posse, the True Blue Bonds' agent-a Rangerette known as Jeanne Ellen Burrows-and the Abruzzi crew. Plus, there's a killer rabbit on the loose!
Hard Eight
Strap on your helmet and get ready for the ride of your life! Hard Eight. The world of Stephanie Plum has never been wilder.
"Evanovich does it again, delivering an even more suspenseful and more outrageous turn with the unstoppable Stephanie."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The things Evanovich does so well-family angst, sweet eroticism, stealth shopping, that stunning mix of terror and hilarity-are done better than ever here."
-Booklist (starred review)
People Magazine
a hilarious and frenetic detective romp...the girl mercenary is as fresh as ever.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Far and away our customers' favorite recurring detective in any series, rough-and-tumble Jersey girl Stephanie Plum sizzles in her eighth surefire novel. In this case, the stakes (both romantic and professional) get higher, the crimes get nastier, and the chases get even faster!People Magazine
a hilarious and frenetic detective romp...the girl mercenary is as fresh as ever.Publishers Weekly
The menace is more personal for Trenton's favorite bounty hunter and the energy more manic in this latest outing than in last year's Seven Up. As a favor to her mother's next-door neighbor, Mabel Markowitz, Stephanie agrees to check up on the lady's granddaughter, evelyn Soder, who has suddenly taken off with her little girl, Annie, leaving behind a child custody bond against Mabel's house. The son-in-law is a bad guy who lost his bar to eddie Abruzzi, a very nasty character who owns evelyn's building. Soon someone in a bunny suit is trailing Stephanie, her car is blown up, her apartment infiltrated and a dead body appears on her couch. She calls in her associate, Ranger, the gorgeous and mysterious Cuban bond agent, while her sometime boyfriend, Morelli the cop, also gets on the case - a real doozy for which she's not getting paid. On the home front, ever-raunchy Grandma Mazur is eager to assist. Sister Valerie and kids have moved back in as well, so there's nowhere but the couch for Stephanie and one bathroom for all. Valerie is inexplicably attracted to evelyn's goofy lawyer, who's been tagging along with Stephanie and the ever-outrageous file clerk and ex-hooker Lula, further complicating this twisted case. Life in the Burg takes on a sinister turn with serious results. evanovich does it again, delivering an even more suspenseful and more outrageous turn with the unstoppable Stephanie, heroine of all those who have to live on peanut butter until the next check comes through. Waiting for nine will be tough. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
Stephanie Plum is at it again, in true Jersey style. Lula, Ranger, Joe Morelli, and the rest of the crazy cast all return along with some new characters, such as a lawyer named Klaughn (sounds like Clown) who is dating Stephanie's sister and trying to be her partner in the bail bondsman business. This is Evanovich's eighth outing (following Seven Up) into north Jersey with Stephanie and her crew, and it is just as funny and exciting as the others. In this adventure, Stephanie needs to find a missing mother and child, which leads her into all kinds of predicaments with a life-size rabbit out to kill her and a crazy mobster with a Napoleon complex. On top of the dangerous threats to her life and her new Honda CRV, Stephanie is also on the outs with long-term beau Morelli and on sexy Ranger's to-do list. Whatever can a Jersey girl do? Maybe go shopping and eat some donuts. This is great summer reading. Recommended for all public libraries. - Marianne Fitzgerald, Media Specialist, CMS, Charlotte, NC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Stephanie Plum, Trenton's dizziest, most dysfunctional skip tracer, has papers on a couple of wacko Failure to Appears, but fat Marty Paulson and skinny Andy Bender are humdrum bizarros compared to the sociopath about to enter her life: loan shark/murderer Eddie Abruzzo, whom Steph perceives as a "total fruitcake" the instant her fear and trembling subside. "I know how to make women uncomfortable," he tells her, and does she ever believe him. Next to torturing and killing, military history is Eddie's driving passion, and now his authentic Napoleon medal has gone missing. When he becomes convinced on flimsy evidence that if Steph doesn't have the medal, she knows who does, she finds herself in a war of nerves with an implacable enemy who's part Clausewitz and part clown, from sorties by Abruzzi soldiers in the masks of ex-presidents to an attack by a homicidal rabbit-a hit man winsomely decked out in a bunny suit, from whom Steph escapes when Mama Plum, rising to the moment, counterattacks furiously in the family Buick. Meanwhile, Steph's love life remains unresolved as slinky colleague Ranger Manoso and hunky detective Joe Morelli continue their kinky game of ping-pong-Plum with Lady Bounty Hunter getting paddled. Watch out for plot holes big enough to drive that Buick through. True, charm has always been more important than plot to this series, but in her eighth trip to the plate (Seven-Up), Steph's ditzy allure may be withering before the curse of familiarity. For loyalists only.From the Publisher
"Keeps up Evanovich's standards for over-the-top situations" -Chicago Tribune
"[A] must read...readers will want to finish this delightful work in one sitting."--Midwest Book Review
"Offers the best action yet."-Newark Star-Ledger
"The girl mercenary is as fresh as ever." -People
"Hard Eight is most emphatically not Raymond Chandler but, like his work, a piece of finely crafted prose." -San Francisco Chronicle
"Plum is one of fiction's most irresistible heroines."-Seattle Post Intelligencer
"Evanovich has certainly come a long way since One for the Money; her latest Stephanie Plum mystery merits a one-day national laydown on June 18."--Library Journal
"Well plotted and cleverly resolved...her wickedly funny characterizations and the intriguing love triangle are what keep her readers coming back for more."-Bookpage
"As close to summer escapism as you can get. Evanovich hits a high note with her newest...a great addition to a well-stocked beach bag."-Houston Chronicle
"A perfect summer vacation book...promises fun, laughter, and unforgettable characters...Evanovich delivers."-Tennessean (Nashville, TN)
"Thrills mixed with lust, seasoned with humor: a delightful escape."-News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
"Evanovich produces more than "beach reading". She writes rollicking, raunchy, hysterical fiction that is so real, you will laugh out loud and want to visit the Burg."-Rockwall County News
"Just when you think the adventures of Plum and company can't get any funnier or more convoluted, Janet Evanovich proves you wrong-nobody does it better!" -Romantic Times