Review: Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (audio review)

From the back of the audio case: Bang, bang, she’s back! Stephanie Plum, the tough-talking, mace-packing female bounty hunter from New Jersey, has returned to thrill and amuse listeners in the third book of this acclaimed series. Best-selling author Janet Evanovich creates an outrageously high-spirited  romp through the gritty Trenton landscape.

Cursed with a disastrous new hair color and unable to shake Lula – a 230-pound former prostitute and bounty hunter wannabe – Stephanie must find Mo Bedemier, Trenton’s most beloved citizen, before it’s too late. With the body count rising, Stephanie struggles to stay one clue ahead of gun-toting drug dealers.

Fast-paced, impudently funny, and screaming with suspense, Three to Get Deadly is Evanovich at her provocative best. C.J. Critt’s lively narration brims with moxie, and will leave listeners checking their rear-view mirrors for Plum’s big blue ’53 Buick.

Read by: C.J. Critt

Duration: 10.25 hours

My thoughts: This is the 3rd in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and it was hysterical. Once again, Stephanie is on the case, this time looking for Uncle Mo, owner of the local candy store/ice cream parlor and known by everybody in the
neighborhood. Uncle Mo has skipped his court appearance for carrying a
concealed weapon. The problem is that everyone is upset that Stephanie is hunting him down and that’s proving to be difficult to make any headway. She also has some smaller cases that of course do not go as smoothly as she had hoped.

Helping her with the cases are Joe Morelli, Ranger, and even Lula. The scenes where Lula joins Stephanie on stake outs and break-ins are hysterical, especially since Lula is not known for being subtle. There are some scenes with Stephanie and Joe, but they always seem to get interrupted before anything significant happens. Plus Joe is acting a bit weird when he’s around Stephanie and when she decides to do a little surveillance outside his house, things don’t exactly go as planned!

I can’t wait for the next book in this series to see what cases Stephanie handles next. I’m also curious to see how things turn out with Stephanie and Joe – do they ever wind up together?

Audio thoughts: I think narrator C.J. Critt does a fabulous job in this production. She nails the New Jersey accent and gives all the characters their own distinct personalities and voices. She conveys just the right amount of humor, sarcasm and even danger when needed.

(I borrowed this audio book from the library.)

Books in this series: 

     1.  One for the Money                         11.  Eleven on Top
     2.  Two for the Dough                         12.  Twelve Sharp
     3.  Three to Get Deadly                      12.5  Plum Lovin’
     4.  Four to Score                                   13.  Lean Mean Thirteen
     5.  High Five                                           13.5  Plum Lucky
     6.  Hot Six                                                14.  Fearless Fourteen
     7.  Seven Up                                           14.5  Plum Spooky
     8.  Hard Eight                                         15.  Finger Lickin’ Fifteen  

     8.5  Visions of Sugar Plums              16.  Sizzling Sixteen

     9.  To the Nines                                      17.  Smokin’ Seventeen

    10.  Ten Big Ones                                    18.  Explosive Eighteen

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Jen (Devourer of Books)
    June 29, 2012 / 6:16 pm

    C.J. Critt sounds like a great match for this.

    • Kristin
      June 29, 2012 / 10:56 pm

      She is, but I heard she only does books 1-6 and then Lorelei King takes over.