Review: To the Nines by Janet Evanovich (audio)

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

Read by CJ Critt

Recorded Books, LLC

2003

Length: 10 hours

From the back of the audio case: Stephanie Plum’s got
rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every
day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men
in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli…oh, the list goes
on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure.

But hey, she’s from Jersey.

Stephanie
Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton,
but she’s pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way…and she
always gets her man. In To the Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who’s
also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant.
When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But
what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to
a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.

My thoughts: Ah…another Stephanie Plum book, which means more laughter, more missing FTA’s, and more antics with the whole cast of characters, including Lula, Grandma Mazur, Ranger and Joe Morelli.

In To the Nines, Stephanie doesn’t get any cars blown up, but she does manage to go through a bunch of body guards – men that Ranger put on her when her life was put in danger because of a crazy game that somehow involves the missing FTA that Stephanie is trying to locate. The heat has been ratcheted back up between Ranger and Stephanie and Joe is none too pleased.

Despite the danger, there are still many laughs. Lula is dating a new man and decides she wants to look like a supermodel, so she starts dieting. The first diet involves counting points, but she ends up making up her own counting system and that diet doesn’t last long. Her second diet involves eating meat only and lots of it. Then there’s the trip to Vegas when Stephanie gets a tip that her FTA is there. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, both Lula and Connie, the office secretary, decide to accompany her. This just makes for one laugh after another – starting with the number of bags everyone brings for an overnight trip, a possible Vegas-style wedding, and dog that destroys the hotel room. 

We see a soft-side to Stephanie upon the birth of her sister’s Valerie’s daughter. Perhaps this might be a changing point for Stephanie. Might she finally be ready to settle down and start a family of her own?  I guess only time will tell!

(I borrowed this audiobook from the library.)

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Books in this series:

     1.  One for the Money                         12.  Twelve Sharp
     2.  Two for the Dough                         12.5  Plum Lovin’
     3.  Three to Get Deadly                      13.  Lean Mean Thirteen
     4.  Four to Score                                   13.5  Plum Lucky
     5.  High Five                                           14.  Fearless Fourteen
     6.  Hot Six                                                14.5  Plum Spooky
     7.  Seven Up                                           15.  Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
     8.  Hard Eight                                         16.  Sizzling Sixteen

     8.5  Visions of Sugar Plums              17.  Smokin’ Seventeen

     9.  To the Nines                                      18.  Explosive Eighteen

    10.  Ten Big Ones                                    19.  Notorious Nineteen

    11.  Eleven on Top