Twelve Sharp Review

I've now read 12 of Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" novels and Twelve Sharp may be the best so far. Featuring mostly the same cast of characters that the previous 11 novels use so effectively, Twelve Sharp is more interesting than most because it gives additional backgound on Ranger, Stephanie's bounty-hunter mentor and favorite daydream subject.

If you've been hiding under a rock, this series is about Stephanie Plum, a less-than-perfect bounty hunter in Trenton, NJ. Stephanie works for her sleazy bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, and tries to round up all manner of miscreants from perverts to shoplifters. She's aided by her good friend Lula and lives off-and-on with her main squeeze, Joe Morelli. Helping her learn the bounty hunter biz is Ranger, a mysterious ex-special forces guy who Stephanie finds irresistable. Stuck between Ranger and Morelli, Stephanie is a girl with more choices than any girl ought to have. All of them are funny and often sexy.

In Twelve Sharp, Stephanie quickly gets up to her neck in a mystery over someone who is apparently impersonating Ranger. The impersonator will not stop at kidnapping and murder to impress Stephanie with how much she is meant for him, even as both Ranger and Morelli (a Trenton detective) are increasingly frantic to find the imposter. Like all the bad guys in the Stephanie Plum series, this guy is like smoke -- able to drift in and out of scenes without being seen or caught. Unlike some of the other villians, this one exudes believable menace that threatens Ranger as much as it threatens Stephanie.

Through it all, Morelli and Ranger maintain a certain level of professional courtesy and admiration, held together by Stephanie, who is attracted to both so strongly that she just can't choose. Oh... this book is REALLY funny, too. It's hoot-out-loud funny and I didn't want it to end. I've barely scratched the surface of the action and plots in  Twelve Sharp, and there are plenty of characters (old and new) that will have you wiping laughter tears from your eyes.

I strongly recommend  Twelve Sharp. It may be the best in the Stephanie Plum series so far. That's saying a lot, since this is one of the best series of novels today.