Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19579 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-16
• Released on: 2003-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312983864
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
In Hard Eight, Stephanie Plum picks up a case a little nastier than anything the wisecracking bounty hunter's seen before. Evelyn Soder and her young daughter have gone on the run, leaving an angry ex-husband who's planning to collect on a child custody bond that will leave Evelyn's grandmother homeless. Stephanie's first clue that there's more to it than that comes in the form of Eddie Abruzzi, a shady local businessman who warns her to butt out of the case. Stephanie doesn't scare easily, but when Abruzzi's henchmen leave a bag of snakes on her doorknob and tarantulas in her car, she has no choice but to call Ranger, the hunky man of mystery whom she already owes too many favors. Steph knows that Ranger will soon be calling in his marker, but with her ex- fiancé Joe Morelli out of the picture, that should be OK--shouldn't it? In the meantime, she's got other fugitives to catch, aided by the usual band of misfits, plus a bumbling correspondence-school lawyer who's developed the hots for Stephanie's sister, Valerie. And Steph's in for a surprise from her mother, who proves she's not above wielding a dangerous weapon to save her daughter's life.

Author Janet Evanovich has made a bold move in using a soupçon of child jeopardy to pull this series out of the comfortable but formulaic pattern it was threatening to fall into. It's still funny, and yes, some cars are destroyed, but now there's a real edge of darkness under the humor. Fans needn't fear, though: Jersey girl Stephanie is still full of sass and Tastykakes. --Barrie Trinkle

From 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, Inc.

From Library Journal
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. Here, Plum looks for a missing child while trying to keep her love life from getting out of hand.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Lost, One Stephanie Plum.
When Evelyn Soder disappears with her daughter, it means big trouble for her mother, Mabel Markowitz. The judge in Evelyn's divorce insisted on a child custody bond and Evelyn's ex-husband is intent on collecting it. Mabel co-signed for the bond, and now she may lose her home. Stephanie Plum, unlucky in love and fugitive apprehension, becomes involved because Mabel is her parents' neighbor. Mabel bakes when she is upset, and the Plums are drowning in bread loaves and coffee cakes.

And so, begins yet another comic adventure in the strange world of 'The Burg,' Trenton's own twilight zone. Soon she finds herself in conflict with Eddie Abruzzi, who is a sociopathic crime lord when he isn't being a sociopathic war gamer. Eddie wants Stephanie out of the Soder investigation, and is perfectly willing to make her crazy before he finally kills her. In addition, Stephanie must deal with Andy Bender, a bond-skipping drunk with a talent for getting Plum to trip over her own feed.

Nor should I fail to mention a lawyer whose name is not spelled c-l-o-w-n, a female apprehension agent who is almost as good as Ranger (and who doesn't keep losing cars, purses and handcuffs), and that usual mad gang of crooks, cohorts and lovers. Yes, Stephanie's love life becomes even more complicated while everything else is going on. Without TastyCakes and pizza, Plum would be well on the way to a nervous breakdown.

This all is typical Evanovich. In fact, it is a bit too typical. Very few writers are able to avoid formula writing when a series begins to stretch out into extra innings, and 'Hard Eight' has started to show the inevitable signs of strain. As a plot, it is very reminiscent of 'High Five.' But while that was fun and original, this time the sight gags and sarcasm are beginning to wear thin. Evanovich's solution seems to be to have the same things happen, but even more often. This time Stephanie loses enough cars and handcuffs to stock a small police department.

The single thing that bother's me most is the degeneration of Stephanie's character. Not all that long ago, she was a feisty woman who was down on her luck but determined to make things come out right. The humor was clever and she often gave as good as she got. Now she is a near incompetent who spends to much time being a victim of her own poor choices. The humor has shifted to slapstick and too often Stephanie is the joke. And she has started to rely on anyone but herself when problems occur. Often this is funny, but I keep finding myself wincing rather than laughing. I want the old Stephanie back.

Still Laughing Out Loud!!
Hard Eight is a great addition to the Stephanie Plum series. It gives you everything the other seven books have. Hillarious scenes with the classic characters of wacky Grandma Mazur, Lula, and the rest of the Plum family plus unexpected new twists that break away from the romantic plot line. New involvement with Ranger and Joe, he is still in the running.

This installment is about the search for a missing woman named Evelyn and daughter Annie. Evelyn's grandmother Mabel is a neighbor of the Plum family and she asked Stephanie for her help. Evelyn's ex-husband is about to get a child custody bond funded by Mabel as she put her house up for this. Mabel fears she'll lose her home if Evelyn isn't found and she fears for her great-granddaughter. So, Stephanie, our bounty hunter and her good friend Lula start snooping around and before long they have a run in with Evelyn's landlord, Eddie Abruzzi. Abruzzi, is a nasty man who adds a much needed dark edge to this story.

The humor you expect in a Stephanie Plum book is still there. Stephanie is still between Joe and Ranger. Stephanie still is blowing up cars and the drama from her friend Lula is still a riot. I liked this book the least out of the series but it is still well worth the read and I still found myself laughing out loud several times. If you enjoy this series and who couldn't, this is a must read!

Ms Plum needs a new bag of tricks
Hard Eight is edgier, darker, more complex than the previous 7 Plum books. The writing is better and tighter. She's doing a better job of character development. That said, Stephanie Plum needs a new bag, literally and figuratively. After all this time, Steph still loses her quarry because she can't find her handcuffs, pepper spray, stun gun, etc. in her bottomless handbag. Her car keeps getting destroyed, frequently because she forgot to lock it. She gets hurt because she forgot to charge her stun gun or because she forgot to buy bullets. Ms Evanovich, could you wise Steph up a little? Write her so she can put her hands on her cuffs? Give her some smarts? Teach her to lock her car door? At first, this incompetence was funny, but now -- it's annoying!
Perhaps Evanovich has run out of funny ideas, and must resort to bumbling for humor. If so, she's writing herself out of a job. Steph's disasters aren't funny anymore, and before I buy the ninth book, I'm checking it out of the library to see if it's worth it.