Seven Up (Stephanie Plum 07) (Paperback)

HOT SIX ended with undercover vice cop Joe Morelli proposing marriage - sort of.

In SEVEN UP, Vinnie assigns Plum to seize Eddie DeChooch, who's jumped bail on a charge of cigarette smuggling. But Eddie refuses to be brought in until he finds something he's lost, and he's willing to resort to gunplay to make his point. But Stephanie hates guns - she keeps her .38 in a cookie jar. And what has DeChooch lost? All we and Stephanie know is that it has to be kept cold. In the meantime, Plum must mentally grasp Morelli's marriage proposal. They've an on-again, off-again relationship ever since Joe took her virginity on the floor behind the pastry counter of the bakery where she worked at eighteen. Mrs. Plum, whose nightmare is her daughter as an Old Maid, takes Stephanie out to try on wedding gowns when the latter, in a desperate moment at the Plum family dinner table with guest Joe, blurts out "August!". Will it happen, you think?

Now seven novels into the Stephanie Plum series, it's evident that Evanovich writes to a fairly rigid formula, at least so far: Plum gets an ostensibly easy assignment that goes terribly wrong when her quarry proves elusive and one or more bodies are discovered; Stephanie has car problems; Stephanie must temporarily put up with an eccentric roommate; Stephanie dotes on her pet hamster, Rex; Stephanie is followed by suspicious characters; Stephanie takes her Grandma Mazur to viewings at local funeral parlors; Stephanie's sidekick in dysfunctional fugitive apprehension is Lula, ex-ho and Vinnie's file clerk; Stephanie has the hots for fellow bounty hunter, the mysterious Ranger. Whatever fantastical situations and characters the author additionally creates seem to be outlandish for their own sakes rather than maturing her heroine's persona. While that's not necessarily bad, it does lend each book a strain of boring predictability. The author needs to expand Stephanie's horizons. And I'm becoming increasingly annoyed that Plum's long-suffering parents remain ciphers.

Mind you, I still enjoy Stephanie's adventures immensely. But I'm unwilling to award any more five-star ratings unless Evanovich provides something surprising or very clever.

The central characters provide endless entertainment: the unstoppable Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's dispairing mother, the larger than life Lula, the hapless Mooner and Dougie and of course the love interest - will it be Morelli or Ranger?

Its a great tale of accidental girl power - the bounty hunter who, with the help of some great (but mostly eccentric) friends and relatives and a lot of luck (aka Ranger), manages to get herself into and out of a whole lot of trouble.

Everything about these novels are surreal, and this style, along with the unique plots make Janet Evanovich novels stand out from the rest. If you liked the previous six novels - Seven Up won't let you down.

Review: I thought that Seven Up is one of the best two books in the series among the first seven. It has a better balance of story, humor, plot, and subplot, along with mystery than any of the earlier ones. The writing reflects a very mature talent as well as a great comic wit. This book shows much attention to detail and holding the reader's attention. The only reason I didn't like this story better than the first one (One for the Money) is because Stephanie's bumbling beginning in that story has greater comedy. But the two books are a tie in my mind.

I loved the prologue in which Stephanie Plum explains that "I wanted to be an intergalactic princess." "Mostly I wanted to wear the cape and the sexy boots and carry a cool weapon." Those two references set up much of the story.

The action in the book begins two weeks after longtime flame Joe Morelli, a cop, has proposed to Stephanie. He's pressing for an answer. Her mother and grandmother know about the proposal, and are trying to push for a wedding date. There are the usual bunch of no-shows for criminal court dates, and Stephanie has the chance to take on more cases while Ranger, her mentor, is out-of-town handling a tough case.

Eddie DeChooch misses his court date, and there's a $5,000 fee for Stephanie if she can bring him in. The only problem is that Eddie is a shooter, and Stephanie thinks he's a little beyond her abilities. Vinnie Plum, her cousin the bail bondsman, argues that Eddie's just an old man, and that anyone can take him.

The story evolves around a mistake. Eddie thought he was supposed to have done one thing, but did another instead.

The book is filled with rewarding subplots such as Stephanie getting her revenge against Joyce Barnhardt, Stephanie's status in the family rising as her sister returns from her "perfect" life in California, Morelli and Ranger making their moves for her, Eddie's sex life, and Grandma Mazur's interest in funerals. There are also the usual running gags about breaking into Stephanie's apartment, her transportation choices, Bob the dog and his digestion, hair, shoes, and meals at the Plum household.

If you don't know this series, I strongly suggest that you begin with the first book rather than reading this one.

If you have read some of the past books and liked them, this one is a definite read!

After you finish having a lot of fun with this book, you should think about what you want in life from your family relationships. What role should your spouse play? What roles for your parents and siblings? What are friends for? Then let them know, ask what they are looking for from you, and you can probably all enjoy one another more.

Seek and ye shall find!