The Barnes & Noble Review
New Jersey's wackiest bounty hunter is on the trail of a whole new batch of "skips," and that means fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series are in for a treat. Uppermost on the minds of readers of High Five is the question of just whom Stephanie slept with last time around, Ranger or Morelli. Well, the answers to that and a whole slew of new questions are provided in the next installment in the series, Hot Six. And hot it is, a sizzling miasma of flaming cars, blistering looks, scorching comments, and fiery kisses.

This time out, Stephanie has one of the meanest skips she's ever tried to bring in, a brutal bully who killed his wife. His intense hatred for women easily extends to Stephanie, who barely escapes with her life several times. Her survival is dependent in part on help from Lula, that larger-than-life ex-prostitute turned file clerk, who, as usual, is carrying a mini-arsenal she's all too eager to use. Stephanie's job is made twice as hard by the fact that her usual backup from Ranger isn't there. In fact, Ranger is the leading suspect in a murder case and has skipped bail. Knowing Ranger won't be found if he doesn't want to be, Stephanie lets her nemesis, Joyce Barnhardt, take the case.

It turns out that Stephanie doesn't need to find Ranger; he finds her. And this honor earns Stephanie two determined tails who follow her everywhere she goes: Joyce Barnhardt, and two henchmen named Mitchell and Habib who are working for some unknown boss. At first Mitchell and Habib seem to be a pair of bumbling fools who are more annoying than anything. But before this case is solved, they will demonstrate their true acumen in a very frightening way.

Just when Stephanie thinks her life can't get any worse, she finds herself with an unexpected roommate: Grandma Mazur, who has moved in on the heels of a major disagreement with Stephanie's father. About the same time, Stephanie asks for a favor from one of the detectives on the police force, and in exchange he asks her to watch his dog while he's out of town. The only problem is, he never goes out of town. Nor does he return for the dog. So on top of Grandma Mazur, Stephanie now has yet another roommate: a large, smelly dog named Bob with a penchant for chewing everything in sight and howling like a banshee whenever he's left alone.

Between bringing in her own skips, trying hard to keep Joyce away from hers, doing some side work at Ranger's request, and bumping into Morelli (though never in the way either of them is hoping for), Stephanie's life couldn't get much more bizarre. Or could it? There's still this ongoing confusion between the men in her life, both of whom are vying for her company and attention. And of course, there are the requisite fires, explosions, and sundry vehicles that suffer inexplicable damage -- except for the monstrous old powder-blue Buick, which seems to be indestructible. But even the Buick may come to suffer if Grandma Mazur succeeds in her quest to get a driver's license and hit (perhaps literally) the road.

With the usual collection of wacky characters, both old and new, Hot Six makes for a fun adventure that is equal parts suspense and hilarity. Evanovich trained her writing muscles by churning out sizzling romances for several years before she switched her focus to a dark comedy featuring a wisecracking Jersey girl who went from selling department store underwear to bringing in bail skippers. Neither Trenton, New Jersey, nor the mystery genre has been quite the same since. The fun just doesn't get any better than this. (Beth Amos)

Beth Amos is the author of several mainstream suspense thrillers, including Second Sight, Eyes of Night, and Cold White Fury. She lives in Wisconsin and is at work on her next novel.

Janet Evanovich has a gift for delivering unabashed humor and intriguing suspense. This is one remarkable series that just keeps improving with age!
— Romantic Times

In this mystery featuring Stephanie Plum, readers follow as she teams up with vice cop Joe Morelli to find the missing bounty hunter, Ranger, but Stephanie's real concern is her Grandma -- who moves in with her after a fight with Stephanie's Dad.

Sexy, smart-talking New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum returns for her sixth wildly amusing mystery (after 1999's High Five). Determination and contacts (she's grown up with half the cops and crooks in Trenton) compensate for Steph's poor aim with a gun, bad luck with cars and soft-hearted approach to her job (one bail jumper evades her four times). The police are after her mentor, the mysterious Ranger, wanted for killing drug and gun dealer Homer Ramos. Claiming he's innocent, Ranger persuades Steph to help him keep an eye on the Ramos clan. Steph teams up with her lover, vice cop Joe Morelli, then strikes out on her own when she realizes neither Joe nor Ranger will share information with her. When Mafia thugs get involved, she barely avoids kidnapping and torture. Meanwhile, there's her love life to deal with. Can she be physically attracted to Ranger and be in love with Joe? Evanovich spins all these threads, plus more, into a lunatic tapestry of nonstop action peopled by wacky characters straight out of a 1930s screwball comedy: Steph's Grandma Mazur, 80 years old, with the world view of a teenage punk; Mooner and Dougie, two lovable but zonked-out stolen goods dealers who have a closeout sale before going to jail; Habib and Mitchell, mobsters who follow Steph when Mitchell's wife doesn't need the car for kids' soccer games; and Steph's co-worker and pal, Lula, a gun-toting ex-prostitute always ready for an adventure. Evanovich just keeps getting better. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Fans of Stephanie Plum Jersey girl and bounty hunter will be happy to find out just whom Stephanie spent the night with, as it was left to one's imagination at the end of the preceding book, High Five. In this adventure, Stephanie learns that her friend and mentor, Carlos "Ranger" Manoso, is being sought for murder. Can Ranger be guilty? Stephanie helps to chase down a murderer and contend with two inept thugs, not to mention her growing attraction to one of the men in her life. Our heroine meets with the usual car-related misfortunes how many cars has this lady had destroyed? and the usual cast of colorful characters. The action is fast, and the dialog is sharp and flavored with Evanovich's broad humor. There's plenty of sexual banter and suspense to carry the listener along. C.J. Critt does a good job of giving each character a distinct personality; her voice paints pictures. Those who want an action-packed mystery laced with some steamy romance will love this audio. It's pure fun to enter Stephanie's universe, and who can't use an escape now and then? Go ahead, six is your lucky number. Nancy Paul, Brandon P.L., WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Realism takes a backseat to humor in this series, but the snappy one–liners and oddball characters will have readers coming back for more.
— People Magazine

"I have so many dilemmas," says Stephanie Plum—Trenton's most adorable, least reliable bond enforcement agent—"I can't even remember them all." And no question about it, they do come in bunches in this sixth venture into bounty-hunting ineptitude. There's the dilemma of the heart, for instance. Steph can't decide which of the two hunks in her life, each abrim with testosterone, turns her on faster. Is it the sexy policeman, Joe Morelli, the guy she's known all her life, the guy who succeeded in taking her teenage virginity without even trying? Or the enigmatic Ricardo Carlo Manoso, a.k.a. Ranger, the bounty-hunting mentor she can't say no to, though he only half asks? Nor can she decide what to do about the Ramos dilemma, derived from a family of hard cases who want to kill her, mostly because, unlike most of Steph's prey, they prefer fight to flight. Then there's the pimple dilemma (it's right in the middle of her chin! Should she squeeze or wait?); the Grandma Mazur dilemma (she's suddenly Steph's roommate); the big, slobbering dog dilemma (a love-hate relationship worthy of a deeply confused heroine); the suicidal-girl-on-the-bridge dilemma; the . . . well, you get the idea. The essential thing is that the day this Jersey tomato decides to diarize, Bridget Jones had better look to her laurels. Steph and company make for another helping of energetic entertainment (High Five)—a savory Plum pudding for her growing army of fans.

Steph and company make for another helping of energetic entertainment—a savory Plum pudding for her growing army of fans” —Kirkus Reviews

“A lunatic tapestry of nonstop action peopled by wacky characters straight out of a 1930s screwball comedy...Evanovich just keeps getting better.” —Publisher's Weekly

Combine sexy with a sharp wit and good looks, and you get bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. When Plum is asked to bring in her friend Ranger because he skipped out on bail, she feels torn between doing her job and protecting her former mentor. Debi Mazar’s clear narration characterizes Plum with a husky voice and quirky mannerisms. Plum’s subtle New York accent is nicely layered into her character. The supporting cast includes cop Joe Morelli, Plum’s grandmother, a surprise houseguest, and snitches Dealer, Doogie, Hannibal, Ramos, and Mooner, who are characterized by spirited street language. Rhythmic jazz signals story breaks and CD endings in this entertaining mystery. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine