In this third book in the 'Stephanie Plum' series, the bounty hunter is looking for a beloved candy store owner. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
When Trenton, New Jersey native Stephanie Plum lost her department store job, she became a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie. Stephanie's responsibility is to pick up bail skips (people who've missed their court dates) but she's notoriously inept at the job, and gets into all kinds of comical scrapes.
Stephanie's current assignment is to bring in popular candy store owner Mo Bedemier (known in the neighborhood as 'Uncle Mo'), who was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.
Weapons aren't a big deal in Trenton - where almost everyone owns a gun - so Stephanie's puzzled when she can't find Mo anywhere. He hasn't even opened his candy shop for two days, which is unprecedented.
While Stephanie's looking for Mo she discovers the bodies of dead drug dealers all over Trenton, and is threatened by vigilantes who want her to leave Mo alone.
Stephanie refuses and her continuing search results in attacks by masked men; cars being wrecked; guns going off....all sorts of mayhem.
As Stephanie goes about her business she's either helped or hindered by her usual associates:
Lula - a big black woman who was once a 'ho' but is now a file clerk/bounty hunter in training; Lula wears kooky clothes, drives a red Firebird, and carries a huge gun. Lula can stop a perp by sitting on them, which is useful at times.
Ranger - a hot Cuban bounty hunter who taught Stephanie the trade (or at least tried to). Ranger is as tough as they come, and seems able to walk through locked doors. Ranger's trying to get Stephanie into shape, but she'd rather eat donuts than exercise.
Joe Morelli - a sexy Italian cop who's Stephanie's on-off boyfriend, and knows exactly when to show up for pizza and beer. Joe has an undercover operation going on, and wants Stephanie to stay away.
Also on hand are Stephanie's family:
Grandma Mazur - who likes guns, funerals, and men; her boyfriend in this story has bad dentures and a glass eye.
Stephanie's Mom - who 'takes a nip' when she's anxious; Stephanie's shenanigans inspire a lot of nips.
Stephanie's Dad - who watches TV, eats, and sighs at Stephanie's (and Grandma's) antics.
There are a lot of laughs in this cozy mystery, including Stephanie's inadvertent orange hair; Lula's bounty hunter outfit (a leather duster and cowboy hat); a corpse protruding from Lula's Firebird; and more. In my favorite comic scene, Stephanie is threatened by thugs in her apartment, and every middle-aged or elderly person on her floor comes to the rescue with a pistol, machine gun, meat cleaver, or metal walker.
Stephanie bumbles her way to locating Uncle Mo and discovering who killed the drug dealers, and I was surprised by the book's denouement - which is darker than I expected. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable light mystery, recommended to fans of the genre.
Rating: 3 stars
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