Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Stephanie Plum Novels) [Hardcover]

Janet Evanovich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 2011 | Series: Stephanie Plum Novels (Book 18)

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.
 
Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.
 
Only one other person has seen the missing photo—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.
 
Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?
 
Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.

The hardcover edition of Explosive Eighteen contains a tear-out calendar inside! 

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Janet Evanovich
 
“No less than her plotting, Evanovich’s characterizations are models of screwball artistry. . . . The intricate plot machinery of her comic capers is fueled by inventive twists.”—The New York Times
 
“[Evanovich’s novels are] among the great joys of contemporary crime fiction.”—GQ


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series), and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1 edition (November 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345527712
• ISBN-13: 978-0345527714
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (419 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Comic
  • #67 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Women Sleuths

More About the Author

Janet Evanovich is the #1 bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series,) and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

538 of 565 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars To quote Lula "I really expected a better story" (spoiler alert), November 22, 2011

By 

HappyMom (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Stephanie Plum Novels) (Hardcover)

Spoiler Alert!

After having given up on the series several books ago, I was persuaded to read #17 and thought that maybe things were back on track. Explosive Eighteen was a massive disappointment. After teasing the reader (for ages!) with hints about what happened in Hawaii, we get a brief (and unsatisfying) few lines to explain why the stagnant love triangle is still in place and then it's on to the rest of the convoluted storyline that seemed to drag on forever. In the past, even when I've been frustrated by the refusal to choose between Ranger & Joe, I've been able to appreciate the screwball comedy. This book lacked the laugh-out-loud moments that, for me, partially redeemed a few of the books beyond #9. In 18, I spent a lot of time feeling like I was waiting for a punchline that never arrived. Worse, still, is the fact that Joe & Ranger have been reduced to shadows of their former selves and neither one bears much resemblance to the alpha-types I knew and loved. They just seemed worn out and as tired of dealing with Stephanie as I am. I cannot for the life of me figure out what either man is supposed to find so irresistible about Stephanie that they would be willing to settle for whatever crumbs she's willing to give them. Even without being able to blame a "curse," Stephanie is still casually sleeping with both of them, willing to commit to neither of them and they just jump in and rescue her incompetent self over and over again. (IMO) It's not charming, it's not cute, it's not endearing and I spent most of the book being bored by the litany of junk food she consumes and wondering why she was so stupid that she allowed the same guy to steal her car over and over again.

Without totally giving away the ending, I will say that I thought it was a lame attempt to persuade readers that an actual choice might be in the making. I have made peace with the fact that as long as the books are selling, no choice will be made and the characters will continue to devolve until they just make an occasional appearance to yank her out of burning buildings with a "Babe!" or "Cupcake!" and not much else.

I don't think anyone expects literary genius from these books, but I sincerely miss the comedic spark, the genuinely funny situations, and the depth/heart that was present in the early books and lost along the way.

214 of 229 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I swear -- I'm really done with this series this time!, November 22, 2011

By 

D. Strickland (Hesperia, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Stephanie Plum Novels) (Hardcover)

I am the eternal optimist so, against my better judgment, I preordered the Kindle version of this book. First a little background -- When I first began this series I was in love with all the main characters and found the side characters amusing enough. Stephanie was quirky and a little flaky, but she was funny, too. I couldn't read the books fast enough. And there were those really sexy scenes in the first few books creating the triangle between Stephanie, Morelli and Ranger. There was some real tension there that made us fans come back for more. Then, after about book #10 or so, the books really became the same old thing over and over again. Stephanie's life was going nowhere. The Great Love Triangle, which was intriguing at first, was going nowhere. Stephanie's relationship with both men was shallow at best and, now (especially in this book), is both shallow and creepy. In fact, one has to wonder why two such gorgeous men would hang around so long putting up with the immature person Stephanie has become. Both men appear to just wait around to respond to some stupid request of Stephanie's without blinking an eye. The above notwithstanding, the last book gave me the impression (mistaken, as it turns out) that the series might get better. It didn't. I realized that I don't like any of these characters anymore. I've always appreciated both men in the stories, but I leaned heavily toward Ranger. I think I'll hang on to the image I have of Ranger in my own imagination from now on and forego any more of JE's books before she further emasculates him and turns him into a total stooge. So sad, I wish the series had ended before without leaving this bitter aftertaste.

180 of 195 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Really Disappointing, November 23, 2011

By 

AlyciainTX - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Kindle Edition)

I was really disappointed with this book. After my aunt persuaded me to read the first book in the series last year, I fell in love! I usually enjoy all the craziness Stephanie gets into, but this is getting old. The Morelli/Ranger/Stephanie love triangle has been played out waaaaay to long over the last 6 or 7 books, and we had no details about anything that happened in Hawaii except for half a paragraph. Stephanie used to be able to fumble her way through captures and it was fun to read, but now she just relies on Ranger and Morelli. I liked Lula before, but only as a SIDE character. It just seems like JE is churning out books, and it seems as if she has lost the IT factor the books had earlier.

I'm hoping to come to Amazon.com next week and see an update saying that JE forgot to attach the last 10 chapters to the book, so here's the rest of the story.