High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5) (Stephanie Plum Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Janet Evanovich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2000 | Series: Stephanie Plum Novels (Book 5)

In her fifth high-octane thriller, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum sets out to find her missing uncle-- and along the way smacks slam-bang into: a dead body, a nasty bookie, her stun-gun-toting grandmother, two very sexy men, an angry little man who won't leave her apartment, and a Mafia wedding...

Jersey's favorite bounty hunter has never been better! With high hair, street smarts and plenty of attitude, Steph's sure to nail this case-- or risk life and spandex-clad limb trying...

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.
A People Magazine Beach Book of the Week.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Uncle Fred was someone I saw at weddings and funerals and once in a while at Giovichinni's Meat Market, ordering a quarter pound of olive loaf. Eddie Such, the butcher, would have the olive loaf on the scale and Uncle Fred would say, 'You've got the olive loaf on a piece of waxed paper. How much does that piece of waxed paper weigh? You're not gonna charge me for that waxed paper, are you? I want some money off for the waxed paper.'"

The speaker is Stephanie Plum, the glamorous if slightly ditzy bounty hunter from Trenton, New Jersey, and one of the most original creations in recent mystery fiction.

In this fifth entry in Janet Evanovich's increasingly popular series, Stephanie's problems are many and varied. She's not making enough money picking up FTAs (Failures to Appear) for her cousin Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds; her red-hot love affair with Detective Joe Morelli has cooled off; and her giant extended family is no help at all. For instance, Uncle Fred the cheapskate has disappeared, leaving behind some suspicious photographs of body parts in garbage bags and links to some really dangerous people.

When Stephanie turns to her friend and mentor, Ranger, for financial advice, he gets her involved in a gang of toughs doing instant evictions for landlords. (She complains to Ranger about the job and its dangers, prompting one of the hired thug to say, "Man, you don't like to get shot. You don't like to get arrested. You don't know how to have fun at all.")

Most of Stephanie's charm, of course, comes from her attitude--a combination of the brazen bravado that turns a failed lingerie model into a bounty hunter in the first place and the normal fears of a person in over her head.

Other Plums in paperback, by the numbers: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, and Four to Score. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Actress Mazar (Goodfellas) has just the right sassy streetwise accent to fit the first-person voice of Evanovich's hero, Stephanie Plum. Mazar sounds poised yet real in her role as the New Jersey-based bounty hunter (the fifth adventure in the series and the second reading for Mazar). She gamely throws herself into the dramatic "bits" along the way, playing out the dialogue scenes with relish. Plum is a tough character, coolly navigating her way through the male-dominated terrain of North Jersey's criminal element. But she's also fragile on the inside, sensitive and haunted by the violence and chaos in her life. Her boss, her cousin Vinnie, runs a business that naturally attracts lowlifes prone to nasty crimes: a man blows himself up with a bomb, a homicidal boxer is on the rampage. Meantime, the love of Plum's life, Morelli, a rakish Trenton vice cop, treats her badly. But her luck isn't all bad, as when she is given a Porsche (she rationalizes, "When you had a car like this, you didn't mind so much that your boyfriend was boinking a skank"). On tape, Plum's attitude holds more sway than the plot, as she sails from case to case with a blistering irreverence that's sure to keep listeners charmed. Based on the 1999 St. Martin's hardcover. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312971346
• ISBN-13: 978-0312971342
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (414 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#20 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#6 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#8 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#17 in Books > Romance

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#6 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#8 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#17 in Books > Romance

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Who was invited over she put the dress on for??? October 22, 2001

By "intentaccess"

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This series just gets better and better! Laugh out loud funny, and full of high power action. Truly a winner.

Stephanie is back to blowing up cars and nothing but attitude, you got to love her! She has broken up with her policeman boy friend Joe Morelli. She is broke, she has no work to do. She does get an unpaid investigative job to find her annoying cheapskate Uncle Fred. Stephanie ends up with a house guest of a dwarf. She does get some paying work moonlighting for none other than Ranger!!! Even gets a couple company cars that either get blown up or stolen.

There is attraction now not only between Stephanie and Joe but Stephanie and Ranger. The ending leaves you hanging as we don't know who it was she invited over and put on her hot dress for.

This book was the best in the series yet. I say that with each book as they keep getting better. The humor has you laughing off the chair and you can't put the book down. I recommend this series but I would read them in sequence from the beginning so you really get to know everybody.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Bang for the Buick...Er, Buck! September 8, 2001

By Wendy Kaplan

Format:Mass Market Paperback

But seriously, folks...forget about what Grandma Mazur did at the all-male strip club (she put the dollar bill WHERE?). This book marks a change in this hilarious series that bodes well for the future.

Every book in this side-splitting series has been a treasure. But this outing goes for less laughs and more plot, and the result is stunning (hehehe, an in joke). Not that I didn't find myself howling with laughter, once again in public, not that Evanovich's incredible bon mots don't grab you when you're not looking, but this time, there is actually a mystery with several subplots, and some real suspense.

In this adventure, Stephanie's bounty-hunting activities are somewhat sidelined by her search for her missing Uncle Fred, a nasty miser whose possible widow, Aunt Mabel, is planning a Caribbean Cruise within 2 weeks of his disappearance. Nevertheless, the Code of the Burg is strict, and when one's relative is missing, one must do the right thing and bring him/her home. At her family's urging, Stephanie reluctantly accepts the task.

But this is Stephanie Plum we are talking about here. And lest we think that things will run smoothly, there is the small matter of the angry dwarf. Then we have the exploding Porsche (NEVER let Stephanie drive anything other than her indestructible 1950s-model Buick!!!), more exciting viewings at Stiva's Funeral Home, the stolen Beemer, the psychotic homicidal rapist Ramirez, fresh out of prison and Eager to Stalk (we met this dude in Book 1, and he is not a nice person), and at least one serious stun gun mishap (I'm not telling, but watch out the next time you eat potroast at the Plum residence). I won't even talk about the spoiled son of the Arab Sheik, or what he wants Stephanie to do for $5.

While Stephanie is handling all the above with her usual Burgish aplomb, there is a true mystery unfolding. What has happened to Uncle Fred, and why is there a string of chilling and possibly connected murders, all centering around a trash-collection company? Who wants Stephanie dead? Whose chopped-up body was in the trash bags? What is going to happen with Ramirez, who wants to "lead Stephanie to God"?

All of these questions are answered in the most satisfying way, and the mystery is just as good as the humor. As for romance? Well...let's just say that Stephanie had better avoid Grandma Bella Morelli's Evil Eye, because her deepening "friendship" with Ranger has taken some interesting turns. Even Lula is taken aback. I can say no more.

Rex the Hamster, move over. I'm joining you in that soup can while I read Book 6. It seems the only safe place to be!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't wait to read Hot Six! June 15, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Once again, I found Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series to be totally engrossing, well-written and an absolute page turner. I enjoyed the story line about her search for her missing uncle and was completely surprised when an old (and scary) character resurfaced to add to Stephanie's problems. Of course, her dilemma over Joe or Ranger didn't help matters and Janet's deliberately vague ending about Stephanie's choice had me on the edge of my seat. I absolutely recommend this book to those that enjoy reading the series and to those of you that haven't yet---pick up One for the Money asap!