Customer Reviews

Lean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 13)

5 star:		(187)
4 star:		(102)
3 star:		(59)
2 star:		(41)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Accident prone Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum, is the number one suspect in her ex-husband's disappearance; mainly because she attacked him in his office, again. While helping Ranger search for Dickie (the ex) she has three 'skips' to find for the bond office. Lula is along for the ride when the usual zany antics 'explode' and make the fugitive apprehensions, less than smooth.

I titled this review as Status Quo, because nothing really happens. There is no character development; same old, same old. While looking for the ex had the potential to be really comical and a different spin on the Plum series, the few laughs I had in this book were all similar to the laughs I have had in the previous books; nothing terribly original.

As far as the Ranger, Stephanie and Morelli love triangle, while I once enjoyed this part of the series, it is getting a little old. How long will Stephanie continue to make out with Ranger while professing her love to Joe? This dishonesty is really bothering me.

With the previous books in the series, I flew through them in a day, pausing only to dry my eyes when my laughing had watered them. With this book it took me a couple of days of reading, I could set it down and pick it up, not really worrying about what was going to happen next. I think something's got to give in the next book, something to shake things up and get this series back on track. It's a good read, but far from the great read I am used to in this series.

The book does open with an interesting twist. Ranger wants Stephanie to go see her ex-husband, Dickie Orr--whose name really fits him, if you know what I mean. Ranger's job for Steph is to place a bug on her ex-cheating-spouse. Naturally, things don't go well and Stephanie ends up trying to choke Dickie.

The next day, Dickie ends up missing and presumed dead. Three guesses and the first two don't count as to who the police's number one suspect for the murder is.

Plus, Joyce Barnhart, her arch enemy, is in the picture. Seems Joyce and Dickie were 'cosy' again and he had some serious money, which he was going to leave Joyce in his will. Joyce figures Stephanie is going to be the one to find Dickie--probably her radar for trouble, I guess.

From there, the book was pretty much the same. Bungling Bounty Hunter Steph gets assigned half a dozen skips to bring in--she only manages to arrest one and that's because she worked out a housesitting deal. Failed FTA (failure to appear) takedowns are getting less funny. At some point, even Stephanie's got to learn her craft or give up.

That's probably my biggest bone to pick with the series. There is zero character development on Steph's part. She's still the worst bounty hunter ever known, she's still in a three-way with Joe and Ranger and can't decide. Well, and the fact that Joe and Ranger seem to wait almost endlessly for her? Okay, she's hot--but bailing some hot chick out of the same mistakes has got to get old even for them.

One bright spot is that Lula may have a man. Least I hope so. While her wardrobe hasn't changed, I think Lula at least has somewhat grown from her first appearance as a 'ho in the novels.

Oh yes, there are plenty of laughs, I wouldn't read Steph at all if she didn't still amuse me. But, this time, I didn't invest in the book on the first day of issue to pass along--I borrowed a copy from a friend and waited to get it. It's past time for Steph to step to the plate, make a decision about her man and her career and do something different to amuse us.

I have read 1-12 too many times to count. I've forced these stories on friends, loved ones, strangers and my massage therapist. The first twelve books made me laugh aloud (and lust silently... gosh, at least I hope I was pretty quite ;-). I've pondered the Joe/Ranger/Ranger/Joe possibilities more times than would be considered healthy considering they are both fictional men. But this time, no, 13 just didn't work. Thirteen just doesn't have the same spark, style, or charm.

I knew exactly when Janet E. lost me on this one and it was early on (and I've dated more than half my life, I know early isn't a good time to lose the love). Lula was bemoaning the snake, and worried she might wet her pants and Stephanie said "too much information". Stephanie has a grandmother who talks about penises real, fake, and dead, metamucil and the big "D", so urination information is nada on the Stephanie Plum information scale! Stephanie has said it a time or two herself! It's like we're losing our Stephanie right then and there. This was a fake line, an attempt at something but I don't know what, and I don't know why Janet's editor didn't call foul but that's another review altogether... I think Janet just phoned this installment in!

Losing the Stephanie was bad, but it got worse. Now that I'm almost finished with 13 I believe that the real problem is Stephanie can't commit, and Janet can't either. They have the same issue: Commitophobia. I know the signs, because I've fot a bad case myself. I can remain commitophobic, it works for me, and it has twelve times now worked for Stephanie. It worked, though, because she, and the reader, felt truly torn. Now she just seems ambivalent about both situations but not passionate about either, much less both!. She can't commit because neither situation is so compelling that she wants it more than anything. And Janet is in the same position! She doesn't want to choose because she wants us to love both men and feel torn. But how can we feel torn when Stephanie doesn't really? She knows they both want her, she knows she can have either, and yet, she doesn't choose. And the men don't choose either, and I think real men would choose to hasta la vista at this point.

It comes to this: WE don't care that much because THEY (Janet & Stephanie) don't care that much! Janet Evanovich's job is to make us care, want, crave, hope, laugh, and wonder. She is here to supply us with the soul-wrenching-heart-spinning-dizzy-can't-think-can't-eat-can't-tie-your-tennis-shoes kind of feeling. Instead, we're all in a non-committal but familiar relationship together. Oh great. Maybe I can date my high school boyfriend again while I'm at it. Or marry a dentist (oh wait... my HS boyfriend IS a dentist now and while free dental would sure be nice...) Hello!!!. At a point, as a writer, you have to choose a path, and Janet hasn't; she is trying to keep us all perky with Ranger and Joe, and that did work when Stephanie truly seemed to want Joe terribly and Ranger was a taste treat delight, but now both Stephanie and Janet seem rather bored with Joe who is starting to seem wimpy and Ranger/Batman seems about as dangerous as Joe. What's next? They divy up the duties about who does Steph's laundry?

Now maybe Janet's trying to segue into the Ranger as stable guy thing, but c'mon if we wanted a stable guy, we wouldn't want Ranger. We'd want my ex-boyfriend the dentist. Ranger is so hot because he's the dessert we shouldn't have, not the healthy alternative with only 3 grams of fat. If you're going with the healthy alternative, why not take Joe, at least he's got Bob, AND Joe's hot, or he was till he became wimpy. So then maybe we should just take the free dental. I don't know. See, that's why I'm uncommitted. But Janet and Stephanie can't just stay in limbo, and they can't just go with Ranger because his life is nicer, that's not the way romantic comedies work.

So Janet is stuck.

And now she's left us stuck too. Janet is like the guy who's stringing us along, telling us he only needs 'time and space' and then he'll commit. Yeah, right. And I'm Dorothy in ruby slippers. Janet and Stephanie need to make us CARE and WANT again, and how to do that, well, that's their problem, but I can tell you from experience, it's not going to happen riding the fence between two equally delicious flavors. How to get Stephanie out of her malaise, and us out of ours? Well, Janet is going to have to make a commitment. And so is Stephanie. Just my opinion, but it's easy for me to say since I can still read 1-13 and have Ranger AND Joe!

I cannot help but be amused by Stephanie's constant adventures. In this outing, she has a confrontation with her obnoxious ex-husband-lawyer in his office and is heard threatening him. He is reported missing, possibly dead, and Stephanie is blamed for it. Joyce Barnhardt and Dickie Orr's affair is the reason for his and Stephanie's divorce, but apparently they were again "dating". Joyce is after Stephanie, especially when Dickie's unchanged will surfaces making Stephanie the heir to his estate, valued at over $40 million. Morelli and Ranger try to amicably take turns guarding Stephanie, which is a hard job on any day. Other wheels are turning with Grandma's new love with a taxidermist and Lula and Tank. As with any Plum novel, there has to be some vehicular damage. Still no definite word if Stephanie and Morelli will ever be more than occasional roommates. Don't worry, Ranger has been clear that he is more than willing to be with Stephanie in some capacity. (Impossible to see him in the 'burbs and a mini-van though.) It was a fun read, good for the beach or vacation.

I love this series and couldn't wait to rip through Amazon's packaging to get to #13, but this one left me a little empty. Even at the three-quarter mark, I was still waiting to sink into the Plum universe. There wasn't an eye roll, forehead smack or damn-skippy in the book. Between the burning pot house and exploding taxidermy, there were some VERY funny moments, but the characters lacked snap. No tension between Steph and Ranger, even when she lived with him. No real tension between Steph and Morelli, when he should've been at least waving his arms around. And Ranger and Morelli acted like teammates, for heaven's sake, even when Ranger overtly threatened to poach. What happened there? Where's the conflict? When Ranger and Morelli passed Steph-sitting duty back and forth between them like she was a piece of luggage, all she could manage was a heavy sigh. None of the characters acted right - Lula starts saying "heaven to goodness" rather than F***in-A, and even Grandma seemed colorless. And since when did Ranger get so chatty?

I enjoyed the action, and enjoyed the skips. I enjoyed seeing Steph choke the snot out of Dickie Orr. But I zipped through the book in four hours, and that made me kind of sad. Her books used to have so much meat and quirk. Now there's pages of dialogue that read more like a sedate screenplay. I read in an interview that Janet writes the books in six months, then does promotion and other things for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, I think that's very telling at this point in the series.

I have read this series from the beginning, and was really disappointed with Book 13. Sure, the writing was good, and the antics were funny, but when that is all there is it falls short. Character development was lacking if non existent.

One thing that was really annoying was the in depth explanation of history. I realize that Janet wants these books to be able to be read as a stand alone, but having every character and past incident explained again in more than usual detail almost made me feel there wasn't enough to say to fill up the pages.

Knowing this is fiction, it doesn't bother me like others that Steph and Rex never get older. What bothers me is that nothing in her character, Ranger, or Morelli changes. They actually get worse. Ranger and Joe have both been emasculated to the point that I don't even recognize them anymore. They both put up with Steph's sexual teasing, and if they were the real men they have been portrayed in the past, they would have both kicked her to the curb long ago not willing to put up with it. I used to think that Steph was just conflicted between the two men, but now I just think that she strings them along because she thinks she can with no ramifications.

I would have been better off if I had not read this book. I am afraid what the future holds for this series. Maybe it should have ended with 12.

I have been a huge fan of this series, and recommended it to many others. I've read almost every book in hardcover, so I don't say this lightly ... but this book was terrible.

There wasn't a single spark of originality. The Ranger/Morelli dilemma is tired, and frankly ... Stephanie Plum's lack of integrity on the matter is not amusing. It's been 13 books, make a decision.

Is it still funny to others when Stephanie blows up a car? It's not funny to me. Grandma... we get it, she's eccentric.

It feels like Evanovich is just filling in a template, and after 13 books, I'm done. I certainly can't see reading another 13 like this one. Evanovich owes it to her loyal fan base (who have made her a multi-millionaire) to put in a little bit of effort and creativity. We all know that Stephanie's mom irons when she's stressed, they have a family dinner on Friday night, Lula wears clothes that don't fit, and Joyce and Steph have a rivalry.

This series has gone Scooby Doo. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the next book ended with, "And I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those crazy bounty hunters."

Don't we all just wait and wait for the next installment of Stephanie's life to come out so we can all go get cozy and read, read, read? I was very excited when my copy of LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN came in at the library. And I was not disappointed!

Stephanie is up to her usual style of mayhem trying to make a living and live her life. This time around, besides being probably the worst bounty hunter in the state of New Jersey, Ranger needs Stepahnie's help involving her ex-husband, Dickie Orr. Once you meet the character of Dickie, you will understand how his name totally suits him! What a jerk!

The plot involves our favorite characters from the rest of the series -- Stephanie's mom, kind of her dad, Grandma Mazur {my personal favorite}, Lula {who is my number two favorite!}, Morelli, Ranger -- you know who I mean -- you know them and you love them.

Dickie goes missing and so does a huge amount of cash. Stephanie tries to find Dickie, do her bounty hunting job, be in love with both Ranger and Morelli, and also has to try hard to stay alive. Trouble ensues as Dickie's involvement with some big, seriously bad guys comes full circle. The book, without spoiling the story for anyone, is the usual ups and downs, car wrecking, madcap fun spree it always is.

The characters who Stephanie's trying to bond out are really good this time around. I especially enjoyed Carl Coglin, the taxidermist. His personal little zoo is a riot!!!

This being said, what I didn't like about the book -- and previous ones -
is the go nowhere, stuck in the mud relationship Stephanie has with Morelli and Ranger. She loves them both. They both love her. They will both wait for her until she makes up her mind. Come on! This is getting old and Stephanie should make a decision before fans tire of this scenario. Many other reviewers mentioned the same thing -- we need to make a man decision here and make a choice!!!!!!!!!! Maybe in number 14 that will be the case.

I loved the usual arguments, family problems, family dinners, bounty hunting problems, and the characters Stephanie tries so hard to pick up as part of her job. I did laugh, but admittedly, not as much as in previous books. I am NOT tired of these books, I love them. I just think most readers need/want some NEW material and for things to get a move on in Stephanie's love life. I do not expect these books to be deep or serious, they are meant to be light, fun reading, and that they are! However, the three-way realtionship is tired.

This is another winner. I will now wait and wait and wait for number 14 to come out, probably next summer. I do enjoy this series but would really like something refreshing, different, and new to HAPPEN.

Read this book. If you haven't read the series, you need to. You will absolutely love them.

Thank you!

Pam

I've been reading the other reviews and I agree with everyone who states this series has gotten stale and needs to be over. One person said she couldn't wait to read "14", but what that person doesn't realize is she just read "14"; and "15" and "16" because the same story is being recycled over and over. Nothing is happening, the characters have simply become caricatures. Stephanie has become an idiot, Ranger has become less cool because let's face it... what real man would put up with a tease for this long?, and Joe has now turned into a boring wimp.

But, here's the deal: people are still going to buy the books because they've been at it for this long, why not continue? So Evanovich doesn't need to worry about loss of sales, but she does need to worry about sales of new books. I simply am not interested in any other series by Janet Evanovich because the two I read (Motor Mouth & the following one) were trying so hard to be Stephanie Plum rip-offs and both failed miserably.

I feel the pain of those who have tired of the Plum series. It's like watching the slow death of something once beloved.

I did look forward to reading this and must admit that I am a "cupcake girl" but even I was bored by this book. The formula is beyond predictable and the triangle is tiresome and old. Ranger is so different from the beginning of the series that he no longer makes any sense to me. Joe, who used to be funny and very cool has lost a lot. These characters have not grown at all.

The only thing that moved slightly was Stephanie keeping Ranger a bit at arms length. Honestly, how long can someone be in a commited relationship and keep another guy on the side? It just makes her look bad. I have no sympathy for her. If Joe were behaving in this way she would never put up with it.

I miss Terry Gilman, Morelli's mom and grandmother and some of the cops that were usually good for a few laughs.

I was disappointed with this installment and hope that she will somehow bring the series back to a more interesting place. There is no drama in it anymore and I find myself not caring what happens to the players.