Ten Big Ones (Stephanie Plum, No. 10) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephanie Plum, girl bounty hunter, the terror of Trenton, the bane of her boyfriend Joe Morelli's existence, and the delight of her crazy grandma's heart, is in the wrong place at the wrong time--as usual. Just happening to be indulging her nachos jones at a local deli when it's robbed by the notorious Red Devils, Plum is the eye witness who could put the gang leader, known as the Junkman, behind bars... if he just lets her live long enough. Looking for a place to hide out from the killer until the cops catch up with him, Stephanie sneaks into her fellow bounty hunter Ranger's apartment without telling Morelli, who's not overly fond of him. All the usual suspects in this long-running series are along for a wilder than ever ride, including Lula the gun-toting ex-hooker, Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's pregnant sister Valerie and her fiancé, as well as a host of minor characters who bring Trenton's seedier environs to life. Ten Big Ones is another madcap caper by a writer whose fans will doubtless catapult this easy beach read to the top of the bestseller list. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Evanovich is at her best in her 10th Stephanie Plum adventure (after 2003's To the Nines), which reads like the screenplay for a 1930s screwball comedy: fast, funny and furious. The Trenton, N.J., bond enforcement agent (bounty hunter), accompanied by her trigger-happy friend Lula, an errant file clerk, is after a quirky collection of bail-jumpers—a man who killed a neighbor's rosebushes relieving himself on them, a drag queen musician/school bus driver accused of assault, and a woman who claims she robbed a Frito-Lay truck because she hated her low-carb diet—when she witnesses a convenience store robbery. Unfortunately, Anton Ward, the holdup man, learns that Stephanie can identify him and puts out a contract on her. After she tells her colleague Ranger her predicament, he offers her sanctuary. As usual, she's torn between sexy Ranger and her longtime lover, cop Joe Morelli, with whom she's living. The rollicking plot, replete with car chases, family squabbles, massive doughnut consumption and a frantic, wacky finale, keeps the reader breathless. As usual, Evanovich's eccentric characters—fun-loving Grandma Mazur, anxious to accompany Stephanie on her job; self-absorbed sister Valerie and her hapless fiancé Albert Kloughn (pronounced Clown); Sally Sweet, the transvestite who shows a talent for wedding planning—are a treat.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312289723
• ISBN-13: 978-0312289720
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (334 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #299,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 10 in The Stephanie Plum Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ten Big Ones, July 20, 2004

By	S. Berman "Sylvia" (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This series has been consistently good. Some books are better than others. "Ten Big Ones" is not particularly inspired - but then "To The Nines" is a hard act to follow. The thing that is bothering me is that although Stephanie and Joe are growing characters - the rest of the cast is not. Ranger remains a one dimensional being. He is unable to share any part of himself. Janet continually creates opportunities for him to develop his relationship with Stephanie - and Stephanie is open to it but he is never able to be human. Lula is becoming cartoon character. I resent this very much. She began to grow when she stopped being a prostitute. She got a real job. Now, all she is - is bored - and I'm getting bored with her. She can be funny and outrageous and still become a person! Stephanie's mother is stiffled. When is she going to break-out of the rut? I want to see these people go somewhere. Not just Stephanie and Joe - but the whole cast. However, I like the way Joe and Stephanie are growing. As a couple, they are comfortable and Stephanie has time to continue finding herself. Joe is becoming a man, a partner. I agree with the other reviewers that the story line is becoming predictable. I think Janet needs to talk with people other than her fans and get some objective feedback. I will continue to read this series because I am fond of the characters but I hope that Janet will consider that there needs to be some substance within the slapstick.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's the characters, Ms. Evanovich!, June 25, 2004

By A Customer

The plot is fun, as always. Stephanie's car is blown up, Lula shoots things she shouldn't, Valerie decides to marry her Kloughn, and a gang contract is put out on Stephanie's life. The humor is there, too, if a bit strained from time to time. Sally Sweet is back and trying very hard to stop swearing all the time: this makes for some fine Evanovich moments. But the plot is also strained and calls on racist stereotypes to depict its bad guys -- this was troublesome.

Also, the characters are no longer entirely themselves. Lula veers between Evanovich's version of "ghetto talk" and sounding entirely unlike herself. Stephanie is, as another reader put it, entirely too petulant. It's a little hard to believe she would be obsessing about Ranger's underwear when she knows she is next on a contract killer's list. Morelli tells Stephanie she should think about being a housewife. That doesn't seem like the edgy Morelli we all know and love. And Ranger? He seems to have lost his fun -- he was always a flat charcter who said "Babe" a lot and pulled Stephanie's pony tail more often than I cared for -- but he now exists only to react to Stephanie.

Another reviewer suggested that someone else has written parts of the book and I think this reviewer is on to something. There is a visible inconsistency in writing style within different parts of the book. Perhaps this would also explain the characters' devolution. It might also explain why plot elements from the past books are ignored. Wasn't Ranger supposed to be trying to get Stephanie back for sending the annoying matron after him in book ten?

The verb "angled" is used frequently -- another sign of sloppy, rushed writing. Snappy writing has been Evanovich's trademark. I mourn its loss in this book.

Oddly, the book focuses quite a bit on weight. Many charcters are defined in terms of their relationships to food. Stephanie becomes "fat" and begins a crash diet. Lula eats too much. Valerie is losing some weight but is still big. And so forth.. I wondered what was going on with this!

I would hope that Ms. Evanovich would take longer than a year for the next one so that she can work out the plot more fully and give her wonderful characters the time to round out. Stephanie needs to make some choices which may change the series quite a bit -- but ultimately make it more satisfying.

Buying recommendation: wait for the paperback or check out from the library. You aren't missing anything!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, June 24, 2004

By	Dawn Curts (Pinckney, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While this book had some funny scenes and some sexual tension, it was disappointing. I agree with the reviewer who said Ranger and Joe were flat. I also didn't get the feeling that either relationship had moved or changed.

There was only one car fire and even Grandma Mazur and Lula were boring in this one.

I got a strong feeling that someone else had a large part in writing this book; it just didn't feel like Janet's work and the writer seemed to have forgotten several important interactions between Ranger and Stephanie.

The book definitely has some good spots that make it worth reading, but if this had been the first in the series, I would not have bought the next one.

Hopefully, Janet's true writing will reappear in number 11. It's just too bad we have to wait another year to find out.