Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum) [Hardcover]

Janet Evanovich (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this tepid Stephanie Plum adventure from Evanovich (Finger Lickin' Fifteen, etc.), a personal case distracts the Trenton, N.J., bondswoman from tracking the usual group of eccentric skips--the kidnapping of her cousin, Vinnie, who's being held for ransom in the high six figures. As Stephanie, sidekick Lula, and office manager Connie soon realize, Vincent Plum Bail Bonds is seriously in the red due to Vinnie's gambling. Vinnie's also gotten caught up with local mobster Bobby Sunflower in a complicated scheme. Even though her sleazy cousin isn't her favorite person and chasing oddball felons isn't her ideal career, Stephanie knows family loyalty counts for something, plus she owes him for giving her a job all those years ago. So with Lula and Connie in tow--and romantic interests Morelli and Ranger lurking in the background-- Stephanie must save the day once again. Evanovich is at her best spinning the bizarre subplots involving Stephanie's bail jumpers, but the larger story simply recycles elements from previous installments.
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From Booklist

Stephanie Plum, half-Italian, half-Hungarian, a shrewd mixture of smarts and dumb luck, works for her cousin Vinny as a bail bondswoman in Trenton, New Jersey. Vinny, however, is in deep fecal matter, owing too much money to the very scary guys who have kidnapped him. Stephanie, office manager Connie, and Lula, plus-sized and focused (if not on the job at hand), manage to spring Vinny (more than once) and find a lot of money to pay what he owes. Along the way, they facilitate a cow stampede and an alligator escape; are assisted by a bunch of Hobbit con-goers; and find their office going up quite thoroughly in flames. Stephanie wrecks the usual car and ping-pongs between the hot and dangerous Ranger and the hot and domestic Morelli. Ranger says the “love” word to Stephanie, but it is Morelli at the end, offering her a pink, lacy thong. In the first few pages, Evanovich both catches readers up on the hilarious and cockeyed history of the preceding 15 books and gives fans a little more of everything they want, including the return of beloved stoner Mooner. Funny, scary, silly, and sweet. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (June 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383304
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383305
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (405 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #3 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( E ) > Evanovich, Janet
  #10 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Comic
  #18 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

209 of 221 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More fizzle than sizzle..., June 28, 2010

By	Cheryl Shifflet (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sizzling Sixteen (Kindle Edition)

Having read the vast majority of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, I was more than a little excited about the latest installment in the series. I pre-ordered it for my Kindle and began reading it on the subway ride the morning it was released. That alone should tell you how eager I was about the release of this book. Unfortunately, not only did it fall short of my expectations (I also found a downside to the Kindle, you can't chuck it across the room when you're ticked-off like a regular book), but left me incredibly frustrated.

While I'm used to the madcap adventures of Stephanie, Lula, and Grandma Mauzer I was more than a little put off with the pure insanity of this book. First off there was this lucky bottle, which is made out of glass that Stephanie carries around in her handbag throughout most of the story. I'm still trying to figure out how it never broke, especially considering she was chased by an alligator at one point (don't ask!) and ran off a collapsing fire escape.

Also not to mention the fact that Ranger willing gave her two cars (which of course end up destroyed). I'm certain he likes her a whole lot, but I don't think anyone could like someone so much so that they would let them destroy two vehicles and not make her pay for them. Odd. What was also odd was how she was saved when she was in a terrible pickle, Hobbits anyone?

My other biggest issue was the sheer amount of Lula I had to endure. Don't get me wrong Lula is a fun character, but in moderation. I felt like she was in every scene, spewing bad grammar at every turn. At some point it grated on my nerves and I almost wished the alligator would've eaten her! Mean I know, but there's only so much tight pink spandex and Cluck-in-a-Bucket a girl can take.

The most glaring problem is the continuous flip-flopping Stephanie does when it comes to her love life. Nothing developed on this front at all. No choice has been made. She moons for Ranger when she sees him and then longs for Joe when she's in his presence. I don't know how either man tolerates her inability to commit to one of them for more than a week. It's getting a bit played out.

Janet, it's time Stephanie grew up. She grumbles constantly about how much she hates bounty hunting, well get another job and/or settle down! She can't bring herself to decide who she wants as a permanent fixture in her life. She needs to stop stringing two guys along like a sixteen year old who can't decide if she wants to take the cool motorcycle bad boy or the star quarterback to the prom. I understand that if she does one or both of these things the series is over, but maybe it's for the best. It's been a fun, wacky ride and I've enjoyed every minute until this installment. The next book should be called Sayonara Seventeen.

130 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sizzle? Did I Miss Something?, June 23, 2010

By	Red Head (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sizzling Sixteen (Kindle Edition)

I love this series but I completely agree with other reviewers. There was no sizzle at all. Yes, it had very funny moments that reminded me of Plum books past, but the redundancy of said humor, action sequences and even style of writing made this book almost tedious. In fact, the comedy and action is starting to play like a sitcom...and I don't want to read a book that plays like a tv show.

The men 'in' her life were hardly 'in' her life, as we didn't see much of them in this one. Please, PLEASE make a decision about your love life Stephanie. It's gotten very old and extremely stale.

I know I keep coming back because I want to see some movement, some resolution, in her love life and her professional life, and its just not happening.

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stone-cold Sixteen..., June 26, 2010

By	Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum) (Hardcover)

I have been a Janet Evanovich-junkie from the very beginning. Maybe it's because I'm from New Jersey and live less than 20 miles from The Burg. Maybe it's because Evanovich's bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum is funny, irreverent, outrageous and unpredictable. Even the books that weren't as good as her first efforts were still entertaining, with at least a few great belly-laughs. Well, I'm sorry to say that her latest, Sizzling Sixteen, could be called Stone-Cold Sixteen instead. This book is barely entertaining--and mostly stupid. I hate to admit this, but it's the truth.

Stephanie works for a bonding agency run by her cousin Vinnie. Unfortunately, Vinnie has run up gambling debts with his bookie. The bookie has him kidnapped with the threat to kill if the money isn't forthcoming by Friday. Worried about losing their jobs, Stephanie, Lula and Connie decide that they must act. Their first goal is to find Vinnie. Afterward, they'll try to come up with the money. This plot is pretty lame, and if that isn't enough, it's filled with cows running through the streets of Trenton, a 6 foot alligator that guards drug money in a private home and a hobbit convention. There are enough donut and chicken stops to swear you off grease for the rest of your life.

Some of the best parts of Sizzling Sixteen are Evanovich's descriptions. As for Trenton, The Burg "is a neighborhood of hardworking second-generation Americans. Families are extended and proudly dysfunctional. Although dysfunction in Jersey might be hard to measure." As for Plum's relationship issues with Joe Morelli and Ranger, "I was in a state because I had two men in my life, and I had no clue what to do with them....I was too traditional and Catholic to just enjoy them. How sick is that? I wasn't a practicing Catholic, but I had guilt." Unfortunately, Evanovich's characters have become stale, the antics are boring and the plots are dumb.

It's definitely time for her to get back to her old-self or else, marry off Stephanie and end this series. I always look forward to a new Evanovich, but I'm sorry that I spent the money for this one.