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

by Janet Evanovich (Author) "When I was a little girl I used to dress Barbie up without underpants..." (more)
Key Phrases: garbage company, olive loaf, garbage people, Mary Lou, Grand Union, Randy Briggs (more...)

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 the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Evanovich's tales of the adventures of Stephanie Plum (Four to Score, etc.), Jersey girl and bounty hunter extraordinaire, have been eagerly anticipating this next installment in the popular series. The good news is that the novel is just as wacky and over the top as its predecessors, and that the disaster-prone Stephanie has brought along her usual wild-and-crazy crew of sidekicks and loony relatives to help her chase down felons. Evanovich even manages to make the dowdy working-class city of Trenton, N.J., seem like a hip, edgy place for her funky characters to live. But Trenton also has its share of nefarious criminals for Stephanie to pursueAfolk like Randy Briggs, the dwarf, who not only repeatedly eludes her grasp but keeps taunting her as a loser. Stephanie careens through her days, looking for her missing Uncle Fred and taking on FTA (failure to appear) cases for her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman. Further complications ensue when she tries to earn extra money by moonlighting on quasi-legal "security" jobs for Ranger, her dangerously sexy mentor at the bounty-hunting game. Ranger is looking awfully good to Stephanie these days, and she is finding it hard to choose between him and old flame Joe Morelli. Evanovich tells her fast-paced and furiously funny story expertly. The action never stops, the dialogue is snappy and the characters are more than memorable. Readers can't miss with this one. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First edition (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312971346
• ISBN-13: 978-0312971342
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (292 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #4 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series
  #26 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( E ) > Evanovich, Janet
  #35 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

• This is item 5 in The Stephanie Plum Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 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" (Boca Raton, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	W. Kaplan "calyndula" (Wynnewood, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun! Another Stephanie Plum Winner!, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5) (Hardcover)

I've read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels and must say I look forward to every one with bated breath. While we're not talking about the "Great American Novel" here each and every one is an enjoyable read. Any woman can imagine herself bumbling through Stephanie's predicaments which must be the key to having a best-selling novel. If I found myself a bounty hunter I could easily imagine myself being afraid of my gun and keeping it in the cookie jar! I thought the introduction of the Ranger romantic complication was great. Joe Morelli needs some competition! Like the other readers who reviewed this book I can't wait for #6 to see who was waiting at the door in the end (although I wouldn't kick either one of them out!). My only caveat with the book was I thought the wrap-up of the crime story was a little too quick. One scene with the bad guy and all the loose ends are tied up. It was a bit of an anti-climax. But don't let that discourage you from reading High Five and hurry up Janet! We're waiting for #6!