Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; (June 1, 2004) ISBN: 0312991460

Book Description
The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
A Stephanie Plum Novel

Janet Evanovich's novels are the hottest bestsellers in America!
# 1 New York Times
# 1 Wall Street Journal
#1 Los Angeles Times
#1 Entertainment Weekly
#1 Publishers Weekly

Stephanie Plum's got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli . . . oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure.

But hey, she's from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way . . . and she always gets her man. In To the Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life. The unforgettable characters, nonstop action, high-stakes suspense, and sheer entertainment of To the Nines define Janet Evanovich as unique among today's writers.
 

Brilliant - clever, humorous & it even has a good plot, January 23, 2004

Reviewer: Erin Kay Darling from Roy, WA USA

Typically, the Stephanie Plum books are very funny, but a little lacking in terms of plot complexity. This time around, Janet Evanovich brings us a book as funny as she's ever written which also has a plot that is worthy of the mystery genre. Go Janet! Bingeaux!

She does have Stephanie running all over the place in this installment of Plum's story - miraculously, though, Stephanie manages *not* to explode, incinerate or otherwise destroy her car this time; she does, however, seem to be blowing through Ranger's band of Merry Men, almost all of whom sustain some form of injury whilst acting as her bodyguard(s).

Speaking of Ranger, he's back in true form - making suggestive...well, suggestions, close body contact, employing standard Ranger charisma...which Stephanie has a difficult time fending off. My mental image of this man is about as close to perfection as any man could possibly come - I think Evanovich has possibly created the sexiest fictional character - EVER.

Lula also features prominently in the story, bouncing from one diet to another, until she settles upon the all-meat diet and carries around purses full of whole chickens, pounds of bacon and sundry other delectables - much to the delight of the local street dogs.

Stephanie's family goes back to cameo roles, thankfully - the family home works so well as a break from the action, but when Evanovich spends too much time with Grandma Mazur or Mom, it slows things down far too much. There is quite a lot of drama happening with the family, though, and many laughs to be had, largley at the expense of poor, ready-to-give-birth Valerie, who is systematically eating her parents out of house and home ("you know how she gets when she's interrupted in the middle of a ham!")

The gist of the plot itself is this: There's a serial killer around, or so there seems to be, and Stephanie thinks she knows where the killer is headquartered - a local business owned by three very different brothers. As she gets closer to locating key people (witnesses, friends and the man who skipped bond and fled town,) Stephanie finds them turning up dead.

After their deaths, photographs of their bodies frequently find their way into her apartment, accompanied by flowers and a note insinuating that her turn will come soon. Naturally, this makes Morelli more than a bit nervous, and he and Ranger work together to ensure Stephanie's safety as best they can. Their work is cut out for them - throughout the story, Stephanie is shot with a tranquilzer dart (twice,) hit with a tazer, beaten up, stalked and finally taken hostage to be the rabbit in a sick game the killer wants her to play.

Further, Morelli's grandmother keeps having visions in which she's dead. Stephanie's relationship with Morelli is in a very comfortable place in this book - things are looking like they may settle down together, as more and more of Steph's belongings find their way into Morelli's house.

Bravo, Janet Evanovich! You've turned out an excellent story with _To the Nines_, and I hope to see more of the same sort of material in your next Plum book. Thank you for the laughs and the entertainment.  

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