Ten Big Ones: A witty crime adventure filled with high-stakes suspense - Hardcover

The latest of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum adventures, Ten Big Ones places New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie in rather more jeopardy than usual. She has inconvenienced a local street gang and finds herself with a price on her head; the contract killer known as the Junkman has a taste for torture as well as murder, and she is the last victim on his list. As usual, she finds herself caught between her regular boyfriend, cop Morelli, and the dangerous and charming Ranger; as usual, the main plot goes on in the intervals between her regular rounds of catching up with bail defaulters and delivering them to court, and her involvement with her eccentric Hungarian and Italian relatives.

There are few surprises here--Janet Evanovich is good and funny on the subtle variations in New Jersey's suburbs and the differences between good and bad neighbourhoods, and she has always had the knack of constructing knockabout scenes of slapstick and farce. If at times she drifts towards the formulaic and stale, this is only really evident in retrospect. As one reads the book, she is as entertaining as always. --Roz Kaveney

'The familiar mix of screwball dialogue and oddball secondary characters still retains terrific vitality' The Sunday Times, 27/6/04 (The Sunday Times)

'Look out for Sally the swearing tranny who drives the school bus. She's a star - and so is Evanovich' Mirror (4 starred review), 19/6/04 (Mirror (4 starred review))

'Janet Evanovich's series is as addictive as corn chips - and, 10 books in, not losing any of its salty crunch' Who Weekly, Australia, 12/7/04 (Who Weekly, Australia)

'Reads like the screen-play for a 1930s screwball comedy: fast, funny and furious... The rollicking plot...keeps the reader breathless' Publishers Weekly, 7/6/04 (Publishers Weekly)