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
"I think of myself more as an entertainer than as a writer," Evanovich says in a bonus interview at the end of this audiobook, and indeed, her latest offering (following To The Nines) will leave listeners with little doubt that she is a master of screwball comedy. At the start of this adventure, bumbling New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her sassy sidekick, Lula, witness a gang member known as the Red Devil rob a convenience store and attempt to bomb it with a Molotov cocktail, which hits Stephanie's car instead. Stephanie gets a good look at the Red Devil, making her a key witness and a target for a nasty gang called the Slayers. Her sometime boyfriend, vice cop Joe Morelli, insists she stay home and out of danger, but Stephanie would rather be bringing in two-bit criminals than lying low. Narrator King steps neatly into Stephanie's shoes, her agile voice conveying not only Stephanie's fear and frustration, but her plaintive, why-does-this-always-happen-to-me attitude. King also nails the manly, mysterious voice of gorgeous bounty hunter Ranger, Stephanie's sometime superhero. Although the high-pitched voice King gives Stephanie's adventure-loving grandmother may grate on some listeners nerves, her vocal stylings are generally as superb as Evanovich's zany characterizations. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
New Jersey bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum's tenth outing gets an adequate, if uncompelling, performance by Lorelei King. She does well enough with the supporting players but is wrong for Steph herself--not young-sounding enough, not Jersey enough, and not emotional enough. Even in the midst of carnage, she sounds like an executive briefing the board. In the abridged format the story, in which Steph is targeted for killing by a Trenton gang because she can ID a robber/arsonist member, is thin and abrupt even for this series. All that said, King's portrayal of the regulars, the over-the-top humor, and Steph's continued flirtation with Ranger and affair with Morelli should keep fans listening. W.M. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Although the strain of keeping her formula fresh and funny shows a bit in this latest adventure of New Jersey's most unusual bond enforcement agent, Stephanie Plum, there's still enough to entertain readers hooked on the wacky, wildly popular series. Plenty of familiar characters and running gags are here: Lula and Grandma Mazur are as comical as ever, and Stephanie still can't hang on to handcuffs and cars or decide between the two men in her life--sexy cop Joe Morelli and scary Ranger, who is hot, hot, hot. This time, though, the tale starts quickly (Stephanie pegs a convenience-store robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, then becomes a target on a hit list) but seems swamped by more than the usual absurdities. Fortunately, a dynamite finish--unexpected and very funny--saves the day for both Stef and her fans. Also on the plus side this time are some extraordinary new, hope-to-see-again additions to the roster[...] Not the high mark of an outstanding series, then, but still good fun for the legions of devotees. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"She's accidentally destroyed a dozen cars. She's a target for every psycho and miscreant this side of the Jersey Turnpike. Her mother's convinced she'll end up dead . . . or worse, without a man. She's Stephanie Plum, and she kicks butt for a living (well, she thinks it sounds good to put it that way. . . .)." It begins as an innocent trip to the deli-mart, on a quest for nachos. But Stephanie Plum and her partner, Lula, are clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery leads to an explosion, which leads to the destruction of yet another car. It would be just another day in the life of Stephanie Plum, except that she becomes the target of a gang - and of an even scarier, more dangerous force that comes to Trenton. With super bounty hunter Ranger acting more mysteriously than ever (and the tension with vice cop Joe Morelli getting hotter), she finds herself with a decision to make: how to protect herself and where to hide while on the hunt for a killer known as the Junkman. There's only one safe place, and it has Ranger's name all over it - if she can find it. And if the Junkman doesn't find her first. With Lula riding shotgun and Grandma Mazur on the loose, Stephanie Plum is racing against the clock.

FROM THE CRITICS

Richard Lipez - The Washington Post

This is the unlikely stuff of comedy, yes, but Evanovich pretty much pulls it off, as she has on nine previous occasions, with chutzpah and sheer comic inventiveness.

Marilyn Stasio - The New York Times

No less than her plotting, Evanovich's characterizations are models of screwball artistry.

Publishers Weekly

"I think of myself more as an entertainer than as a writer," Evanovich says in a bonus interview at the end of this audiobook, and indeed, her latest offering (following To The Nines) will leave listeners with little doubt that she is a master of screwball comedy. At the start of this adventure, bumbling New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her sassy sidekick, Lula, witness a gang member known as the Red Devil rob a convenience store and attempt to bomb it with a Molotov cocktail, which hits Stephanie's car instead. Stephanie gets a good look at the Red Devil, making her a key witness and a target for a nasty gang called the Slayers. Her sometime boyfriend, vice cop Joe Morelli, insists she stay home and out of danger, but Stephanie would rather be bringing in two-bit criminals than lying low. Narrator King steps neatly into Stephanie's shoes, her agile voice conveying not only Stephanie's fear and frustration, but her plaintive, why-does-this-always-happen-to-me attitude. King also nails the manly, mysterious voice of gorgeous bounty hunter Ranger, Stephanie's sometime superhero. Although the high-pitched voice King gives Stephanie's adventure-loving grandmother may grate on some listeners nerves, her vocal stylings are generally as superb as Evanovich's zany characterizations. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Forecasts, June 7). (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In this tenth Stephanie Plum mystery, read competently by Lorelei King, the bounty hunter witnesses a robbery gone wrong. As a consequence she becomes the target of a gang and of a killer named Junkman and must protect her family and herself from harm. All of the familiar characters are here: Stephanie's sister Valerie finally decides to marry Albert Kloughn; Grandma Mazur is anxious to help out; and we learn some personal details about Ranger. Stephanie is living with Joe Morelli, but as usual that relationship has its ups and downs. Although this is not the best of the series, it will not disappoint Stephanie's multitude of fans. Everything is wrapped up neatly at the end, but listeners know there will be more Plum books soon. The price and packaging seem to indicate that this version is intended for bookstores, not libraries, and those with heavy use will need to repackage. Recommended with these limitations in mind.-Mary Knapp, Madison P.L., WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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