From Publishers Weekly
Sassy, brassy Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter from Trenton, N.J., introduced to acclaim in last year's One for the Money, returns to track a bond jumper through her blue-collar neighborhood known as the "burg." A local funeral home, a slimy undertaker and mutilated corpses figure large in the search for Kenny Mancuso, who, having shot an old high-school friend in the knee, posted bail with Stephanie's boss, her cousin, and then disappeared. When the old friend is shot again, fatally, Stephanie reluctantly joins forces with her sexy enemy and love interest, Trenton homicide cop Joe Morelli. While looking for Kenny, Stephanie also searches for 24 caskets stolen from Spiro Stiva, heir apparent of Stiva's Mortuary and also a high-school buddy of Kenny's. As body parts, cut from "clients" on view at Stiva's, are used to warn people off the case, Stephanie and Morelli spar in a lively if expected fashion and Stephanie's feisty gun-toting Grandma Mazur forsakes her usual routine of talk-show TV and attending wakes to join the fight against crime. Readers will likely stay a few steps ahead of the sleuths, but the sharp repartee and Stephanie's slightly cynical but still fond relationship with her family and the burg hold a treasury of urban-style charms. $100,000 ad/promo; Mystery Guild selection; Literary Guild alternate selection; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Evanovich's first novel, One for the Money (Macmillan, 1994), introduced Stephanie Plum, a gutsy heroine who wormed her way into a job with her bond-agent cousin Vinnie. With the aid of vice cop Joe and her Grandma Mazur, Stephanie pursues a bail jumper and knows that a vice cop wants them both. A winning adventure.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
Kirkus Reviews The first must-read of the new year.


Review
Kirkus ReviewsThe first must-read of the new year.


Review
Kirkus Reviews The first must-read of the new year.


Book Description
It's Stephanie Plum, New Jersey's "fugitive apprehension" agent (aka bounty hunter), introduced to the world by Janet Evanovich in the award-winning novel One for the Money. Now Stephanie's back, armed with attitude -- not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, killer flashlights, and her trusty .38, Stephanie is after a new bail jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton's burg. He's fresh out of the army, suspiciously wealthy, and he's just shot his best friend. With her bounty hunter pal Ranger stepping in occasionally to advise her, Stephanie staggers kneedeep in corpses and caskets as she traipses through back streets, dark alleys, and funeral parlors. And nobody knows funeral parlors better than Stephanie's irrepressible Grandma Mazur, a lady whose favorite pastime is grabbing a front-row seat at a neighborhood wake. So Stephanie uses Grandma as a cover to follow leads, but loses control when Grandma warms to the action, packing a cool pistol. Much to the family's chagrin, Stephanie and Granny may soon have the elusive Kenny in their sights. Fast-talking, slow-handed vice cop Joe Morelli joins in the case, since the prey happens to be his young cousin. And if the assignment calls for an automobile stakeout for two with the woman who puts his libido in overdrive, Morelli's not one to object. Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie eventually must face the danger alone when embalmed body parts begin to arrive on her doorstep and she's targeted for a nasty death by the most loathsome adversary she's ever encountered. Another case like this and she'll be a real pro. Two for the Dough is irresistible fun and powerful suspense entertainment from an acclaimed author who is already a national star.


Download Description
Stephanie is after a new bail jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton's burg. He's fresh out of the army, suspiciously wealthy, and he's just shot his best friend. With her bounty hunter pal Ranger stepping in occasionally to advise her, Stephanie staggers knee-deep in corpses and caskets as she traipses through back streets, dark alleys, and funeral parlors. And nobody knows funeral parlors better than Stephanie's irrepressible Grandma Mazur, a lady whose favorite pastime is grabbing a front-row seat at a neighborhood wake. So Stephanie uses Grandma as a cover to follow leads, but loses control when Grandma warms to the action, packing a cool pistol. Much to the family's chagrin, Stephanie and Granny may soon have the elusive Kenny in their sights. Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie eventually must face the danger alone when embalmed body parts begin to arrive on her doorstep and she's targeted for a nasty death by the most loathsome adversary she's ever encountered. Another case like this and she'll be a real pro.


Simon & Schuster
Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum outing, the Dilys award-winning One for the Money, was a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Shamus, and Macavity awards, and was named the book "most fun to sell" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers of America in 1994. Now she once again takes to the mean streets of Trenton, armed with attitude (not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, killer flashlights, and her untrustworthy .38) to find Kenny Mancuso, who recently left the army, inadvertently shot his best friend, and is on the run in violation of a bond.

Aided by her tough bounty hunter coach and her irrepressible Grandma Mazur, Stephanie once again forms a rocky alliance with fast-talking, slow-handed vice cop Joe Morelli for the tumultous chase through back alleys and Grandma's favorite funeral parlors.

Witty, fresh, and full of surprises, Two for the Dough is the Stephanie Plum sequel fans have been waiting for.


About the Author
Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum novel, One for the Money, was named a New York Times notable book, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1994, and a USA Today "Best Bet." Winner of the Dilys Award, presented by the Independent Mystery Booksellers' Association as the book "most fun to sell," it was a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Shamus, and Macavity awards. Evanovich lives with her family in New Hampshire, where she is at work on Stephanie Plum's next adventure.

FROM OUR EDITORS

A bail-skippin' jerk who plugged his best friend, along with a wad of low-grade coffins that've mysteriously wandered off (with help, of course), is Stephanie's primary concern in Two for the Dough, Janet Evanovich's second saucy Plum caper.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stephanie is after a new bail jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton's burg. He's fresh out of the army, suspiciously wealthy, and he's just shot his best friend. With her bounty hunter pal Ranger stepping in occasionally to advise her, Stephanie staggers knee-deep in corpses and caskets as she traipses through back streets, dark alleys, and funeral parlors. And nobody knows funeral parlors better than Stephanie's irrepressible Grandma Mazur, a lady whose favorite pastime is grabbing a front-row seat at a neighborhood wake. So Stephanie uses Grandma as a cover to follow leads, but loses control when Grandma warms to the action, packing a cool pistol. Much to the family's chagrin, Stephanie and Granny may soon have the elusive Kenny in their sights. Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie eventually must face the danger alone when embalmed body parts begin to arrive on her doorstep and she's targeted for a nasty death by the most loathsome adversary she's ever encountered. Another case like this and she'll be a real pro.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Return of sassy New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum in Evanovich's followup to One for the Money. (Sept.)

Library Journal