fiction series - humor-filled bounty hunter escapades, working to apprehend criminals while juggling the attentions of two flirty men (in this book Stephanie is at the start of a sort of relationship with Morelli and we meet Bob the large, friendly, orange dog). As with many popular serial novels, this works fine as a standalone. (Published in June 2000.)

All of JE's books (i.e., the two that I've actually read) have a lot of tacky humor, which is part of the appeal (I did enjoy the scene where Stephanie and Lula "steal" a pile of dog poop for the purposes of their prank). Also, characters tend to be more caricatures than dimensional personalities, and said caricatures are frequently made fun of in an unkind way--not the type of humor that everyone will like, but again, I can see the appeal. Unfortunately, this volume features one bad guy henchman who is a Pakistani immigrant, who is casually referred to with negative racial slurs (by his co-henchman who is not a likeable character anyway), and who most unfortunately says horrifically unflattering things about his former job in Pakistan (Chapter 7, p. 149 in this edition). I get that it's "just meant as a joke" and not made in any kind of seriousness or malice (it's hard to take any of these characters seriously, in fact), but there are plenty of other ways to make people laugh without providing fodder for xenophobia and hate that persists as a serious problem in today's world.

I have a lot of respect for JE and I am certain that she can do better, so I'm really hoping that her more recent volumes (35 in this series to date, and counting) can still make her readers laugh without resorting to jokes at the expense of ethnic groups. I'm downgrading the rating for this book because of that, but I think the series overall, especially/hopefully the more recent ones, might be worth checking out.

picked up from a Little Free Library, part of my trying various popular authors I've never read before-- ( )

Ranger is in trouble and its Stephanie Plum to the rescue. I have lost track of how many cars she has go through and am only at book 6 of a 25 book series (currently). I look forward to the shenanigans Stephanie will get into next. ( )

I usually really like the Stephanie Plum books. They’re fun, quirky, fast reads that definitely don’t take themselves too seriously. This one fell somewhat flat for me, but I still really enjoyed revisiting Stephanie, her crazy friends and family, and all her familiar antics.

Although the plot wasn’t stellar, the characters, as always, are what make these books so much fun to read. Between Lula, Grandma Mazur, and whatever ridiculous characters Evanovich thinks up next, there are usually plenty of laughs. Toss in a giant dog that’ll eat anything - and I mean ANYTHING - a couple of inept (but still scary) thugs and two hot guys vying for Stephanie’s attention, and you’re guaranteed there isn’t going to be a dull moment in this book.

The key with Hot Six, as with all other Stephanie Plum novels, is not to expect too much. Suspend your disbelief, don’t expect realism - or even a whole lot of logic - and enjoy this novel for what it really is: a wild, fun ride. ( )

Plum's at it again. First, we gotta deal with the cliffhanger from #5, then with a lot of drama, a lot of sleuthing and a lot of sexual tension and sleuthing mistakes. All's well that ends well, or we wouldn't be off to #7 soon. ( )

Light weight, silly at times, partially redeemed by humor. ( )