Seven Up

Eddy DeChooch is a older man who was caught smuggling a truckload of cigarettes from Virgina to New Jersey. After he was caught, Vinnie Plum, helped him to post bail but, when it came time for Eddy to appear in Court he skipped. That was how Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter got involved in searching for him. She has been working for her cousin Vinnie since she lost her job as a lingerie buyer.

Stephanie doesn't have any training for her job and tends to b a disaster waiting to happen. Often her vehicles are blown up and she is usually being followed or threatened by dangerous men. She doesn't like guns and when she has resorted to using one, she has a poor aim.

The things that Stephanie does have going for her, however, are the fact that she is motivated to pay her bills and capturing those fail to appear provide her only source of income.

Stephanie often asks for help from her two love interests. Joe Morelli is a vice cop who has been a sexual attraction for Stephanie for several years. He doesn't like her job, though especially when she works with Ranger, a man who used to be Stephanie's mentor but has become much closer to her over time. Morelli knows that Ranger is interested in Stephanie and this bothers him. He also doesn't like the fact that Ranger is secretive about the ways that he does things. Ranger doesn't always follow the law and Morelli is the law.

Sometimes Stephanie asks others to travel with her. Grandma Mazur has a very strange approach to life but she does have her finger on the pulse of Trenton and usually can provide helpful information to Stephanie. One of her favourite activities is to go to the funeral home for viewings after there has been a death. Her behaviours are bold and usually cause trouble.

Lula is a former prostitute who works as a filing clerk in Vinnie's office. She often provides transportation or accompanies Stephanie on her adventures. Her focus can be annoying though as she is always wanting to eat fast food, break down doors or shoot someone.

One of the characters from previous books in the series is Mooner, an individual who has used way too many drugs in the past and now presents as a very passive fellow. In "Seven Up" Stephanie is passionate about finding Mooner as he disappears.

So, while Stephanie makes several unsuccessful attempts to find and capture Eddy DeChooch, these other characters move in and out of Stephanie's life. So does her hamster, Rex, who is Stephanie's roommate and confidante.

Stephanie's sister, Valerie, was always portrayed as the "perfect" person. She had been living in California with her husband and two daughters but things greatly changed when her husband left her. Valerie decided to come back to Trenton and moved in with her parents and grandmother. She needed work and thought that working with Stephanie as a bounty hunter would be a good idea. It wasn't.

I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum novels as they combine suspense with humour. On to the next one...