Book:Seven Up

Janet Evanovich
Fiction
St. Martin's Press / 2002
Mass Market / 352 Pages
Series: Stephanie Plum #7

Semi-retired mob guy, Eddie DeChooch, is caught trafficking contraband cigarettes through Trenton, New Jersey. When DeChooch fails to show for a court appearance, bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum is assigned the task of finding him and dragging his decrepit ass back to jail. Not such an easy job, it turns out, since DeChooch has learned a lot of tricks over the years and isn't afraid to use his gun. He's already shot Loretta Ricci and left her for worm food in his shed. He wouldn't mind shooting Stephanie next.

Likeable losers (and former high school classmates) Walter "MoonMan" Dunphy and Dougie "The Dealer" Kruper have inadvertently become involved with DeChooch. They've gotten sucked into an operation which is much more than simple cigarette smuggling and holds risks far greater than anyone could have imagined.

When Dougie disappears, Steph goes into search mode. When Mooner disappears, she calls in the heavy artillery and asks master bounty hunter Ranger for help. Ranger's price for the job? One night with Stephanie, dusk to dawn. Not information she'd want to share with her some-time live in roommate, vice cop Joe Morelli.

A typical dilemma in the world of Plum.

And on the homefront, Stephanie's "perfect" sister Valerie has decided to move back to Trenton, bringing her two kids from hell. Grandma Mazur is asking questions about being a lesbian, and Bob, the bulimic dog, is eating everything in sight-including the furniture.

Mud wrestling, motorcycles, fast cars, fast food, and fast men. It's Seven Up. Absolutely Janet Evanovich at her very best.

I picked this book up because Challenge/series

What I liked the Most? How the ancient cast of characters keep elluding everybody. LOL. Too funny.

What I liked the Least? Eddie was kinda mean

Review: Stephanie is expected to pick up a seventy plus year old person mobster who never made his court appearance. She instead finds him to be extremely difficult to apprehend as he keeps evading her. During her search, Stephanie is shot at, propositioned, and threatened. She uses herself as bait to catch her mark, but instead Eddie kidnaps Grandma Mazur. He uses his victim to force Stephanie to accept his terms. Desperate, she turns to former mercenary Ranger to help her even as she wonders whether she really wants to pay the price he extracts from her for his services.

Recommended to: Fans of the series

Best Quote: "Is that a bulletproof vest? See, now that's so insulting. That's like saying I'm not smart enough to shoot you in the head."

Challenges: 100+, Stephanie Plum