Twelve Sharp by Janet EvanovichTwelve Sharp is the 2006 Quill Book Award winner. This award recognizes achievement in writing and publishing, established with the goal of creating more interest in books and literacy. US-marketed titles are first nominated by a specific group of booksellers and librarians who then choose the top five for each of nineteen award categories. Final winners are chosen by the reading public. While this is no longer an active award it does highlight the popularity of Evanovich’s books by the public. I have never read any of the preceding books in the series, but had no problem getting into this fun, fast-paced story. The characters are written to involve the reader immediately, making it a good book to have on vacation when you finally have the time to get through a book in a few sittings.
Janet Evanovich website
Review:
In a manner almost elegant in its offhandedness, Stephanie Plum gets us up to speed on her life as a bounty hunter in Trenton, NJ; her ever-eccentric family; and her fellows in her cousin's bail-bond office. It doesn't take more than a few pages. Then someone who is mistaken for Ranger--one of the two men in and out of Stephanie's life (the other is Morelli the cop)--is accused of kidnapping his daughter. Evanovich uses all of her considerable arsenal here: wisecracking humor and set pieces about cars, neighborhoods, family matters, and the funeral parlor (now with new directors straight out of Queer Eye for the Burg Guy). Then, at one point, both Morelli and Ranger are living out of Stephanie's apartment (she flees to her childhood bedroom). Evanovich also deftly uses celebrity stalking and identity theft to sketch a quite scary bad guy, and she creates in Ranger's daughter, Julie, a spirited 10-year-old version of her mesmerizing father. The ending is downright terrifying, but the coda is soothing and features a cake with icing roses. Kids? Cupcakes? What could possibly be next? --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2006 Booklist
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