Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Back to bounty hunting she goes, Stephanie is armed and ready to tackle the next set of Failure to Appears. In an attempt to help Ranger with one of his security projects, Stephanie kicks off Lean Mean Thirteen by planting a bug on her ex-husaband Dickie Orr. After discovering his new girlfriend was Joyce (the women he originally was caught cheating on her with) she goes a little nuts in his office and is able to sneak the bug in while tackling him to the ground.

What she doesn’t expect to happen is for Dickie to go missing the next day & his house be covered in blood. The prime suspect, Stephanie Plum.

Her boyfriend & cop, Joe Morelli, tells her not to worry about it. Unfortunately he is holed up for most of the book with a witness that needs to be babysat. The phone messages and one or two meetings, he is attempting to convince Stephanie that she should move in with him and ditch her apartment.

Then again what is worse for Stephanie Plum than making a commitment to live with her boyfriend, Morelli… Morelli’s new roommate that comes to live with him for the book. Morelli has a surprise roommate pop up midway through the book and it pretty much pushed me to finish the book as fast as possible. Not only was it a hilarious surprise but it added an awesome twist to the book.

Stephanie took us on another great adventure full of a lot of dumb luck and stubbornness.

“Babe, you’ve destroyed a car, burned down two buildings, stapled a guy’s nuts, and you have sixteen stitches in your leg. Take a night off. Have a glass of wine, watch some television, and go to bed early.”
― Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen

Lean Mean Thirteen was filled with another hilarious round of Stephanie Plum adventures, including busting an FTA who had a houseful of marijuana. The book wouldn’t be complete without something blowing up…. imagine what happens when she and Lula get too close to the stove trying to capture him.

I really enjoyed this book and while it will take a lot to beat out To the Nines and Twelve Sharp on my list of favorites, this one was still a really good read. It was great to read more of the back story of Stephanie and Dickie and it is always a good laugh when Joyce gets herself into situations. Ranger even survived (most of) a dinner at Stephanie’s parents house when Joe couldn’t fill in.

“The doorbell rang and Grandma ran to get it. “It’s him,” she said to me. “It’s my honey.”
My father got out of his chair in the living room and took his seat at the table. “I don’t care if he craps in a bag,” he said to Ranger. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you can scare him into marrying her and moving her into his room at the old people’s home.”
― Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen

One of my favorite characters has a few lines in every book but I have to say, I’m really starting to like Stephanie’s dad. He plays such a minor role but Janet has written such a perfect quiet role for him. Grandma and her mother do enough of the talking (and drinking) to make up for his small part. I hope that one of the books features more of him down the road.

Spoiler Alert! I won’t lie when I say this was my favorite ending to a book yet. When Stephanie told Joe she was ready to go home I started to get impatient for Fearless Fourteen. Fingers crossed that means we might see an end to the Ross & Rachel version of their relationship!

Who is your favorite Stephanie Plum Character?