No. 4) (Stephanie Plum Novels) - Four to Score (Stephanie Plum

My CD collection of the original unabridged version read by the original narrators added a humorous good natured atmosphere to the listening experience. The new releases are flat. Not much interest in discerning between the characters is evident. Hardly worth replacing my collection. My memory will have to do.

Stephanie Plum can’t handle the simple case of hauling in Maxine Nowicki to reschedule her court appearance in Four to Score. Maxine jumped bail rather than face the court system that prosecuted her for stealing her boyfriend’s car. In order to solve the mystery underlying Maxine’s disappearance, Stephanie has to bring in the big guns. Stephanie further discovers that the mystery she needed to solve had connections to a counterfeiting case that was perplexing the Trenton police force and its top detective, Joseph Morelli.
Lula is one of the big guns, a former prostitute who turned straight and gained employment at the Vincent Plum Bail Bond agency. While nominally a file clerk, Lula helped Stephanie on those hard-to-handle skip-traces that seem easy at first glance. Or maybe it is the way Lula and Stephanie go about their job that makes the cases seem hard to handle. In order to find Nowicki, Stephanie needs to solve some clues that Maxine delivered to her ex-boyfriend, a real charmer named Eddie who makes Stephanie gag reflexively.
The person with a penchant for solving puzzles is a tough-talking transvestite musician named with the stage name of Sally Sweet. Salvatore becomes part of Stephanie’s crime solving entourage for the story. Evanovich brought the character back in Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, and Twelve Sharp, three other novels in the Plum by the Numbers series.
One of the puzzles lead Stephanie to the Cluck-in-the-Bucket, a place where she and Lula don’t need any extra incentives to visit. Yet solving the puzzles are Stephanie’s best bet in tracing Maxine Nowicki. The normal path of following the people who know Maxine best doesn’t work, because they seemingly keep getting killed.
For instance, her mother seemingly dies, not once, but twice, during routine interrogations. The night manager at a seven-eleven, who was the last known person to see Maxine, disappeared as suddenly as Maxine did. Both women, Mrs. Nowicki and Helen Badjian -- the 7-11 clerk -- are discovered disfigured by a cleaver upon inspection.
The big guns include Ranger Manoso, the top bounty-hunter at the Plum Agency, and Joseph Morelli, the aforementioned Trenton detective who has a personal history with Stephanie. Ranger at this point in the Plum-by-the-Numbers series was a harmless flirtation for Stephanie. While Morelli is busy with a counterfeiting case in cooperation with the federal government, there are interesting parallels with his case and Stephanie’s skip-trace.
One of those parallels is Eddie, last name withheld, but it is the same surname as another man in an earlier Plum novel that offers Stephanie unwanted attention. Eddie lives with his Aunt Betty and Uncle Lou--a couple that plays everything close to the vest. When Vincent Plum took Stephanie off the Nowicki case, Eddie hired Stephanie to find his old girlfriend. Vinny also hired Stephanie’s bete-noire, Joyce Barnhardt, to recover Maxine. Oil and water mix better than Stephanie and Joyce Barnhardt, and having them both on the same case, even with different employers, results in some chuckles.
There is also some danger. Stephanie finds herself under attack by someone jealous about their boyfriend. Signs point to Maxine, but this is one of the twists in the story that made it fun.
This was another early hit in the long-running series by Evanovich, with a formulaic story line, a regular cast of odd characters, and even odder recurring characters. Four to Score is a prime example of why “the world’s worst bounty-hunter” is surprisingly effective in her job, and entertaining to read about.

When Stephanie is asked to hunt down a waitress who skipped bail after stealing her ex-boyfriend's car she thinks it'll be easy. That's before the ex-boyfriend offers her extra cash on the side if she'll tip him off to Maxine's location before the cops get involved though. It turns out that Maxine has been leaving clues for her ex and now Stephanie finds herself on a crazy treasure hunt trying to figure out what Maxine is really up to. When Maxine's friend loses a finger and her mother gets scalped the chase really starts to heat up and it looks like Maxine is in a lot more danger that Stephanie could have imagined.

I really struggle to write reviews for this series, not because I don't love these books but because I just want to rave like a lunatic about how fantastic they all are. The main trouble is that I've probably said it all before, I adore these characters, they're all over the top and completely stereotypical but absolutely brilliant in spite of that (or possibly because of it). These characters are larger than life, funny as hell and all of the books make me snort with laughter. If you enjoyed the previous books then you're bound to love Four to Score too, I'm on at least my 3rd read through of the earlier books in this series and that probably says more about my love for these books than anything else could. It's a series that I continuously go back to when I need something that is going to put a smile on my face.

Stephanie is just as out of her depth here as ever, but she always manages to come out on top no matter how crazy the situations she lands in are. Grandma Mazur and Lula are two of my favourite fictional sidekicks but here we have the addition of transvestite Sally Sweet who I really hope is going to become a cast regular (it's been so long since I read these books last that I really can't remember if he crops up again later but I'm keeping my fingers crossed). We also have two great guys to swoon over and after all these years I'm still not sure if I can choose a favourite. Things are progressing well between Stephanie and Joe Morelli though and we even get to meet his family in this book. His grandmother is one scary lady and I certainly wouldn't want her giving me the evil eye! Ranger is still around too and I love the friendly flirtation between him and Stephanie, I don't think it'll ever go anywhere but I enjoy it all the same and who doesn't like to daydream about a batman type of superhero? These books are pure entertainment, perfect for when you're in the mood for something light hearted, a little bit silly and guaranteed to make you giggle and I don't think I'll ever get bored of spending time with Stephanie and her friends!

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Stephanie Plum has settled in to her job as a bounty hunter, and so picking up a missing NJ girl who failed to appear after stealing her boyfriend's truck seems like a cakewalk. And there's a bonus -- the boyfriend is willing to give her money too to find her and get some supposed love letters back from her. Easy peasy. Except nothing is easy for Plum, ever. The missing girl wants to stay missing, and her mother and co-worker are helping. Even when somebody else is looking for the girl too, and willing to hurt people to get them to talk.
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WHAT I LIKED:
Plum has an extra helper in this case, a guy who's good with codes and clues. A flamboyant cross-dresser, he livens up the scene. And the relationship with Moretti leaps forward with the two cohabitating for awhile. I love the scenes where the women are talking about guns and what type of gun to carry, use, etc.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
There are some baddies who are painfully obviously involved, which Plum misses for most of the book. And someone who is out to get her is obvious as well. Almost painful to watch. Oh, and one of my favorite characters. Ranger, has nothing to do for the entire book. More like an afterthought to include him.
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

The chemistry sizzles between Joe Morelli and Stephanie Plum. They've been dancing around each other since Stephanie was six years old and they played train in Joe's parents garage. And then there was that incident behind the bakery case at the Tasty Pastry when Stephanie was 16. And yet, as adults they danced around each other, like wrestlers before the match, never quite making their relationship official. I ripped through books 1,2,3. I wanted to see them get together at last. In "Four to Score" Joe comes right out and tells Stephanie she's scary. Without giving away spoilers, there's a hint in the title.

This book had a lot of mystery in it. Stephanie’s main case doesn’t make much sense. There is a woman on the run while playing a clue game with her ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, the people around her are being cut and injured by someone.
In the middle of that case, someone starts terrorizing Stephanie causing her to lose her car and her apartment. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Morelli’s whole family is convinced that she is pregnant and they are getting married.
It was a strange book right from the start, but that is what made it so intriguing. I found it really hard to put down which was great.
I was right that the chapters don’t seem as long anymore now that I am used to their length. Reading too many James Patterson books had me used to 2-3 page chapters.
I haven’t hit a dull point in this series yet, and I hope that doesn’t happen.
I hope Sally remains a part of this series, but I have a feeling that he will be gone after this book.

5/5 Stars

Memorable quotes: “In my world, God and Santa Claus did not micromanage lives. Of course, that meant you couldn’t count on them to lose weight, either.”

“I like Lula a lot, but last time we worked together I gained seven pounds and almost got arrested for shooting a guy who was already dead.”

“Tonight my aloneness felt lonely, and maybe even a little frightening.”

“I loved my mother, but love only goes so far when you’re trying to explain how your grandmother ended up standing on a blackjack table in a packed casino.”

How can you not love these wonderful characters!?! Stephanie has a new job, all she has to do is get a revenge seeking waitress who has skipped bail. Doesn't sound super hard or hazardous, seeing as how her revenge is not for Stephanie. Before she knows it though her case is being turned upside down by more than just one person. Her ex-husband's "other woman" from their wrecked marriage is on the same case as her, the waitress she is trying to find is being sought after by her ex boyfriend too...who happens to hire Stephanie to help him find her, and she now is having threats made on her life. What a wonderful time. Soon she is at the mercy of Joe Morelli for help, the last person she ever wanted to go to for help considering their past with each other. To make it even more interesting, her 73 year old Grandmother is still trying to help her with cases and insists on carrying a gun...a big gun. Will Stephanie ever get to the bottom of all this and find her lost waitress? Will she do it before everything is destroyed she cares about...including her life? Also, will she be put in a situation that will lead her right into Joe's arms...possibly forever? Stephanie hopes with the help of her friend and former ex hooker Lula, her gun toting Grandma, and a transvestite musician named Sally who just happens to be an expert on puzzles she will not only find the MIA waitress, but will also get to the bottom of who is making the threats on her life as well.

I haven't read one of Evanovich's books in a long time, so I was a bit worried about picking up this series again after so long for fear that I would be lost or not remember things that I may need to for things to make sense. I was only a chapter in when this fear and apprehension left me. Evanovich is one of those great authors who make it super easy to pick up one of her books and feel like you just read the one before that one. She also is a great author in the respect that if you haven't read any of her other books, it will all make perfect sense still with the few recaps she throws into the book you are reading. She also is a sly author who makes you want to go back and read the past ones just because they sounded so good through the one you are reading now! This book did not disappoint me at all, that same great author came out in this book just like I remembered from her previous books. The plot was thick with suspense and also had a couple subplots that added to the excitement of it all. This book was packed full of action from the first chapter all the way to the last page. I love how there was never that drop off point in the book, like there is in so many other books. You know the one, the point at which the mystery is solved or the plot is concluded and then nothing else keeps your attention through that tail end of pages. This doesn't happen with Evanovich's writing and that takes talent if you ask me. I loved the characters just as much as I have in the past and I was so excited to see them develop even more than from the other books. I just love the slow progression of whatever the relationship is with Stephanie and Joe. I think we can all sort of relate to what is going on there. Two people who wouldn't mind being together, but are scared to death to be in any kind of commitment. These characters along with the other great ones seen before like Grandma and Lula, as well as the new ones we meet in this book like Sally, really make this book what it is! They are the glue that just seals the whole deal together as a great book! If you like mystery, suspense, and even a bit of romance, this is the book for you. I know I loved it! I can't wait to continue on in the series to see where they all go from here and what kind of trouble Stephanie can get herself into next time.

5/5 Stars!!

Four to the Score is the fourth installment in the Stephanie Plum series. What could possibly happen this time? Well stay tuned to find out!
Synopsis:
Stephanie’s next case is to find Maxine Nowicki. She has been working on the case and chasing leads. Then she runs into complication that is her cousin Joyce Barnhardt thwarting her every move. One lead leads her to Eddie Kuntz who hires her to find Maxine as long as he can see her before Stephanie turns her in. All she needs to do is follow the clues. What she didn’t count on is losing her car and her apartment. Where will she go? How can Ranger and Morrelli help her this time?
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one from Janet Evanovich. I was able to listen to this one as well. This time it was narrated by CJ Critt. I enjoyed her telling of the story. I thought she distinctly separated all the characters so you knew who was who. This audio version was a little longer than Three to Get Deadly.
What could possibly happen to Stephanie next? I thought the case was interesting. I did wonder would Stephanie get her perp? The tension between Stephanie and Morrelli was very entertaining. The author left you wondering if they ever would get together. I wonder if that still might happen down the line. We shall have to see.
The author also treats you to learning more about the Trenton New Jersey area. I am sure that some of the areas are fictionalized for the novel. I wonder if the author plans to take Stephanie outside of New Jersey.
A very entertaining read!

Stephanie is such a down-to-earth, every-woman kind of character, it's easy to get sucked into her life. This book goes by in a rush of laughter and impossible situations that only she could find herself in. The hi-jinx Stephanie gets up to while trying to bring in her bounty often left me howling with laughter. Her kooky family and unlikely allies are so outrageous and utterly hilarious that I find myself smiling along and accepting the impossible as just another day at her office.

I am hooked on the Stephanie Plum series, because every book is action packed, fast paced, keeps me giggling throughout, and is packed with details of burg life, which are fascinating, but don't weigh the story down. Grandma Mazure is hysterical in her search for excitement and gossip. Stephanie Plum is a regular girl and not a particularly good bounty hunter, but she's creative and tenacious and has a talent for accidentally finding criminals, putting herself in danger and getting things blown up. The characters are clearly depicted and interesting, including a few really scary ones, so I want to delve into their lives.

As Stephanie hunts a revenge-seeking waitress who enjoys tormenting her ex with an unpleasant treasure hunt, she involves transvestite, Sally Sweet, to help solve the clues. An unexpected explosion forces her to shack up with with an ex-fling and super-hot cop, Joe Morelli. He's not the commitment type, so although they get involved in some hot sex, they can't see eye to eye, especially on Stephanie's minor law indiscressions. To complicate matters further, Stephanie's arch rival (Joyce) is also on the case and getting in her way.

I reccommend this very funny, fun and action packed book.

Still ridiculous but at least Morelli situation was entertaining. Stephanie also has to contend with the women who caused her divorce being on the same job. When a scorned girlfriend is arrested for stealing boyfriend's car then jumps bail, Stephanie is given an easy job. But soon people around her are getting maimed so something deeper is happening. Of course it is because Stephanie. So funny side characters even if main plot is stupid

This is only the second book I've read in the Stephanie Plum series. I started with Ten Big Ones, which I enjoyed, but, for my money, this one is definitely better. It's funnier and fresher (perhaps the rumors that others are participating in the writing of the series have some merit). Evanovich's sense of humor rides high in Four to Score, much more so than in Ten Big Ones. Little things struck me, like the description of Mrs. Nowicki as "faded glory in a bathrobe," the fact that Stephanie's grandfather "went heavenward to dine with Elvis," and Stephanie's reference to "Catholic guilt" when she awakes one Sunday morning feeling "apologetic" and thinks about the "multifaceted experience" of being Catholic: "If you lose the faith," she thinks, "chances are you'll keep the guilt, so it isn't as if you've been skunked altogether."

FTS is full of Stephanie's wacky, unconventional thought processes and antics that had me LOL frequently. There's the requisite mayhem and misdeeds with one Maxine Nowicki as the skipper. Max's boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, would like to find her for his own reasons, but there's more to Maxine's skipping than meets the eye. Maxine's mother gets scalped (she lives), someone else loses a finger, and one unfortunate person is murdered. While all this bad business is going on, the book as a whole is more comical than it is spine tingling.

Another character on a similar wavelength as Stephanie Plum, though wackier and more outside the mainstream, is Christy Tillery French's Natasha Chamberlain, sexy, bumbling bodyguard and protagonist in French's The Bodyguard. Natasha and Stephanie have a lot in common, but Natasha is far more of a loose cannon. There's a hunky guy, Jonce Striker (kind of a cross between Morelli and Ranger), and an assortment of zany, oddball characters. So, if you like wild and crazy girls doing tough guy jobs, add Nattie Chamberlain to your list.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

Things have been kind of crazy for me lately. I've been working a lot, getting ready to move, dealing with crappy Ohio weather...needless to say, I've been suffering from the winter doldrums hardcore. So I definitely needed something light and entertaining to read, something that was sure to make me laugh. So who did I turn to immediately? Why, I turned to Stephanie Plum, of course, she of the big Jersey hair and pepper spray. And let me tell you--it was so nice to be back to the Burg!

In FOUR TO SCORE, Stephanie's fourth outing, she's tracking Maxine Nowicki, a waitress whose boyfriend had her arrested for stealing his car. Now Maxine's FTA, and Stephanie's looking for her. But this time, Stephanie's not the only one on Maxine's tail...That's right, Vinnie's double-dipped and put two bounty hunters on one case. In exchange for unmentionable favors, he's hired Joyce Barnhardt, the woman Steph caught boinking her husband on their dining room table less than a year into their marriage. So now, not only is Stephanie out to apprehend Maxine--she's out to do it before Joyce does.

But of course, there are further complications (as there always are when Stephanie takes a case). Stephanie's been hired by Maxine's ex-boyfriend, Eddie, to decipher clues that Maxine's leaving for him, which supposedly lead to embarrassing love letters he wrote to her. Since Steph has never been that good at puzzles, she recruits Sally Sweet, the hairiest rock star drag queen in Jersey who stands 7 feet tall in platform shoes, to help her out. Of course, she also enlists the help of some of our favorite players: Lula, the 200-plus-pound ex-hooker who does filing for Vinnie; Grandma Mazur, the pisol-packin' grandma with a penchant for funerals and the slots; and sexy Joe Morelli, with whom Stephanie has to move in temporarily when her apartment is firebombed by an unknown pyromaniac who also blows up her car (and yes...FINALLY, there is no interruptus of any kind with those two!). Add to the mix a counterfeit money scandal and a sicko who scalps people and cuts off their fingers, and you have the recipe for another winner from Janet Evanovich!

Yes, the plots of the Stephanie Plum novels are improbable--in fact, they're totally unbelievable. The characters are often caricatures of themselves and the mysteries are outlandish and, more often than not, totally predictable. But who cares? The books are so much fun to read! They're wildly entertaining and cleverly written. What makes the books work are the unforgettable characters, the hilarious dialogue, Stephanie's alternately wry and ditzy narrative voice, and the witty observations (such as the one that starts this book: "Living in Trenton in July is like living inside a big pizza oven. Hot, airless, aromatic."). Why do we read the Stephanie Plum novels? We read them because we know Steph'll always get her man (well, maybe not in the bedroom)--and that reading about how she does it this time will always be an adventure!

This was one of the first Janet Evanovich books I got my hands on. I soon bought them all in book and unabrided (recorded books.com) audio form. I began Four to Score at work on audio unabridged from (Recordedbooks.com) narrated by C. J. Critt. Let me start by a review of her performance it was fabulous. She does fantastic variations in each voice to distinguish each character clearly. She has excellent timing so people thought I was absolutely insane because I was laughing so hard I was crying with this book. The book has those spit take moments where you better not be drinking or eating anything while you are reading or listening to it because it will be all over you or your computer/dash/etc.
I am a member of the Janet message board where fans talk about the books. I mention it because this one I have read so many complaints about, it drives me nuts. This book does have a lot of cussing in it, so if you are sensitive to that beware, but so what it is hilarious. This book will require you to wear DEPENDS to get through it. From the horrible Eddie and the various scavenger hunts Stephanie has to go through with him in order to earn her finders fee for searching for his ex-girlfriend/the skip (she is looking for anyway), to her meeting up with Cross-dressing Sally Sweet(the genius puzzle decoder). I absolutely love this book. Janet manages to have every funny experience Stephanie could possibly go through with her gang of Lula, Grandma Mazur, Sally and still add in Joe and Ranger. There are moments of emotion that you can feel Stephanie go through without being too much to take away from the humor or story. You add in Eddie (the jerk), Sugar (the pyro), Joyce Barnhardt(Stephanie's enemy that Vinnie has just hired to do skip tracing) and you begin feeling sorry for the skip Maxine. Then you add in Eddie's weird relatives, Joyce Barnhardt finding a naked man (as if anyone else would find him) and a the best wet your pants scenes I have read in quite a while. The dancing napkin, tattooed man, and big bag of doodie are just a few. If you haven't tried Janet's books and aren't prepared to do the whole series try this one. It gives you some of the back story as well as a stand alone hilarious tale of a woman trying to make a living in a job that everyone says she's wrong for, but she just happens to fall into bit of luck and every pitfall possible with great humor. I love the Stephanie Plum series and it's the first book series I recommend to my friends and family for a good fun read. Fans of the series all have their favorite books, so I tried to give you my favorite that can easily stand alone if you are new to the series. Also, check out CJ Critt's version for the best audio version of the series they are available from Recorded books there is no comparison to her reading of the series.

"Four to Score" by Janet Evanovich continues the absolutely hilarious Stephanie Plum series, and Evanovich is in fine form as usual. Stephanie Plum, our favourite bumbling bounty hunter is back again, with the usual cast of eccentric and comical characters plus a few new faces you're going to love!
This time, Stephanie is after first time offender Maxine Nowicki, who missed her court date on an auto theft charge initiated by her boyfriend, and now needs to be found and brought back into the system. Sounds simple, right? Only nothing is ever simple for Stephanie Plum, which is why she's so much fun to read about.
While going through the rounds, talking to the friends and family of Maxine Nowicki, Stephanie is hired by Maxine's ex-boyfriend Eddie Kuntz, who wants Stephanie to find Maxine so he can get back something of his that Maxine has, and he claims that something is love letters. Hmmm. But Maxine is having some fun with Eddie in her quest for revenge against him. She knows how bad Eddie wants what she has, and she's sending him on the treasure hunt from hell. And the thing is, Maxine's clues are in a code that Stephanie can't decipher. So that's how we meet Sally Sweet, a 7 foot tall (with his heels that is), very hairy transvestite, who joins Steph's team as the clue decoder. Sally is a hilarious and very welcome addition to the already colourful cast of characters. And Sally brings with him his neurotic roommate Sugar, a fellow transvestite who tries to bake all his troubles away.
But as we all know, nothing ever goes smoothly for Stephanie Plum. Not only is she not doing so great in her search for Maxine, she is also now competing with her archenemy Joyce Barnhardt, who cousin Vinnie hired as a part time bounty hunter and who is out to catch Maxine as well. Stephanie and Joyce have hated each other for years, but Stephanie's dislike of Joyce reached an all time high when she caught Joyce and her now ex-husband playing hide the salami together on her dining room table.
But Stephanie isn't the kind of woman who gives up when things get tough, and she continues with her search for Maxine. And it isn't too long before she finds herself caught up in the middle of something very ugly. Stephanie has to deal with chopped off fingers, mysterious murders, counterfeiters, a blown up car and firebombs, one of which lands right in Stephanie's apartment. It seems that someone wants to get rid of Stephanie permanently, and she better be careful if she doesn't want them to succeed.
So with the help of ultra sexy vice cop Joe Morelli, 200+ lb ex-hooker Lula, and gun toting Grandma Mazur, Stephanie sets about getting to the bottom of this mystery. Things really heat up between Stephanie and Morelli in this instalment, much to my delight! And alongside the suspenseful mystery is the ever-present humour and witty repartee that makes this series so much fun to read.
"Four to Score" is another winning entry in an already great series. Evanovich blends the mystery with the comedy brilliantly, and the result is a downright wonderful read. I am utterly hooked on Stephanie Plum, and am extremely grateful I found her. This series is filled with fabulous and fascinating characters who Evanovich brings to life right before your eyes. So don't deprive yourself of a side-splittingly funny, exciting, and completely captivating reading experience, buy "Four to Score" today!

A male reader in this review list wrote that he could not understand why this series is so popular. He complained about the cookie cutter characters, the similiarities of the plots in all the books and the lack of humour. He believed that if it wasnt for the female fans, the Stephanie Plum series would have disappeared a long time ago.
Well, to each his own.
I am a male reader and a new fan of Janet Evanovich's (JE) sassy and ditzy bounty hunter. The characters are over the top and zany and, yes, can be found in other genres like cop shows and sitcoms. Perhaps that is why the series is so sucessful. The readers are familiar with the cast and find it reassuring. It doesnt matter whether Grandma Mazur sounds like that old woman from the "GOLDEN GIRLS", never mind the fact that Ranger reminds one of Batman or that Lula, Joyce, Morelli, Vinnie, Connie and the rest all sound as if they came straight from Central Casting. It does not bother the fans because obviously that's what they WANT. Otherwise the series would not, at the time of writing, have 8 books in it.
About the similiar plot lines...well, that's nothing new in a long running series. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter. All her books are about her hunting down people who didnt turn up in court after they've been bailed by Vinne the bail bondsman. Usually the reason they skipped court is connected with the pile of bodies that Stephanie discovers in every book. Along the way she meets kooky characters, violent thugs and has lots of fun dodging bullets and other attempts on her life.
In every, single, one of her books.
Now, doesnt that fit the description of practically every popular long running series in print out there? Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, Carl Hiaasen's Florida crime capers, even Grisham's legal dramas have been accused of being carbon copies of each other. Other big name authors who have been accused the same are Stephen King, Tom Clancy and Sue Grafton (who was the author that the male reviewer recommended every one read instead of JE).
What makes up for the lukewarm mysteries, and lets face it they are lukewarm more often than not, is JE's great dialogue and hilarious situations that she puts Stephanie in. Most of it revolves around Stephanie and Grandma Mazur or Stephanie and the street wise Lula. In book four, though, there's a new character in the form of Sally Sweet who is a cross dresser and gets tangled up in Stephanie's latest case. I havent read books 5, 6, 7 & 8 so I dont know if Sally becomes a regular. By the end of the book she moves in with some friends and no more is said of her (waittaminute...its a GUY...why am I referring him as "her"?). I hope he appears in later books. He's an asset to Stephanie's ever growing posse.
Yes, the writing is formulaic. Yes, the characters are nothing special. Yes, you will probably have that "been there, read that" feeling. But my advise to JE is, "If it aint broke, dont fix it." Your many fans are having lots of fun reading your books so far and when it gets boring and tiresome, we will just tell you by not buying any more of your books. Here's hoping that that day is somewhere in the faaarrrr future.
As Lula would say, "Damn skippy"

It's July in Trenton, NJ where Stephanie Plum, bond enforcement officer for her bail bondsman cousin Vinnie, is looking for Maxine Norwicki. Maxine's been charged with stealing her former boyfriend Eddie Kuntz's car and is now FTA (Failed To Appear in court). "She wasn't a career criminal and the charges weren't serious. She really had no reason to skip out." Eddie Kuntz got a message from Maxine, who's arranged a little treasure hunt for him. Follow the puzzling clues to get back your mushy love letters. Eddie recruits Stephanie to help him. "Maxine's apartment had been ransacked, and two people connected with her had been mutilated. I was thinking maybe someone wanted to find her for something other than love letters. And maybe that someone was Eddie Kuntz."
Stephanie's archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt, has been hired by Vinnie as a rival bounty hunter. Stephanie once caught Joyce having an affair with her now ex-husband, and now she's tailing Stephanie, trying to bring in Maxine first.
Stephanie teams up with Lula, "a 200-lb. Black woman with blond baloney curls all dressed up like Cher on a bad day"; and Sally Sweet, a 7-ft. drag queen rock singer. She also calls on Ranger "a man of few words. He's Cuban-American, former Special Forces, makes a better friend than an enemy, and he's Vinnie's numero uno bounty hunter."
But when someone blows up Stephanie's car AND apartment, all in one day, she's forced to move in with Joe Morelli, the arrogant cop who sweet-talked Stephanie out of her virginity years ago. "The thing is, while I was in love with Morelli for all these years, I'd always known it was best if nothing came of it. Loving Morelli was like loving cheesecake. Hours of misery on the Stairmaster, working off ugly fat, in return for a moment of blissful consumption."
This 4th in the Stephanie Plum series is a great stand-alone book. It details many of the repeat characters and explains some history that I already know, having been reading the series in sequence. If someone wanted to just read a single book from the series, this would be perfect.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is at it again. Needing money for her rent, Stephanie picks up what she thinks will be an easy apprehension. Maxine Nowicki, a waitress at a local diner, has gone missing. She has jumped bail after being arrested for stealing her boyfriend's car. But not only has Maxine disappeared off the face of the earth (or at least Trenton, NJ), everyone who might have knowledge of her whereabouts has either shown up maimed, missing or even dead. Of course, things are much more complicated than they first appear and Stephanie ends up having to solve a mystery or two before she can find Maxine.

What makes Janet Evanovich's books so much fun are the regular, recurring characters. Grandma Mazur is always armed and ready to assist. Lula is now working for Vinnie in the bond business, and owns her own stun gun (don't get her mad). Cop and friend Joe Morelli is very much in the picture. However, the dangerous and mysterious Ranger (fellow bounty hunter and mentor) is becoming more tempting as a romantic interest. And Joyce Bernhardt (another bounty hunter and Stephanie's archenemy) always has her nose where it doesn't belong. Stephanie also seeks help from a new character, cross-dresser Salvatore (Sally) Sweet. Sally alone makes the book worth reading. Evanovich also has Stephanie branch out a little bit, and the scene where Stephanie and her entourage go to the Atlantic City casinos is really a hoot!

Each Evanovich book gets better than the last, and I think that the Stephanie Plum series is the funniest and most entertaining mystery series out there. I first read this book, and then listened to it on tape during a trip. It was just as funny the second time around, and the audio version should come with a warning: "This tape may cause the driver to become distracted due to laughing"

Nah, that would be just too unbelievable. Not for the bad-luck-with-hair bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. This fourth book in the series is one of non-stop outrageous humor.
Stephanie Plum is after Maxine Nowicki, and FTA who is free on a stolen automobile charge. Her boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, also employs Stephanie's services in hopes that she can retrieve something extremely valuable to him...love letters? The chase is on in a page-turning frenzy, and all of the extra added elements that Janet Evanovich throws in makes the adventure that much more complete.
The cast of characters is sensational once again. Stephanie's family, especially the show-stealing antics of Grandma Mazur, add color, depth, and a heck of a lot of humor to the already well-developed plot. Straight-faced cop Joe Morelli is also back to steam up the personal scenes, and do they ever get hot in this epic. Lula, the large prostitute-turned-file clerk-slash-wannabe skip tracer is also back, adding a hilarious friendship element with a touch of street humor. This novel also introduces Sally Sweet, a code-breaking "regional" transvestite musician who spouts out the F-word every chance he can get. Stephanie's main nemesis, Joyce Barnhardt, also has a seemingly larger voice in this novel, as the newest bounty hunter at the Vincent Plum bail bonds agency.
This book is outright hysterical. Evanovich weaves together an amazing story of intrigue and thrilling suspense that flows so nicely, and ends in high speed mayhem that is just truly unbelievable. The witty dialogue, sensational Trenton setting, and fast-paced thrilling plot make FOUR TO SCORE a real winner. This is one of the best books in the series.

Four to Score once again takes us on a bounty hunting adventure with Stephanie Plum and company. This time Stephanie's FTA (failure to appear) is Maxine Nowicki. Maxine is charged with stealing her ex-boyfriend's car. The ex-boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, also hires Stephanie to find some love letters he wrote Maxine that he wants back. Let the treasure hunt begin as Stephanie and her crew of wacky bounty hunter wannabes try to track down Maxine and the love letters!
This book was excellent. By far the best of the Stephanie Plum novels I've read so far. This book is non-stop action from beginning to end. There are the old, lovable characters Lula, Grandma Mazur, and Joe Morelli. Also in this book we meet Sally Sweet-a cross dressing drag queen who decodes the clues Maxine leaves for Eddie. Sally is a riot and adds color to the pages. Also trying to track down Maxine is Joyce Barnhardt, the woman who Stephanie found on her dining room table with her then husband Dickie Orr. The competition between Stephanie and Joyce was a great addition to the story.
The plot of this book was excellent. It was written well and kept up a fast pace. There were no boring parts in this book. The author did an excellent job keeping the reader turning the pages. There's plenty of action and fun scenes mixed together. This made the book fun to read and also effortless to read.
I just could not put this book down. I had to find out what was going to happen next. Just when you think everything that could possibly happen to Stephanie has happened you are surprised by the next event. This keeps the book entertaining to read. This is a must-read Stephanie Plum book!

A rabid "Stephanie Plum" fan ever since purchasing a spur-of-the-moment hardcover of Evanovich's first book, "One for the Money," the fourth outing with Plum is, to put it kindly, anti-climactic. This book is definitely the least of the four Plum novels. It is almost as though Evanovich has decided to write "romance mysteries," ala Higgins Clark, rather than rousingly funny mysteries with a tinge of romance (or heat) thrown in at appropriate moments. For the first time, I failed to laugh out loud, in delighted surprise, at a Plum novel - and I don't laugh easily.
The primary sources of humor are two literary equivalents of "sight gags;" the first is the non-stop deliveries by Morelli's relatives, which becomes boring; the second is the ubiquitous "eye twitch," which develops every time Plum gets overwhelmed by her relatives. Both wear mighty thin, especially the latter, as it's been used too many times in the past.
Granny Mazur isn't written up to standard; Lula has become predictable, and boring; Ranger's character is barely touched upon, or explored; and Joe Morelli was far more interesting when we didn't know him quite so well. It's almost as though Evanovich's engine has run out of steam.
There simply aren't any brilliant scenes in this book, like the infamous "chicken in the gumpy" scene, or the episode wherein Mr. Loosey's..ummm, missing part is returned. Nor does Evanovich exploit the numerous opportunities afforded her by the re-introduction of Plum's arch-enemy, Joyce. Joyce is thrown in as an irritant...but nothing ever happens that makes the irritant worthwhile.
I will probably still purchase the next Plum novel; but, unless Evanovich allows her imagination to run wild, and regale us all with her creative humor, it will be the last. If I wanted to read "romance" novels, I'd buy them; I want the "real" Stephanie Plum back, as well as the outrageous humor returned. Moreover, unless we are to a! scribe Plum's motivations to either attrition, or a serious dearth of suitable males, an explanation of why on earth she finds Morelli so irresistable would be useful. Come on, Janet...next time, strut your stuff!!!!

Kinda long
But I enjoyed items

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The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich are always a fun read. Each book is packed with humor, lovable characters, mystery, and a delicious romance.

This fourth installment was not a disappointment. In fact, I liked this book better than the third. I found it more funny and the mystery case more interesting. Also, I definitely did not predict who the murderers/criminals were in the end. And....Morelli! *fans self* The romance was hotter than ever! Teasingly so! Cannot wait to see where everything goes in the following novels.

This series is always an enjoyment and a quick read. Each novel goes along well with each other but I also find that in the beginning of each book, they do a quick 'catch up' of the characters and the story so far, that each book could also be fine as a standalone. Excited to read the next installment!

I was first introduced to the Stephanie Plum series by my wife a number of years ago. I started reading one of the books (I don't remember which one) and thought to myself that it was one of the silliest books I have ever read so I stopped at about chapter three or four. I had noticed that when my wife read these books she was constantly laughing and giggling to herself; something she rarely does when she is reading. I kept wondering if I was possibly missing something.

Well, a couple of years ago I `forced' myself to check another offering by this author out from the library and actually read the entire thing. I was hooked!

Stephanie Plum is one of the quirkiest, most inept and dingy bounty hunters in literature. This woman cannot do anything write and the messes she gets herself into, while quite improbable, are absolutely hilarious. Like my wife, I began giggling and laughing to myself as I read them.

This work is no different. Stephanie is after a first time offender and keeps running into women to have had fingers cut off and one that was actually scalped. Now this sounds horrible and brutal but the way the author presents it (I know this is difficult to believe for non Stephanie Plum fans) it is actually funny and the victims are actually funny.

Now for those that want a mysterious mystery look elsewhere. The mysteries in this books and others in the series are not all that complicated and you pretty well know the outcome from page one. The thing is not so much solving the mystery but the journey the author takes the reader on in getting to the end solution.

Each book, this one included, is filled with the regular characters from book to book but in each new offering the author introduces new ones that are just as far fetched and funny as the regular crew. Even most of the `bad guys and girls' are funny. There is of course the constant love triangle between Stephanie, Ranger and Morelli. How all this will end...no one knows, but it is funny.

Yes, there is some off colored language in this work and there is most certainly mild sexual situations but none ore gratuitous and all add to the story and plot...what there is of it, i.e. plot.

This is one of many simply fun reads in a truly fun to read series.

This was a library find.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Stephanie Plum can’t handle the simple case of hauling in Maxine Nowicki to reschedule her court appearance in Four to Score. Maxine jumped bail rather than face the court system that prosecuted her for stealing her boyfriend’s car. In order to solve the mystery underlying Maxine’s disappearance, Stephanie has to bring in the big guns. Stephanie further discovers that the mystery she needed to solve had connections to a counterfeiting case that was perplexing the Trenton police force and its top detective, Joseph Morelli.
Lula is one of the big guns, a former prostitute who turned straight and gained employment at the Vincent Plum Bail Bond agency. While nominally a file clerk, Lula helped Stephanie on those hard-to-handle skip-traces that seem easy at first glance. Or maybe it is the way Lula and Stephanie go about their job that makes the cases seem hard to handle. In order to find Nowicki, Stephanie needs to solve some clues that Maxine delivered to her ex-boyfriend, a real charmer named Eddie who makes Stephanie gag reflexively.
The person with a penchant for solving puzzles is a tough-talking transvestite musician named with the stage name of Sally Sweet. Salvatore becomes part of Stephanie’s crime solving entourage for the story. Evanovich brought the character back in Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, and Twelve Sharp, three other novels in the Plum by the Numbers series.
One of the puzzles lead Stephanie to the Cluck-in-the-Bucket, a place where she and Lula don’t need any extra incentives to visit. Yet solving the puzzles are Stephanie’s best bet in tracing Maxine Nowicki. The normal path of following the people who know Maxine best doesn’t work, because they seemingly keep getting killed.
For instance, her mother seemingly dies, not once, but twice, during routine interrogations. The night manager at a seven-eleven, who was the last known person to see Maxine, disappeared as suddenly as Maxine did. Both women, Mrs. Nowicki and Helen Badjian -- the 7-11 clerk -- are discovered disfigured by a cleaver upon inspection.
The big guns include Ranger Manoso, the top bounty-hunter at the Plum Agency, and Joseph Morelli, the aforementioned Trenton detective who has a personal history with Stephanie. Ranger at this point in the Plum-by-the-Numbers series was a harmless flirtation for Stephanie. While Morelli is busy with a counterfeiting case in cooperation with the federal government, there are interesting parallels with his case and Stephanie’s skip-trace.
One of those parallels is Eddie, last name withheld, but it is the same surname as another man in an earlier Plum novel that offers Stephanie unwanted attention. Eddie lives with his Aunt Betty and Uncle Lou--a couple that plays everything close to the vest. When Vincent Plum took Stephanie off the Nowicki case, Eddie hired Stephanie to find his old girlfriend. Vinny also hired Stephanie’s bete-noire, Joyce Barnhardt, to recover Maxine. Oil and water mix better than Stephanie and Joyce Barnhardt, and having them both on the same case, even with different employers, results in some chuckles.
There is also some danger. Stephanie finds herself under attack by someone jealous about their boyfriend. Signs point to Maxine, but this is one of the twists in the story that made it fun.
This was another early hit in the long-running series by Evanovich, with a formulaic story line, a regular cast of odd characters, and even odder recurring characters. Four to Score is a prime example of why “the world’s worst bounty-hunter” is surprisingly effective in her job, and entertaining to read about.

When Stephanie is asked to hunt down a waitress who skipped bail after stealing her ex-boyfriend's car she thinks it'll be easy. That's before the ex-boyfriend offers her extra cash on the side if she'll tip him off to Maxine's location before the cops get involved though. It turns out that Maxine has been leaving clues for her ex and now Stephanie finds herself on a crazy treasure hunt trying to figure out what Maxine is really up to. When Maxine's friend loses a finger and her mother gets scalped the chase really starts to heat up and it looks like Maxine is in a lot more danger that Stephanie could have imagined.

I really struggle to write reviews for this series, not because I don't love these books but because I just want to rave like a lunatic about how fantastic they all are. The main trouble is that I've probably said it all before, I adore these characters, they're all over the top and completely stereotypical but absolutely brilliant in spite of that (or possibly because of it). These characters are larger than life, funny as hell and all of the books make me snort with laughter. If you enjoyed the previous books then you're bound to love Four to Score too, I'm on at least my 3rd read through of the earlier books in this series and that probably says more about my love for these books than anything else could. It's a series that I continuously go back to when I need something that is going to put a smile on my face.

Stephanie is just as out of her depth here as ever, but she always manages to come out on top no matter how crazy the situations she lands in are. Grandma Mazur and Lula are two of my favourite fictional sidekicks but here we have the addition of transvestite Sally Sweet who I really hope is going to become a cast regular (it's been so long since I read these books last that I really can't remember if he crops up again later but I'm keeping my fingers crossed). We also have two great guys to swoon over and after all these years I'm still not sure if I can choose a favourite. Things are progressing well between Stephanie and Joe Morelli though and we even get to meet his family in this book. His grandmother is one scary lady and I certainly wouldn't want her giving me the evil eye! Ranger is still around too and I love the friendly flirtation between him and Stephanie, I don't think it'll ever go anywhere but I enjoy it all the same and who doesn't like to daydream about a batman type of superhero? These books are pure entertainment, perfect for when you're in the mood for something light hearted, a little bit silly and guaranteed to make you giggle and I don't think I'll ever get bored of spending time with Stephanie and her friends!

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Stephanie Plum has settled in to her job as a bounty hunter, and so picking up a missing NJ girl who failed to appear after stealing her boyfriend's truck seems like a cakewalk. And there's a bonus -- the boyfriend is willing to give her money too to find her and get some supposed love letters back from her. Easy peasy. Except nothing is easy for Plum, ever. The missing girl wants to stay missing, and her mother and co-worker are helping. Even when somebody else is looking for the girl too, and willing to hurt people to get them to talk.
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WHAT I LIKED:
Plum has an extra helper in this case, a guy who's good with codes and clues. A flamboyant cross-dresser, he livens up the scene. And the relationship with Moretti leaps forward with the two cohabitating for awhile. I love the scenes where the women are talking about guns and what type of gun to carry, use, etc.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
There are some baddies who are painfully obviously involved, which Plum misses for most of the book. And someone who is out to get her is obvious as well. Almost painful to watch. Oh, and one of my favorite characters. Ranger, has nothing to do for the entire book. More like an afterthought to include him.
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

The chemistry sizzles between Joe Morelli and Stephanie Plum. They've been dancing around each other since Stephanie was six years old and they played train in Joe's parents garage. And then there was that incident behind the bakery case at the Tasty Pastry when Stephanie was 16. And yet, as adults they danced around each other, like wrestlers before the match, never quite making their relationship official. I ripped through books 1,2,3. I wanted to see them get together at last. In "Four to Score" Joe comes right out and tells Stephanie she's scary. Without giving away spoilers, there's a hint in the title.

This book had a lot of mystery in it. Stephanie’s main case doesn’t make much sense. There is a woman on the run while playing a clue game with her ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, the people around her are being cut and injured by someone.
In the middle of that case, someone starts terrorizing Stephanie causing her to lose her car and her apartment. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Morelli’s whole family is convinced that she is pregnant and they are getting married.
It was a strange book right from the start, but that is what made it so intriguing. I found it really hard to put down which was great.
I was right that the chapters don’t seem as long anymore now that I am used to their length. Reading too many James Patterson books had me used to 2-3 page chapters.
I haven’t hit a dull point in this series yet, and I hope that doesn’t happen.
I hope Sally remains a part of this series, but I have a feeling that he will be gone after this book.

5/5 Stars

Memorable quotes: “In my world, God and Santa Claus did not micromanage lives. Of course, that meant you couldn’t count on them to lose weight, either.”

“I like Lula a lot, but last time we worked together I gained seven pounds and almost got arrested for shooting a guy who was already dead.”

“Tonight my aloneness felt lonely, and maybe even a little frightening.”

“I loved my mother, but love only goes so far when you’re trying to explain how your grandmother ended up standing on a blackjack table in a packed casino.”

How can you not love these wonderful characters!?! Stephanie has a new job, all she has to do is get a revenge seeking waitress who has skipped bail. Doesn't sound super hard or hazardous, seeing as how her revenge is not for Stephanie. Before she knows it though her case is being turned upside down by more than just one person. Her ex-husband's "other woman" from their wrecked marriage is on the same case as her, the waitress she is trying to find is being sought after by her ex boyfriend too...who happens to hire Stephanie to help him find her, and she now is having threats made on her life. What a wonderful time. Soon she is at the mercy of Joe Morelli for help, the last person she ever wanted to go to for help considering their past with each other. To make it even more interesting, her 73 year old Grandmother is still trying to help her with cases and insists on carrying a gun...a big gun. Will Stephanie ever get to the bottom of all this and find her lost waitress? Will she do it before everything is destroyed she cares about...including her life? Also, will she be put in a situation that will lead her right into Joe's arms...possibly forever? Stephanie hopes with the help of her friend and former ex hooker Lula, her gun toting Grandma, and a transvestite musician named Sally who just happens to be an expert on puzzles she will not only find the MIA waitress, but will also get to the bottom of who is making the threats on her life as well.

I haven't read one of Evanovich's books in a long time, so I was a bit worried about picking up this series again after so long for fear that I would be lost or not remember things that I may need to for things to make sense. I was only a chapter in when this fear and apprehension left me. Evanovich is one of those great authors who make it super easy to pick up one of her books and feel like you just read the one before that one. She also is a great author in the respect that if you haven't read any of her other books, it will all make perfect sense still with the few recaps she throws into the book you are reading. She also is a sly author who makes you want to go back and read the past ones just because they sounded so good through the one you are reading now! This book did not disappoint me at all, that same great author came out in this book just like I remembered from her previous books. The plot was thick with suspense and also had a couple subplots that added to the excitement of it all. This book was packed full of action from the first chapter all the way to the last page. I love how there was never that drop off point in the book, like there is in so many other books. You know the one, the point at which the mystery is solved or the plot is concluded and then nothing else keeps your attention through that tail end of pages. This doesn't happen with Evanovich's writing and that takes talent if you ask me. I loved the characters just as much as I have in the past and I was so excited to see them develop even more than from the other books. I just love the slow progression of whatever the relationship is with Stephanie and Joe. I think we can all sort of relate to what is going on there. Two people who wouldn't mind being together, but are scared to death to be in any kind of commitment. These characters along with the other great ones seen before like Grandma and Lula, as well as the new ones we meet in this book like Sally, really make this book what it is! They are the glue that just seals the whole deal together as a great book! If you like mystery, suspense, and even a bit of romance, this is the book for you. I know I loved it! I can't wait to continue on in the series to see where they all go from here and what kind of trouble Stephanie can get herself into next time.

5/5 Stars!!

Four to the Score is the fourth installment in the Stephanie Plum series. What could possibly happen this time? Well stay tuned to find out!
Synopsis:
Stephanie’s next case is to find Maxine Nowicki. She has been working on the case and chasing leads. Then she runs into complication that is her cousin Joyce Barnhardt thwarting her every move. One lead leads her to Eddie Kuntz who hires her to find Maxine as long as he can see her before Stephanie turns her in. All she needs to do is follow the clues. What she didn’t count on is losing her car and her apartment. Where will she go? How can Ranger and Morrelli help her this time?
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one from Janet Evanovich. I was able to listen to this one as well. This time it was narrated by CJ Critt. I enjoyed her telling of the story. I thought she distinctly separated all the characters so you knew who was who. This audio version was a little longer than Three to Get Deadly.
What could possibly happen to Stephanie next? I thought the case was interesting. I did wonder would Stephanie get her perp? The tension between Stephanie and Morrelli was very entertaining. The author left you wondering if they ever would get together. I wonder if that still might happen down the line. We shall have to see.
The author also treats you to learning more about the Trenton New Jersey area. I am sure that some of the areas are fictionalized for the novel. I wonder if the author plans to take Stephanie outside of New Jersey.
A very entertaining read!

Stephanie is such a down-to-earth, every-woman kind of character, it's easy to get sucked into her life. This book goes by in a rush of laughter and impossible situations that only she could find herself in. The hi-jinx Stephanie gets up to while trying to bring in her bounty often left me howling with laughter. Her kooky family and unlikely allies are so outrageous and utterly hilarious that I find myself smiling along and accepting the impossible as just another day at her office.

I am hooked on the Stephanie Plum series, because every book is action packed, fast paced, keeps me giggling throughout, and is packed with details of burg life, which are fascinating, but don't weigh the story down. Grandma Mazure is hysterical in her search for excitement and gossip. Stephanie Plum is a regular girl and not a particularly good bounty hunter, but she's creative and tenacious and has a talent for accidentally finding criminals, putting herself in danger and getting things blown up. The characters are clearly depicted and interesting, including a few really scary ones, so I want to delve into their lives.

As Stephanie hunts a revenge-seeking waitress who enjoys tormenting her ex with an unpleasant treasure hunt, she involves transvestite, Sally Sweet, to help solve the clues. An unexpected explosion forces her to shack up with with an ex-fling and super-hot cop, Joe Morelli. He's not the commitment type, so although they get involved in some hot sex, they can't see eye to eye, especially on Stephanie's minor law indiscressions. To complicate matters further, Stephanie's arch rival (Joyce) is also on the case and getting in her way.

I reccommend this very funny, fun and action packed book.

Still ridiculous but at least Morelli situation was entertaining. Stephanie also has to contend with the women who caused her divorce being on the same job. When a scorned girlfriend is arrested for stealing boyfriend's car then jumps bail, Stephanie is given an easy job. But soon people around her are getting maimed so something deeper is happening. Of course it is because Stephanie. So funny side characters even if main plot is stupid

This is only the second book I've read in the Stephanie Plum series. I started with Ten Big Ones, which I enjoyed, but, for my money, this one is definitely better. It's funnier and fresher (perhaps the rumors that others are participating in the writing of the series have some merit). Evanovich's sense of humor rides high in Four to Score, much more so than in Ten Big Ones. Little things struck me, like the description of Mrs. Nowicki as "faded glory in a bathrobe," the fact that Stephanie's grandfather "went heavenward to dine with Elvis," and Stephanie's reference to "Catholic guilt" when she awakes one Sunday morning feeling "apologetic" and thinks about the "multifaceted experience" of being Catholic: "If you lose the faith," she thinks, "chances are you'll keep the guilt, so it isn't as if you've been skunked altogether."

FTS is full of Stephanie's wacky, unconventional thought processes and antics that had me LOL frequently. There's the requisite mayhem and misdeeds with one Maxine Nowicki as the skipper. Max's boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, would like to find her for his own reasons, but there's more to Maxine's skipping than meets the eye. Maxine's mother gets scalped (she lives), someone else loses a finger, and one unfortunate person is murdered. While all this bad business is going on, the book as a whole is more comical than it is spine tingling.

Another character on a similar wavelength as Stephanie Plum, though wackier and more outside the mainstream, is Christy Tillery French's Natasha Chamberlain, sexy, bumbling bodyguard and protagonist in French's The Bodyguard. Natasha and Stephanie have a lot in common, but Natasha is far more of a loose cannon. There's a hunky guy, Jonce Striker (kind of a cross between Morelli and Ranger), and an assortment of zany, oddball characters. So, if you like wild and crazy girls doing tough guy jobs, add Nattie Chamberlain to your list.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

Things have been kind of crazy for me lately. I've been working a lot, getting ready to move, dealing with crappy Ohio weather...needless to say, I've been suffering from the winter doldrums hardcore. So I definitely needed something light and entertaining to read, something that was sure to make me laugh. So who did I turn to immediately? Why, I turned to Stephanie Plum, of course, she of the big Jersey hair and pepper spray. And let me tell you--it was so nice to be back to the Burg!

In FOUR TO SCORE, Stephanie's fourth outing, she's tracking Maxine Nowicki, a waitress whose boyfriend had her arrested for stealing his car. Now Maxine's FTA, and Stephanie's looking for her. But this time, Stephanie's not the only one on Maxine's tail...That's right, Vinnie's double-dipped and put two bounty hunters on one case. In exchange for unmentionable favors, he's hired Joyce Barnhardt, the woman Steph caught boinking her husband on their dining room table less than a year into their marriage. So now, not only is Stephanie out to apprehend Maxine--she's out to do it before Joyce does.

But of course, there are further complications (as there always are when Stephanie takes a case). Stephanie's been hired by Maxine's ex-boyfriend, Eddie, to decipher clues that Maxine's leaving for him, which supposedly lead to embarrassing love letters he wrote to her. Since Steph has never been that good at puzzles, she recruits Sally Sweet, the hairiest rock star drag queen in Jersey who stands 7 feet tall in platform shoes, to help her out. Of course, she also enlists the help of some of our favorite players: Lula, the 200-plus-pound ex-hooker who does filing for Vinnie; Grandma Mazur, the pisol-packin' grandma with a penchant for funerals and the slots; and sexy Joe Morelli, with whom Stephanie has to move in temporarily when her apartment is firebombed by an unknown pyromaniac who also blows up her car (and yes...FINALLY, there is no interruptus of any kind with those two!). Add to the mix a counterfeit money scandal and a sicko who scalps people and cuts off their fingers, and you have the recipe for another winner from Janet Evanovich!

Yes, the plots of the Stephanie Plum novels are improbable--in fact, they're totally unbelievable. The characters are often caricatures of themselves and the mysteries are outlandish and, more often than not, totally predictable. But who cares? The books are so much fun to read! They're wildly entertaining and cleverly written. What makes the books work are the unforgettable characters, the hilarious dialogue, Stephanie's alternately wry and ditzy narrative voice, and the witty observations (such as the one that starts this book: "Living in Trenton in July is like living inside a big pizza oven. Hot, airless, aromatic."). Why do we read the Stephanie Plum novels? We read them because we know Steph'll always get her man (well, maybe not in the bedroom)--and that reading about how she does it this time will always be an adventure!

This was one of the first Janet Evanovich books I got my hands on. I soon bought them all in book and unabrided (recorded books.com) audio form. I began Four to Score at work on audio unabridged from (Recordedbooks.com) narrated by C. J. Critt. Let me start by a review of her performance it was fabulous. She does fantastic variations in each voice to distinguish each character clearly. She has excellent timing so people thought I was absolutely insane because I was laughing so hard I was crying with this book. The book has those spit take moments where you better not be drinking or eating anything while you are reading or listening to it because it will be all over you or your computer/dash/etc.
I am a member of the Janet message board where fans talk about the books. I mention it because this one I have read so many complaints about, it drives me nuts. This book does have a lot of cussing in it, so if you are sensitive to that beware, but so what it is hilarious. This book will require you to wear DEPENDS to get through it. From the horrible Eddie and the various scavenger hunts Stephanie has to go through with him in order to earn her finders fee for searching for his ex-girlfriend/the skip (she is looking for anyway), to her meeting up with Cross-dressing Sally Sweet(the genius puzzle decoder). I absolutely love this book. Janet manages to have every funny experience Stephanie could possibly go through with her gang of Lula, Grandma Mazur, Sally and still add in Joe and Ranger. There are moments of emotion that you can feel Stephanie go through without being too much to take away from the humor or story. You add in Eddie (the jerk), Sugar (the pyro), Joyce Barnhardt(Stephanie's enemy that Vinnie has just hired to do skip tracing) and you begin feeling sorry for the skip Maxine. Then you add in Eddie's weird relatives, Joyce Barnhardt finding a naked man (as if anyone else would find him) and a the best wet your pants scenes I have read in quite a while. The dancing napkin, tattooed man, and big bag of doodie are just a few. If you haven't tried Janet's books and aren't prepared to do the whole series try this one. It gives you some of the back story as well as a stand alone hilarious tale of a woman trying to make a living in a job that everyone says she's wrong for, but she just happens to fall into bit of luck and every pitfall possible with great humor. I love the Stephanie Plum series and it's the first book series I recommend to my friends and family for a good fun read. Fans of the series all have their favorite books, so I tried to give you my favorite that can easily stand alone if you are new to the series. Also, check out CJ Critt's version for the best audio version of the series they are available from Recorded books there is no comparison to her reading of the series.

"Four to Score" by Janet Evanovich continues the absolutely hilarious Stephanie Plum series, and Evanovich is in fine form as usual. Stephanie Plum, our favourite bumbling bounty hunter is back again, with the usual cast of eccentric and comical characters plus a few new faces you're going to love!
This time, Stephanie is after first time offender Maxine Nowicki, who missed her court date on an auto theft charge initiated by her boyfriend, and now needs to be found and brought back into the system. Sounds simple, right? Only nothing is ever simple for Stephanie Plum, which is why she's so much fun to read about.
While going through the rounds, talking to the friends and family of Maxine Nowicki, Stephanie is hired by Maxine's ex-boyfriend Eddie Kuntz, who wants Stephanie to find Maxine so he can get back something of his that Maxine has, and he claims that something is love letters. Hmmm. But Maxine is having some fun with Eddie in her quest for revenge against him. She knows how bad Eddie wants what she has, and she's sending him on the treasure hunt from hell. And the thing is, Maxine's clues are in a code that Stephanie can't decipher. So that's how we meet Sally Sweet, a 7 foot tall (with his heels that is), very hairy transvestite, who joins Steph's team as the clue decoder. Sally is a hilarious and very welcome addition to the already colourful cast of characters. And Sally brings with him his neurotic roommate Sugar, a fellow transvestite who tries to bake all his troubles away.
But as we all know, nothing ever goes smoothly for Stephanie Plum. Not only is she not doing so great in her search for Maxine, she is also now competing with her archenemy Joyce Barnhardt, who cousin Vinnie hired as a part time bounty hunter and who is out to catch Maxine as well. Stephanie and Joyce have hated each other for years, but Stephanie's dislike of Joyce reached an all time high when she caught Joyce and her now ex-husband playing hide the salami together on her dining room table.
But Stephanie isn't the kind of woman who gives up when things get tough, and she continues with her search for Maxine. And it isn't too long before she finds herself caught up in the middle of something very ugly. Stephanie has to deal with chopped off fingers, mysterious murders, counterfeiters, a blown up car and firebombs, one of which lands right in Stephanie's apartment. It seems that someone wants to get rid of Stephanie permanently, and she better be careful if she doesn't want them to succeed.
So with the help of ultra sexy vice cop Joe Morelli, 200+ lb ex-hooker Lula, and gun toting Grandma Mazur, Stephanie sets about getting to the bottom of this mystery. Things really heat up between Stephanie and Morelli in this instalment, much to my delight! And alongside the suspenseful mystery is the ever-present humour and witty repartee that makes this series so much fun to read.
"Four to Score" is another winning entry in an already great series. Evanovich blends the mystery with the comedy brilliantly, and the result is a downright wonderful read. I am utterly hooked on Stephanie Plum, and am extremely grateful I found her. This series is filled with fabulous and fascinating characters who Evanovich brings to life right before your eyes. So don't deprive yourself of a side-splittingly funny, exciting, and completely captivating reading experience, buy "Four to Score" today!

A male reader in this review list wrote that he could not understand why this series is so popular. He complained about the cookie cutter characters, the similiarities of the plots in all the books and the lack of humour. He believed that if it wasnt for the female fans, the Stephanie Plum series would have disappeared a long time ago.
Well, to each his own.
I am a male reader and a new fan of Janet Evanovich's (JE) sassy and ditzy bounty hunter. The characters are over the top and zany and, yes, can be found in other genres like cop shows and sitcoms. Perhaps that is why the series is so sucessful. The readers are familiar with the cast and find it reassuring. It doesnt matter whether Grandma Mazur sounds like that old woman from the "GOLDEN GIRLS", never mind the fact that Ranger reminds one of Batman or that Lula, Joyce, Morelli, Vinnie, Connie and the rest all sound as if they came straight from Central Casting. It does not bother the fans because obviously that's what they WANT. Otherwise the series would not, at the time of writing, have 8 books in it.
About the similiar plot lines...well, that's nothing new in a long running series. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter. All her books are about her hunting down people who didnt turn up in court after they've been bailed by Vinne the bail bondsman. Usually the reason they skipped court is connected with the pile of bodies that Stephanie discovers in every book. Along the way she meets kooky characters, violent thugs and has lots of fun dodging bullets and other attempts on her life.
In every, single, one of her books.
Now, doesnt that fit the description of practically every popular long running series in print out there? Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, Carl Hiaasen's Florida crime capers, even Grisham's legal dramas have been accused of being carbon copies of each other. Other big name authors who have been accused the same are Stephen King, Tom Clancy and Sue Grafton (who was the author that the male reviewer recommended every one read instead of JE).
What makes up for the lukewarm mysteries, and lets face it they are lukewarm more often than not, is JE's great dialogue and hilarious situations that she puts Stephanie in. Most of it revolves around Stephanie and Grandma Mazur or Stephanie and the street wise Lula. In book four, though, there's a new character in the form of Sally Sweet who is a cross dresser and gets tangled up in Stephanie's latest case. I havent read books 5, 6, 7 & 8 so I dont know if Sally becomes a regular. By the end of the book she moves in with some friends and no more is said of her (waittaminute...its a GUY...why am I referring him as "her"?). I hope he appears in later books. He's an asset to Stephanie's ever growing posse.
Yes, the writing is formulaic. Yes, the characters are nothing special. Yes, you will probably have that "been there, read that" feeling. But my advise to JE is, "If it aint broke, dont fix it." Your many fans are having lots of fun reading your books so far and when it gets boring and tiresome, we will just tell you by not buying any more of your books. Here's hoping that that day is somewhere in the faaarrrr future.
As Lula would say, "Damn skippy"

It's July in Trenton, NJ where Stephanie Plum, bond enforcement officer for her bail bondsman cousin Vinnie, is looking for Maxine Norwicki. Maxine's been charged with stealing her former boyfriend Eddie Kuntz's car and is now FTA (Failed To Appear in court). "She wasn't a career criminal and the charges weren't serious. She really had no reason to skip out." Eddie Kuntz got a message from Maxine, who's arranged a little treasure hunt for him. Follow the puzzling clues to get back your mushy love letters. Eddie recruits Stephanie to help him. "Maxine's apartment had been ransacked, and two people connected with her had been mutilated. I was thinking maybe someone wanted to find her for something other than love letters. And maybe that someone was Eddie Kuntz."
Stephanie's archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt, has been hired by Vinnie as a rival bounty hunter. Stephanie once caught Joyce having an affair with her now ex-husband, and now she's tailing Stephanie, trying to bring in Maxine first.
Stephanie teams up with Lula, "a 200-lb. Black woman with blond baloney curls all dressed up like Cher on a bad day"; and Sally Sweet, a 7-ft. drag queen rock singer. She also calls on Ranger "a man of few words. He's Cuban-American, former Special Forces, makes a better friend than an enemy, and he's Vinnie's numero uno bounty hunter."
But when someone blows up Stephanie's car AND apartment, all in one day, she's forced to move in with Joe Morelli, the arrogant cop who sweet-talked Stephanie out of her virginity years ago. "The thing is, while I was in love with Morelli for all these years, I'd always known it was best if nothing came of it. Loving Morelli was like loving cheesecake. Hours of misery on the Stairmaster, working off ugly fat, in return for a moment of blissful consumption."
This 4th in the Stephanie Plum series is a great stand-alone book. It details many of the repeat characters and explains some history that I already know, having been reading the series in sequence. If someone wanted to just read a single book from the series, this would be perfect.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is at it again. Needing money for her rent, Stephanie picks up what she thinks will be an easy apprehension. Maxine Nowicki, a waitress at a local diner, has gone missing. She has jumped bail after being arrested for stealing her boyfriend's car. But not only has Maxine disappeared off the face of the earth (or at least Trenton, NJ), everyone who might have knowledge of her whereabouts has either shown up maimed, missing or even dead. Of course, things are much more complicated than they first appear and Stephanie ends up having to solve a mystery or two before she can find Maxine.

What makes Janet Evanovich's books so much fun are the regular, recurring characters. Grandma Mazur is always armed and ready to assist. Lula is now working for Vinnie in the bond business, and owns her own stun gun (don't get her mad). Cop and friend Joe Morelli is very much in the picture. However, the dangerous and mysterious Ranger (fellow bounty hunter and mentor) is becoming more tempting as a romantic interest. And Joyce Bernhardt (another bounty hunter and Stephanie's archenemy) always has her nose where it doesn't belong. Stephanie also seeks help from a new character, cross-dresser Salvatore (Sally) Sweet. Sally alone makes the book worth reading. Evanovich also has Stephanie branch out a little bit, and the scene where Stephanie and her entourage go to the Atlantic City casinos is really a hoot!

Each Evanovich book gets better than the last, and I think that the Stephanie Plum series is the funniest and most entertaining mystery series out there. I first read this book, and then listened to it on tape during a trip. It was just as funny the second time around, and the audio version should come with a warning: "This tape may cause the driver to become distracted due to laughing"

I love the Stephanie Plum series of novels. I really hate reading so I purchase them both in audio for me and paperback for houseguests and friends. I'm drawn in with the excitment and adventure of the story that Janet seems to capture in every novel. It has twists, turns, Lula, mystery, wonder, and of course two very "HOT" men! Who wouldn't want a mix of both men. :} I would recommend the "Plum" series, her "Full" series, as well as her earlier novels of mixed titles. They're all great fun and keep you as a reader at the edge of your seat waiting to see if a cars going to get blown up, who's died this week, who attends the pot roast dinner, who she sleeps with next, what will burn down next, and will she get her man (love or bounty). I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. I look forward to #14 in the "Plum" series, the next "Full" novel, and the new novel Janet recently wrote with a new author being released this October. Thank you!

What's a girl to do when handcuffed to her own refrigerator?
For those readers unacquainted with Stephanie Plum, she's a skip tracer, i.e. bounty hunter, working for her cousin Vinnie in Trenton, NJ. She's also a disaster magnet. So, when her latest assignment, Maxine Nowicki, who jumped bail after being charged with the theft of her estranged boyfriend's car, handcuffs Plum to the door of her own fridge, what's left to do while awaiting rescue but finish off the leftover banana cream pie, a jar of peanut butter, and a bag of baby carrots? And that's before her car explodes, her apartment is gutted by fire, and she gets raw egg in her hair.
As I work my way sequentially through the Stephanie Plum series, I stand amazed at the imagination of author Janet Evanovich that continually ups the ante on the absurdity of the situations in which Stephanie finds herself and the eccentricity of the characters that gravitate to our heroine like lint to a black dress. Yet, the craziness never seems pushed or over the top, but is just Stephanie's karma in a nutty world.
The continuing "male lead" in all of Plum's adventures is Joe Morelli, the rascally plain-clothes Trenton cop with whom Stephanie has a long love-hate relationship. When they were just pre-pubescent kids, the sexually precocious Joe lured Stephanie into his father's garage to play choo-choo. As teenagers, Plum ran down Morelli with the family Buick after Joe relieved Stephanie of her virginity on the floor behind the eclair counter in the pastry shop in which she worked. Yet, when Plum and her pet hamster Rex are left homeless after their apartment is torched in FOUR TO SCORE, it's the extra room in Joe's house into which Stephanie moves. Will she and Joe find True Love before they kill each other?
Like its predecessors in the series, this book is exceeded in trashiness perhaps only by a lurid bodice-ripper. But, should you pick up a Stephanie Plum adventure, I virtually guarantee you a good time.

Four To Score
Janet Evanovich's Four To Score keeps readers minds going and their hearts beating faster. Janet Evanovich is an author of comedic mystery with a definite element of suspense. The characters that she develops are a perfect fit for the style of writing. I believe Lula to be the most original character of them all. The things that she says and the way she acts keeps a readers laughing and peoples minds twisting and turning with thoughts.
For a person to read and enjoy this book, people need to like suspenseful mysteries that have a romantic and sexy twist to them every once in a while. I recommend this book to women more so than men because it is written with a woman's point of view. Overall, this book is great and once you read this you will want to read all the rest of the Stephanie Plum series. I definitely recommend the Stephanie Plum series to a person who is able to handle the thrills of these wonderfully well written books.

If you are up to "Four to Score" you pretty much know what to expect from both Janet Evanovich and her leading lady, Stephanie Plum. As with the previous installments, you are in for a lot of laughs as Trenton's clumsiest bounty hunter is once again tracking down unseemly folks who have skipped their court dates. All your favorite characters are back (Morelli, Grandma Mazur, and Lula), but the scene-stealer this time around is the code-cracking drag queen/transvestite/transsexual (Evanovich never quite makes it clear) Sally Sweet. Sweet is definitely a (much needed) breath of fresh air in this installment.
Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read. It will not win any literary awards, but heck this is not why we are reading these books anyway. With the Steph-Morelli relationship taking a turn in "Four," I imagine most readers will already be making plans to read the next book well before turning the last page on this one.

This is one of those feel good books for me, it can turn my mood around and put a smile on my face. Stephanie Plum is a unique character. Disaster and some odd luck with finding herself in impossible situations and always in the middle of some big case. Lulu as always is a joy and brings some fresh interactions and comedic timing to the table. I cracked up everytime she brought the stun gun out when arguing with Stephanies arch nemesis Joyce, who is going after Stephanies cases. Sally was a new character in this book and I hope we see her/him again. Of course her parents, Grandma, Ranger and the hot and frustrating Joe Morelli also make an appearance. I really like Joe and was happy to finally see some more intimate moments happen between them. Overall, it was a fun read. These characters always bring a smile to my face

The author has really hit her stride in this 4th book in the Stephanie Plum series. The books have been consitantly enjoyable, with a heroine who has good instincts, but is otherwise about as 'ordinary' as the rest of us, and who unlike some other people, hasn't let the job title 'bounty hunter' go to her head.
It's the people around Stephanie who make her stories so memorable in a way. Her crazy grandmother Mazur, Joe, the gorgeous cop sort-of-boyfriend, the drag queens and her mortal enemy Joyce and Lula the ex-ho filer.
In this book stephanie gets what looks like a simple pick up for a lady named Maxine. It leads to arson, murder and sex.
I'm really enjoying this series. While these books can be read independatly (the titles have numbers in them to give the order), they are best read in sequence to appreace references to past events. Extremely worthwhile crime fiction, I can now see why everybody raves about them.

An engaging read.

I have read all 24 of the Stephanie Plum novels, and I still want to read more.

These novels work because Stephanie Plum is a well-rounded character who struggles with bad guys, and kind of succeeds in the end.

I'm a big fan of Janet Evanovich's books- however Four To Score just wasn't as good in my opinion as the others. While I know that technically this book series is marketed and classified as 'Crime', it doesn't and never has struck me as a real 'crime' series. It's more of a Chick-Lit/Action genre, which I like better than crime. I actually found this book to be more violent than her others- something I didn't particularly like that much. Also, like others have also wrote, I did get a little frustrated at the fact that sometimes you wonder how someone can lack some common sense, i.e being leaving her gun in her cookie jar all the time, or leaving it in her pocketbook and fogetting to take her pocketbook with her, etc. However, it's still an OK read and I'd still reccommend it.

As I progress down the series, the less enticing and convincing I find her stories. I dunno why, maybe it's just a PLUM overdose! Tee hee! This time round, with FOUR TO SCORE, Grandma Mazur is starting to get on my nerves. Sure thing, I understand that she has this thing about growing old and all that, and she has a tendency to raise the hair on your back, but having a penchant for funerals is not going down well with me. Maybe it's an age thing. Maybe when I am 80 years old with wiry veins on every single inch of my body with saggy skin (duh, like I don't have that now), I'll feel the way Grandma Mazur does, and be a little bit more symphatetic. No promises, I am just saying maybe I will. Right now, if Grandma Mazur was a real life person, I'd smack her and send her to bed!

The one good thing about this book, FOUR TO SCORE from Janet Evanovich, is this funky little transvestite (maybe he...erm, she...well, HE is not as little cause he's a lanky ugly lady) who can decode stuff. It seems that whenever Stephanie Plum gets some queer note from the woman that she's supposed to be hunting down, she gets SALLY SWEET the transvestite to decode it. HE does have a live-in boyfriend is all too stuffy, but hey, to each his own.

I've always had this thing for Lula the ex-ho (hooker, albeit, women standing on the street soliciting sex) who wears a size 100, black and has a bad attitude and is color blind when it comes to clothing. She's just got it right down pat, the attitude and the clumsy judgment and the gangsta stance that hides a (probably) fragile ego.

In the meantime, Stephanie Plum is still....well, Stephanie Plum. She still gets her apartment bombed up, her hamster (Rex - and what a lovable hamster that little guy is) still loves raisins and lives out of a soup can, her cars keeps exploding (which is a swell excuse for a new car) and PLUS she gets all the men! And even reading about Joe Morelli makes me hot! I mean, he's just got this dark brooding attitude that makes me want to cover him with kisses - so, it's no wonder PLUM has such a difficult time trying to snuffle her feelings her him. I REALLY want to see them together - and they finally sleep together.

On the storyline front, it's really quite weak this time round cause they're hunting down a runaway woman who's skipped bail, fingers gets chopped off, scalps gets scalded, people get shot, and then in the end, they're not really the bad guys. I feel that, at times, Janet Evanovich is trying very hard to bring the storyline back into the swing but fails.

No matter, the wisecracks and hot Morelli-Plum relationship more than makes up for it. Add Lula and Sally Sweet MINUS Grandma Mazur, you get a passable Stephanie Plum book. Here's FOUR TO SCORE for you...

In this installment, Stephanie Plum is tracking a waitress named Maxine Nowicki who is wanted for taking her boyfriend's car for a joy ride. Maxine jumps bail and Stephanie gets the green light to chase her. With reformed prostitute Lula and cross dressing Sally Sweet in tow, Stephanie stumbles onto a tangled plot that involves a counterfeit money production scam. Also in this novel, Stephanie FINALLY has sex with the luscious Joe Morelli. YAY! But even her sex life is a disaster. When the 'Burg finds out Stephanie is living with Joe because someone set fire to her apartment, people start annoucing their wedding and that Stephanie is pregnant!

How Evanovich does it, I don't know and I don't care. As long as she keeps on creating these wacky and loveable characters, I will be a dedicated reader. Totally hilarious and a ton of fun, I highly recommend this novel.

Serious fan of this series. Yes, there are plot holes and there is the blatant obviousness of the bad guy in almost all of them but goodness this is just a fab series and such fun...you can't take it serious ya'll...it's not meant to be like that at all. Just sit back and enjoy it.

The Burg is a section of Trenton, NJ, where Stephanie Plum plies her trade as a bounty hunter, working for her cousin Vinnie. Her latest assignment is Maxine Nowicki, who has stolen her boyfriend's car. Stephanie has the lure of her bounty money plus a promise of $1000 from Maxine's ex-boyfriend, who is very anxious for Maxine to be apprehended. Things get wild when someone begins to cut body part off from Maxine's friends and also attempts to burn up Stephanie's house and apartment. Wannabe bounty hunters, Lula, a former prostitute, and Sally, a trash-talking transvestite, join Stephanie in the hunt for Maxine and they definitely make things lively. This humorous trio gets into all sorts of trouble before the bad guys are finally brought to justice. As always, Evanovich fills her books with extemely colorful and hilarious characters and hysterically humorous action.

I'm enjoying the series. I think I had to begin at the beginning to appreciate all her nuances. Her stories are pretty great, and do keep me turning pages. However to win a 5 star from me, I would have had to feel stronger emotions. That said, I've embarked on #5!

Fourth in the series of Evanovich's wildly popular comic mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum. In this outing Stephanie, the tough, trash talking bounty hunter is chasing down Maxine Nowicki. Nowicki stole her ex-boyfriend's car and skipped out on her court date. Should be an easy takedown. When Stephanie's apartment and car get blown up during the chase, she moves in with sexy Joe Morelli; the cop she's had a crush on since they were kids; which sends a ripple of gossip through their New Jersey neighborhood. Fighting off rumors, Stephanie has to pull it together to get her woman. A colorful cast of characters includes old favorites like her pistol packing Grandma Mazur; co-worker Lula "a two-hundred pound black woman with blond baloney curls all dressed up like Cher on a bad day"; and a few new additions, seven foot tall, cross dressing, rock star Sally; and rival newbie bounty hunter Joyce better known for playing "hide the salami" with Stephanie's husband, right before he became her ex. Laugh out loud funny, with improbable if not impossible situations, these books aren't about who-dunnit, they're a light hearted brain candy of a read.

Stephanie is at it again, only this time she might just put bullets in the gun. She keeps her gun in the cookie jar and is dreadfully afraid of bullets but things are getting shaky and this might just be the time to fill those chambers. A nearly 7 foot transvestite who hates to shave has teamed up with Stephanie Plum, and grandma Mazur's teeth have nearly fallen out when they show up for dinner.
Stephanie's nemesis Joyce Barnhardt, who was found boinking Steph's ex-husband on their dinning room table, has decided to become a bounty hunter too. The one time make-up girl at Macy's is getting in the way and Lula is forced to ZAP her to keep her in line. The laughs keep on coming and the relationship with Joe Morelli is getting hotter by the minute. These books just keep getting better and better. Evanovich never disappoints her readers. Kelsana 3/3/02

I am in love with Stephanie. And Morelli & Grandma Mazur & Lula & Ranger & Sally. This fourth insert of the Plum chronicles is as good as the first. Maxine & Francine & Margie & Eddie & Sugar & Sally, these new characters are so vivid, you would think you lived across the street from them yourself. There is so much crazy fun action going on you can become obsessed in reading this book. I know I did. There are multiple plot lines yet the story doesn't become muddled and it isn't totally obvious to the reader what exactly is going on. Suspense & unpredictacality in numero quattro. And there is a lot of heat between Morelli & Plum that is just sugar sex chocolate for your eyes and mind. I cannot wait to read number SIX! (side point, plum has known morelli quite intimately, yet she didn't know he owned a ducati - how is this possible????)

I have read these book in order and I think I gave the first three a five rating. "Four" has all the great characters of the first three plus two newcomers. Namely, Sally Sweet and Sugar. I hope Sally Sweet is back again. He added a great deal of humor to the book. This is a very good mystery that will hold your attention until the last for the surprise ending. These books are fun to read and you will find your self laughing out loud in many places. I really like Stephanie, Joe, Lula and Ranger. Also, Grandma is always good for a laugh. Why did I give it a three??? Because of the sex part in this one. I know this is just me, but, the first three played about with sex with thoughts and a few words. This book got very descriptive with it which I did not like. To each his or her own and it won't matter to Evanovich at all but just my openion.

Stephanie's back and better than ever with Four to Score, a funny, sexy romp through Trenton, New Jersey. Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from hell, is on the trail of Maxine Nowicki, who forgot about her court appearance and jumped bail. In the process of tracking Maxine down, she uncovers murderers, counterfeiters and a fire bomber. Unfortunately, Stephanie's apartment is at the top of the fire bomber's hit list and she moves in with Joe Morelli. Now the fun really begins. As always, Ms Evanovich fills her story with quirky, wacky characters that just add to the fun and we get to see a lot more of the Plum and Morelli families. The writing is smart and down to earth and Ms Evanovich has a wonderful ear for dialogue. You'll laugh out loud at the antics of this fine cast. Do yourself a favor, start with One for the Money and read the whole series. Ms Evanovich doesn't disappoint.

I'm late in joining Stephanie Plum fan club league ... but I'm doing the catch up it in full speed. This is the third book of Stephanie Plum series I read this weekend and boy, my heart still do a bop-bop-baby-sound. I'm totally in love with Stephanie, the crazy bounty hunter from hell. And the whole lunatic gang is also present; Ranger, Grandma Mazur, Lula, and of course yummy Joe Morelli (I'm in serious case of crush for that guy!). Another character is been introduced here also, Sweet Sally, a drag queen who helped Stephanie in her latest case, trying to find out a girlfriend seek for revenge.
It's a whole catastrophe fiasco in this fourth book with Steph and Joe finally get together (that's me, shouting Yes!) and people think they're getting married with Steph being preggers. I LOVED this book! I still have book number 5 in my shelf, and I already ordered book number 6. I can't wait to read them all!!

This novel did not hold my interest as well as the first three novels in the series. The plot seems to meander and digress. Perhaps the characters are becoming a little worn, or the plot elements a little over-used (another vehicle turned into toast). Some jokes are funny the first time, perhaps the second time, and maybe the third time; but after a while, you start avoiding the person telling them.

The story has some redeeming qualities making it worth three stars, including an interesting finish. It is like a slow horse that suddenly surges as it nears the wire. A woman has an interesting way of dealing with an ex-boyfriend who abused her (nothing like putting the thought in women's minds); and some people get away with a large chunk of undeclared income stashed somewhere outside the country. Some forms of crime might pay - it depends on whom you steal from.

The author does have an interesting name for a scooter not big enough to be called a hog.

...and they brought friends, including everybody's favorite 250-plus pound ex-hooker, Lula, and a codebreaking drag queen named Sally Sweet, brought in to help bounty hunter Stephanie Plum get her man, or rather, woman.
Maxine, Stephanie's lastest bounty assignment, is a car theft skip which should be a simple pickup. Instead, Stephanie is subjected to a torturous scavenger hunt with the skip's ex-boyfriend, who accounts for 90% of the "torture" (mentally, anyway), and to some competition from her mortal enemy, Joyce Barnhardt. So now Stephanie has to get to Maxine, who knows more about other crimes than she wishes to reveal, before Joyce does, and before the Reaper gets to Stephanie.
Four is funnier, and faster-paced than its predecessor. When Joe and Stephanie get together, it gets hot, too.

This is my favorite Stephanie Plum novel in the series thus far. I laughed myself hoarse reading about the adventures of Stephanie, Sally, Grandma, and Lulu when they hit the road hot after their woman. Whether Stephanie is describing Joyce's relations with her ex-husband or speculating about where Maxine is headed, she does it in style. Stephanie may go through a few cars on her way to nabbing her woman but it's an occupational hazard for a bounty hunter, right? Okay, maybe it's only an occupational hazard for Stephanie since Ranger seems remarkably able to keep one set of wheels.
Grab this book for those days when you need a good laugh. You'll soon laughing out loud at Stephanie's antics, Grandma's comments, and Lulu's tough talk while enjoying new characters you'll want to keep visiting again and again.

This fourth book in the series is one of nonstop falling off your chair laughter. Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter is after Maxine Nowicki, who is free on a stolen automobile charge. Her boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, also offers Stephanie money in hopes that she can retrieve something extremely valuable to him...love letters, he claims.
The chase is on in this page-turning craze, and all of the extra added details that makes this adventure that much more funny! The cast of characters is helpful to Stephanie once again. Stephanie's family, especially Grandma Mazur, add pizzazz, depth, and a heck of a lot of humor to this great plot.
Joe Morelli is also back and yes him and Stephanie finally get together!
Lula, the large prostitute-turned-file clerk-slash-wannabe is hysterical in this book. Her quick wit and street humor keep you rolling.
This fourth book also introduces Sally Sweet, a code-breaking transvestite 'drag queen" musician. Grandma Mazur comes right out and asks Sally what a drag queen does with his ding-dong and I died laughing. Stephanie's enemy, Joyce Barnhardt, also has a larger roll in this book, as the newest bounty hunter at the Vincent Plum bail bonds agency.
This book is truly hysterical, pages keep turning with the fast paced humor and wit. This is the best book yet in the series and I thought three was good. This series is highly recommended!

The mystery was obvious, but the laughs and hijinks just kept coming. The one other thing I want to say is Grandma Mazur. She has to be the coo!eat senior citizen I've had the pleasure of reading about.

Well, it took four books, but the hot-sweet simmering between New Jersey's most amazing bounty hunter and its hunkiest cop finally comes to a head in Four To Score, and it is well worth waiting for! The bathroom is already steaming from Stephanie's shower when Joe Morelli makes his move, and readers' hearts will beat a whole lot faster. Oh, yeah, the rest of the story's not bad, either, with Stephanie on the trail of an elusive skip who pops up every now and then to torment her ex-boyfriend...and Stephanie. Grandma Mazur and the rest of the gang at Vinnie's Bail Bonds are in great form, and there might be a new "regular" in the outlandish cast of characters, a musical transvestite. Excellent plot involving counterfeit $20 bills and folks who are not at all what they seem. Highly, highly recommended, and then some!

I happened upon a Janet Evanovich book quite by accident, but after reading it, I was so happy I had. This is the 4th installment of the adventures of quazi-bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her wacky assortment of relatives and friends, and in my humble opinion, the best yet. Stephanie will keep you constantly amazed as she stumbles in and out of trouble, forever aided by the hapless Joe Morelli. I found myself laughing outloud at the exploits of Stephanie, Lula, Grandma Mazur and their new crossdressing friend Sally. One thing that makes this book such a good read is the way that Evanovich is able to sprinkle humor throughout the story, giving some of the best lines to Grandman Mazur. We are also finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as Stephanie and Joe get closer and closer, it's about time!!! I can't wait for the next installment. It's a book that you won't be able to put down but might drop because you are laughing so hard!

Wow!! Just as I had written off the series as nothing more than rehash and repetition (Book III) here comes Janet with the best so far. I wanted to shout a loud "hurrah" when Stephanie got together with Joe - this has been one long foreplay and now they get down to business. Then there is the addition of arch-rival Joyce (we also get to meet ex-hubby/lawyer) as a bounty hunter. Almost as good was the treatment Lula dished out to poor Joyce.
Finally new character Sally, a transvestite, makes the novel a rollicking, frollicking picnic from beginning to end. Poor Stephanie has more problems with cars than the rest of Trenton put together but she still has the old Buick and her family is still around, harping and carping. "Four" is a classic!!

In the fourth Stephanie Plum novel, the cast of characters get even crazier. To just read a review about the eclectic friends and family members does not do them justice and frankly, most people would be turned off by the cross dressing musician Sally Sweet who is a key player to solving the criptic messages Stephanie is trying to solve in order to track down the missing FTA or failure to appear client from the bail bonds office Stephanie works in as a bounty hunter. Stephanie's bad luck with both her cars and her apartment are nothing new in this zany pseudo mystery novel.

Is it worth buying?

I really like this series, but as an individual book, I would say no. Read them all from start to finish, or don't read them at all.

Just finished Evanovich's fourth book, "Four to Score". If you have not read any of her previous books I would encourage you to start with the first one as it sets up her characters and therefore makes each new novel more fun. I loved this book. I sat in a restaurant at lunch time today and 4 people came up and asked me what I was reading. I sat there laughing and smiling for an hour. The book is entertainment at its best. About 8 months after I read one of Evanovich's books I start calling the book store to find out when the next one is due to hit the shelves.
Do your self a favor. Buy "One For The Money", Two For the Dough" "Three to Get Deadly" and "Four to Score". You will THANK YOURSELF.

A friend recommended this series to me. I had just read the first three in rapid succession when the fourth in the series was released. I was under orders to read it quickly, as my friends were dying to get their hands on the book as well. It was great. Kick back, relax and go along for the ride. I laughed and of course cheered when Stephanie finally did 'the deed' again with Morelli. Can't wait for number five to find out if the condoms worked! These books keep getting better and better. Can't wait to get my next fix of Lula, Ranger, Grandma Mazur and of course, Joe Morelli. I hope her publishers have Janet chained to the wordprocessor. I was a devoted fan of Patricia Cornwall and Kay Scarpetta, but feel that they are getting weaker as they go on.

When I happened on the first of the series, "One for the Money", I was laughing out loud in the check out line. I loved it and when no one else seemed to know about the book, I started leaving little sticky notes saying, "Read this book!" on the books for sale at my local bookstore.
I was a little disappointed in book # 3, "Three to Get Deadly". However, I loved "Four to Score" as much as the first. It's funny, smart, sexy and the "mystery" can take a back seat to Joe Morelli anyday. Once again, I was laughing aloud in the check out line. Like other readers, I think Evanovich tops Grafton for fun and readability. I'd recommend the series to almost anyone!

Four to Score is a winner in the Stephanie Plum series. It's fast-paced, funny and believable in a strange way. In this book, Stephanie is trying to collar a waitress who jumped bail after she was arrested for stealing her boyfriend's car. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, not in Stephanie's world! She finds herself in all kinds of trouble, and without a car and a home because of fallout from this case. But in true Stephanie fashion she seems to come out on top. She meets a new friend - a six foot four inch drag queen called Sally Sweet (boy I hope we see more of him in the future), and she actually takes her so-called relationship with Morelli to another level. This is my favourite Plum so far.

This is a first rate mystery! I like this book very much. It has a good plot, good characters, and good settings. I have been reading the Stephanie Plum series of stories by Janet Evanovich, and this is one of the best. I am not a big fan of violent content, sexual content, or romantic content; but the book has some of all of these, and the author handles them all very well. Highly recommended!

How does Evanovich come up with all of these chartacters. Sally Sweet, the 7 foot transvestite AND Lula .... Oh, what a team she has going in this book as she continues her job as a bounty hunter. This is the 4th in series and they continue to make me laugh out loud.
You will always find something to laugh about as you follow Stephanie in her trials as a bounty hunter. In the thread of novel's she brings along her romantic interest Morelli, Lula a former prostitute, Ranger, the "Rambo" mysterious bounty hunter, and of course her family including the infamous grandma Muzar.
You won't find a lot suspense in Evanvich's books but you will find a lot of enjoyment! On to 5!

Janet Evanovich has outdone herself. Bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum and cop Joe Morelli are beginning to edge out Laura Holt and Remington Steele in my affections. While the sparks that normally fly around this couple turn into steam Old Faithful would envy, the reader can become re-acquainted with Grandma Mazur (who always gets the best lines) and Lula and be introduced to a tunnel-visioned transvestite named Sally Sweet. If you are a fan of Ms. Plum and her entourage, DO NOT WAIT to read this book. It is every bit the equal of "One For the Money," and well worth the money. This is probably the funniest book I'll read this year. And I'm already craving my next Plum fix...

I am one of the many readers who impatiently waited to see what next would happen to Stephanie Plum. Although this is not my favorite book in the series, it is still a five star, funny read. I loved Sally the cross dresser. And I love those family dinners!! I have to confess that I secretly would like to see Stephanie have a one night stand with Ranger, though. I keep giving away my Evanovich novels to good friends and having to then buy more. I sincerely hope Evanovich is writing away on the next one, and that she will not be tempted to end this series and start another any time soon. Stephanie Plum deserves as many novels as say, my first girl hero, Nancy Drew!

I have read all 4 books and can't wait for high five! I feel like I am there with Stephanie, watching her do everthing in her power to get her man! I'm glad she and joe got it on... Stephanie makes you feel like you are her and this is you going through every bump, hit, bruise, abuse and laughter to get your man or woman. I want to finish reading but, then slow down so that I won't! Lulu is great, Ranger makes me want to go looking for a Ranger to rescue me. The best is when Lulu and Stephanie go to Joe with a dead body in the trunk. I have loaned out my books to my co-workers at work and they all can not wait for book number five to come. Hurry....

This 4th book in the Stephanie Plum series is just as good as the prior three. In this book, Stephanie the "still-learning" Bounty Hunter tries to bring in a woman who leaves coded message clues ala scavenger hunt, is stalked by someone's girlfriend, moves in with Morelli, and gets mixed up with counterfeiters, with the help (?) of Lula and a transvestite. You can't read ahead. The writing is too good to miss a word of. And the author has a way of sneaking up on you with the action when you don't expect it. Best of all, she doesn't repeat her jokes or witticisms as you may see in other series writing. It's all fresh. Thank you, Ms. Evanovich.

As usual, Stephanie Plum had me laughing and delighting in all of her antics. Stephanie is learning the bounty hunting trade and falling prey to her weakness for Joe Morelli, cop and old boyfriend who always seems to be on the scene when she really needs a shoulder to lean on.
Take away my chocolate and take away my potato chips but please let me keep my decadent indulgence--these numbered books about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter.

This is the fourth volume in the Stephanie Plum series and each book is better than the last. I find myself so looking forward to reading the next one as soon as I finish one of Ms. Evanovich's books. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter with a really funny family, [messed]-up love life and a perverted boss. Her friends and relations only add to the confusion of her life and her hamster may just be her best friend. You will laugh out loud at Stephanie's foibles and literally not want to put your book down. I was up to 4am yesterday reading and got the 5th, 6th and 7th books today because I don't want to have to wait to get to the bookstore to read them!

Stephanie's back and better than ever with Four to Score, a funny, sexy romp through Trenton, New Jersey. Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from hell, is on the trail of Maxine Nowicki, who forgot about her court appearance and jumped bail. In the process of tracking Maxine down, she uncovers murderers, counterfeiters and a fire bomber. Unfortunately, Stephanie's apartment is at the top of the fire bomber's hit list and she moves in with Joe Morelli. Now the fun really begins. As always, Ms Evanovich fills her story with quirky, wacky characters that just add to the fun and we get to see a lot more of the Plum and Morelli families. The writing is smart and down to earth and Ms Evanovich has a wonderful ear for dialogue. You'll laugh out loud at the antics of this fine cast. Do yourself a favor, start with One for the Money and read the whole series. Ms Evanovich doesn't disappoint.

I'm late in joining Stephanie Plum fan club league ... but I'm doing the catch up it in full speed. This is the third book of Stephanie Plum series I read this weekend and boy, my heart still do a bop-bop-baby-sound. I'm totally in love with Stephanie, the crazy bounty hunter from hell. And the whole lunatic gang is also present; Ranger, Grandma Mazur, Lula, and of course yummy Joe Morelli (I'm in serious case of crush for that guy!). Another character is been introduced here also, Sweet Sally, a drag queen who helped Stephanie in her latest case, trying to find out a girlfriend seek for revenge.
It's a whole catastrophe fiasco in this fourth book with Steph and Joe finally get together (that's me, shouting Yes!) and people think they're getting married with Steph being preggers. I LOVED this book! I still have book number 5 in my shelf, and I already ordered book number 6. I can't wait to read them all!!

This novel did not hold my interest as well as the first three novels in the series. The plot seems to meander and digress. Perhaps the characters are becoming a little worn, or the plot elements a little over-used (another vehicle turned into toast). Some jokes are funny the first time, perhaps the second time, and maybe the third time; but after a while, you start avoiding the person telling them.

The story has some redeeming qualities making it worth three stars, including an interesting finish. It is like a slow horse that suddenly surges as it nears the wire. A woman has an interesting way of dealing with an ex-boyfriend who abused her (nothing like putting the thought in women's minds); and some people get away with a large chunk of undeclared income stashed somewhere outside the country. Some forms of crime might pay - it depends on whom you steal from.

The author does have an interesting name for a scooter not big enough to be called a hog.

...and they brought friends, including everybody's favorite 250-plus pound ex-hooker, Lula, and a codebreaking drag queen named Sally Sweet, brought in to help bounty hunter Stephanie Plum get her man, or rather, woman.
Maxine, Stephanie's lastest bounty assignment, is a car theft skip which should be a simple pickup. Instead, Stephanie is subjected to a torturous scavenger hunt with the skip's ex-boyfriend, who accounts for 90% of the "torture" (mentally, anyway), and to some competition from her mortal enemy, Joyce Barnhardt. So now Stephanie has to get to Maxine, who knows more about other crimes than she wishes to reveal, before Joyce does, and before the Reaper gets to Stephanie.
Four is funnier, and faster-paced than its predecessor. When Joe and Stephanie get together, it gets hot, too.

This is my favorite Stephanie Plum novel in the series thus far. I laughed myself hoarse reading about the adventures of Stephanie, Sally, Grandma, and Lulu when they hit the road hot after their woman. Whether Stephanie is describing Joyce's relations with her ex-husband or speculating about where Maxine is headed, she does it in style. Stephanie may go through a few cars on her way to nabbing her woman but it's an occupational hazard for a bounty hunter, right? Okay, maybe it's only an occupational hazard for Stephanie since Ranger seems remarkably able to keep one set of wheels.
Grab this book for those days when you need a good laugh. You'll soon laughing out loud at Stephanie's antics, Grandma's comments, and Lulu's tough talk while enjoying new characters you'll want to keep visiting again and again.

This fourth book in the series is one of nonstop falling off your chair laughter. Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter is after Maxine Nowicki, who is free on a stolen automobile charge. Her boyfriend, Eddie Kuntz, also offers Stephanie money in hopes that she can retrieve something extremely valuable to him...love letters, he claims.
The chase is on in this page-turning craze, and all of the extra added details that makes this adventure that much more funny! The cast of characters is helpful to Stephanie once again. Stephanie's family, especially Grandma Mazur, add pizzazz, depth, and a heck of a lot of humor to this great plot.
Joe Morelli is also back and yes him and Stephanie finally get together!
Lula, the large prostitute-turned-file clerk-slash-wannabe is hysterical in this book. Her quick wit and street humor keep you rolling.
This fourth book also introduces Sally Sweet, a code-breaking transvestite 'drag queen" musician. Grandma Mazur comes right out and asks Sally what a drag queen does with his ding-dong and I died laughing. Stephanie's enemy, Joyce Barnhardt, also has a larger roll in this book, as the newest bounty hunter at the Vincent Plum bail bonds agency.
This book is truly hysterical, pages keep turning with the fast paced humor and wit. This is the best book yet in the series and I thought three was good. This series is highly recommended!

The mystery was obvious, but the laughs and hijinks just kept coming. The one other thing I want to say is Grandma Mazur. She has to be the coo!eat senior citizen I've had the pleasure of reading about.

Well, it took four books, but the hot-sweet simmering between New Jersey's most amazing bounty hunter and its hunkiest cop finally comes to a head in Four To Score, and it is well worth waiting for! The bathroom is already steaming from Stephanie's shower when Joe Morelli makes his move, and readers' hearts will beat a whole lot faster. Oh, yeah, the rest of the story's not bad, either, with Stephanie on the trail of an elusive skip who pops up every now and then to torment her ex-boyfriend...and Stephanie. Grandma Mazur and the rest of the gang at Vinnie's Bail Bonds are in great form, and there might be a new "regular" in the outlandish cast of characters, a musical transvestite. Excellent plot involving counterfeit $20 bills and folks who are not at all what they seem. Highly, highly recommended, and then some!

I happened upon a Janet Evanovich book quite by accident, but after reading it, I was so happy I had. This is the 4th installment of the adventures of quazi-bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her wacky assortment of relatives and friends, and in my humble opinion, the best yet. Stephanie will keep you constantly amazed as she stumbles in and out of trouble, forever aided by the hapless Joe Morelli. I found myself laughing outloud at the exploits of Stephanie, Lula, Grandma Mazur and their new crossdressing friend Sally. One thing that makes this book such a good read is the way that Evanovich is able to sprinkle humor throughout the story, giving some of the best lines to Grandman Mazur. We are also finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as Stephanie and Joe get closer and closer, it's about time!!! I can't wait for the next installment. It's a book that you won't be able to put down but might drop because you are laughing so hard!

Wow!! Just as I had written off the series as nothing more than rehash and repetition (Book III) here comes Janet with the best so far. I wanted to shout a loud "hurrah" when Stephanie got together with Joe - this has been one long foreplay and now they get down to business. Then there is the addition of arch-rival Joyce (we also get to meet ex-hubby/lawyer) as a bounty hunter. Almost as good was the treatment Lula dished out to poor Joyce.
Finally new character Sally, a transvestite, makes the novel a rollicking, frollicking picnic from beginning to end. Poor Stephanie has more problems with cars than the rest of Trenton put together but she still has the old Buick and her family is still around, harping and carping. "Four" is a classic!!

In the fourth Stephanie Plum novel, the cast of characters get even crazier. To just read a review about the eclectic friends and family members does not do them justice and frankly, most people would be turned off by the cross dressing musician Sally Sweet who is a key player to solving the criptic messages Stephanie is trying to solve in order to track down the missing FTA or failure to appear client from the bail bonds office Stephanie works in as a bounty hunter. Stephanie's bad luck with both her cars and her apartment are nothing new in this zany pseudo mystery novel.

Is it worth buying?

I really like this series, but as an individual book, I would say no. Read them all from start to finish, or don't read them at all.

Just finished Evanovich's fourth book, "Four to Score". If you have not read any of her previous books I would encourage you to start with the first one as it sets up her characters and therefore makes each new novel more fun. I loved this book. I sat in a restaurant at lunch time today and 4 people came up and asked me what I was reading. I sat there laughing and smiling for an hour. The book is entertainment at its best. About 8 months after I read one of Evanovich's books I start calling the book store to find out when the next one is due to hit the shelves.
Do your self a favor. Buy "One For The Money", Two For the Dough" "Three to Get Deadly" and "Four to Score". You will THANK YOURSELF.

A friend recommended this series to me. I had just read the first three in rapid succession when the fourth in the series was released. I was under orders to read it quickly, as my friends were dying to get their hands on the book as well. It was great. Kick back, relax and go along for the ride. I laughed and of course cheered when Stephanie finally did 'the deed' again with Morelli. Can't wait for number five to find out if the condoms worked! These books keep getting better and better. Can't wait to get my next fix of Lula, Ranger, Grandma Mazur and of course, Joe Morelli. I hope her publishers have Janet chained to the wordprocessor. I was a devoted fan of Patricia Cornwall and Kay Scarpetta, but feel that they are getting weaker as they go on.

When I happened on the first of the series, "One for the Money", I was laughing out loud in the check out line. I loved it and when no one else seemed to know about the book, I started leaving little sticky notes saying, "Read this book!" on the books for sale at my local bookstore.
I was a little disappointed in book # 3, "Three to Get Deadly". However, I loved "Four to Score" as much as the first. It's funny, smart, sexy and the "mystery" can take a back seat to Joe Morelli anyday. Once again, I was laughing aloud in the check out line. Like other readers, I think Evanovich tops Grafton for fun and readability. I'd recommend the series to almost anyone!

Four to Score is a winner in the Stephanie Plum series. It's fast-paced, funny and believable in a strange way. In this book, Stephanie is trying to collar a waitress who jumped bail after she was arrested for stealing her boyfriend's car. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, not in Stephanie's world! She finds herself in all kinds of trouble, and without a car and a home because of fallout from this case. But in true Stephanie fashion she seems to come out on top. She meets a new friend - a six foot four inch drag queen called Sally Sweet (boy I hope we see more of him in the future), and she actually takes her so-called relationship with Morelli to another level. This is my favourite Plum so far.

This is a first rate mystery! I like this book very much. It has a good plot, good characters, and good settings. I have been reading the Stephanie Plum series of stories by Janet Evanovich, and this is one of the best. I am not a big fan of violent content, sexual content, or romantic content; but the book has some of all of these, and the author handles them all very well. Highly recommended!

How does Evanovich come up with all of these chartacters. Sally Sweet, the 7 foot transvestite AND Lula .... Oh, what a team she has going in this book as she continues her job as a bounty hunter. This is the 4th in series and they continue to make me laugh out loud.
You will always find something to laugh about as you follow Stephanie in her trials as a bounty hunter. In the thread of novel's she brings along her romantic interest Morelli, Lula a former prostitute, Ranger, the "Rambo" mysterious bounty hunter, and of course her family including the infamous grandma Muzar.
You won't find a lot suspense in Evanvich's books but you will find a lot of enjoyment! On to 5!

Janet Evanovich has outdone herself. Bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum and cop Joe Morelli are beginning to edge out Laura Holt and Remington Steele in my affections. While the sparks that normally fly around this couple turn into steam Old Faithful would envy, the reader can become re-acquainted with Grandma Mazur (who always gets the best lines) and Lula and be introduced to a tunnel-visioned transvestite named Sally Sweet. If you are a fan of Ms. Plum and her entourage, DO NOT WAIT to read this book. It is every bit the equal of "One For the Money," and well worth the money. This is probably the funniest book I'll read this year. And I'm already craving my next Plum fix...

I am one of the many readers who impatiently waited to see what next would happen to Stephanie Plum. Although this is not my favorite book in the series, it is still a five star, funny read. I loved Sally the cross dresser. And I love those family dinners!! I have to confess that I secretly would like to see Stephanie have a one night stand with Ranger, though. I keep giving away my Evanovich novels to good friends and having to then buy more. I sincerely hope Evanovich is writing away on the next one, and that she will not be tempted to end this series and start another any time soon. Stephanie Plum deserves as many novels as say, my first girl hero, Nancy Drew!

I have read all 4 books and can't wait for high five! I feel like I am there with Stephanie, watching her do everthing in her power to get her man! I'm glad she and joe got it on... Stephanie makes you feel like you are her and this is you going through every bump, hit, bruise, abuse and laughter to get your man or woman. I want to finish reading but, then slow down so that I won't! Lulu is great, Ranger makes me want to go looking for a Ranger to rescue me. The best is when Lulu and Stephanie go to Joe with a dead body in the trunk. I have loaned out my books to my co-workers at work and they all can not wait for book number five to come. Hurry....

This 4th book in the Stephanie Plum series is just as good as the prior three. In this book, Stephanie the "still-learning" Bounty Hunter tries to bring in a woman who leaves coded message clues ala scavenger hunt, is stalked by someone's girlfriend, moves in with Morelli, and gets mixed up with counterfeiters, with the help (?) of Lula and a transvestite. You can't read ahead. The writing is too good to miss a word of. And the author has a way of sneaking up on you with the action when you don't expect it. Best of all, she doesn't repeat her jokes or witticisms as you may see in other series writing. It's all fresh. Thank you, Ms. Evanovich.

As usual, Stephanie Plum had me laughing and delighting in all of her antics. Stephanie is learning the bounty hunting trade and falling prey to her weakness for Joe Morelli, cop and old boyfriend who always seems to be on the scene when she really needs a shoulder to lean on.
Take away my chocolate and take away my potato chips but please let me keep my decadent indulgence--these numbered books about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter.

This is the fourth volume in the Stephanie Plum series and each book is better than the last. I find myself so looking forward to reading the next one as soon as I finish one of Ms. Evanovich's books. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter with a really funny family, [messed]-up love life and a perverted boss. Her friends and relations only add to the confusion of her life and her hamster may just be her best friend. You will laugh out loud at Stephanie's foibles and literally not want to put your book down. I was up to 4am yesterday reading and got the 5th, 6th and 7th books today because I don't want to have to wait to get to the bookstore to read them!

I've been reading Janet Evanovich's books backwards (from Six to Four - so far) and it seems to work just fine. I prefer hardcover books and I found this one on the discount table so I was able to indulge two of my desires at the same time for less than paperback, i.e., a hardcover book and a Stephanie Plum story. All the characters are certifiable, everyone seems to be toting a gun of some kind and description and the pages just keep turning until you hit the end. These books are pure pleasure and should be approached as such. I will keep looking for One Two and Three in the used book stores. So should you if you haven't had the pleasure as yet.

This is a very well written book. I really enjoy the characters and how Stephanie-the main character, bounty hunter- always gets the person that she is out to catch. Evanovich's books keep on getting better and better. In the book, Maxine- the FTA- steals her boyfriends car, and doesn't appear for her court daete. Pro bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, recieves help from Lula(ex Hoe), Sally Sweet(drag Queen) and from many other interesting people. There are many twists in this book. It is adult content, and you should be mature if you want to read this book. I recommed this book to you if you like to read mysteries and twisted love stories.

The fourth book in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series was the best one I've read so far. Stephanie is a bounty hunter that always gets her man or in this case her woman. The catch is that for Stephanie sometimes bringing in the bailee is easier said than done. As in the other books she'll call on her friend and fellow bounty hunter Ranger for a bit of help and of course there is Lula who is always willing to lend a hand. In Four to Score even Grandma Mazur gets to try her hand at bounty hunting. Evanovich introduces us to one of her craziest characters ever-Sweet Sally a rather tall and hairy drag queen who is lending Stephanie a helping hand to solve her latest case. Of course Joe Morelli is one of the characters in Four to Score and the big question is will Morelli and Stephanie be the ones to score. Each new book in this series has been funnier than the ones before it and this one is no exception

Is it me, or do these Stephanie Plum books just keep getting better and better. I had trouble finishing the first one, but my daughter told me I would like it so I pushed on. The 2nd one was great, the 3rd one was even better, and this 4th one is excellent.
The characters are becoming richer, and there's a chuckle on every page. I love Lula, Ranger, Morelli, and Stephanie's grandmother. I'd like to hear more about Ranger.
One small glitch--Evanovich has "choose" and "chose" confused--they're used incorrectly in this book. (Sorry for being so picky.)

I love the entire Stephanie Plum series, Ms. Evanovich has a brilliant ability to combine humor and action. However, this book is one of my favorites. There are parts that you can't help but laugh out loud at the situation and mahem that is created. The two paragraph scene where Stephanie, her side-kick Lulu, her Grandma Mazur, and friend Sally, enters a casino still makes me giggle (even after reading it several times).

All the books are great reads, this one is a giggle fest.

Enjoy!

This is my favorite of the series so far, but books 1, 2, and 3 were also incredible. Evanovich's writing style is excellent, and Stephanie is such a lovable character. All of the characters are great, even the lesser ones. No 'cardboard characters' here. It's hard to put these books down. I blew through book Three to Get Deadly (3rd book) and Four to Score in a weekend. I wish I could slow down and savor them, but I'll just have to reread them down the road instead.

I wish there was a rating above 10 because Janet and Stephanie definitely deserve it! Book #4 is the best Plum adventure yet, and I loved One, Two and Three. You will hold your sides laughing at some of the shennigans that Stephanie, Lulu, Grandma Mazur and a new character (I don't want to give too much away) get themselves into. And the detested Joyce is back trying to upstage Stephanie (but not on the dining room table this time). Not even Atlantic City is safe from the group. And yes, the immortal Rex is his ever cute self, surviving in the soup can world - while Stephanie takes on the bad guys in her colorful spandex attire. And if you are an Evanovich lover - you are going to really love her even more. Plumje forever!

I have laughed and laughed reading these novels by Evonovich. I woke my husband up the other night laughing while reading this book.
The characters in this book are too funny. Grandma, Cousin Vinnie, Sally Sweet and Lula each add a new dimension and many laughs to this story. Grandma is the type of granmother you would love to have; she says what she is thinking. Lula is one of the funniest characters and as this series continues, she gets better and better.
I particularly like how Stephanie's cars get blown up over and over again, but not the blue bomb. Wonderful.
Enjoy.

When 73 year old Grandma Mazur meets Sally (the 6'8" transvestive who specialized in decoding secret messages) and says, "I've always wanted to meet a Drag Queen. What do you do with your dingdong?" I thought I would literally die laughing. I can't remember when I've read a funnier book. There are so many great one-liners I had to run out and buy the book after borrowing it from a friend to read. I'm going to buy several copies of this book to send to all my friends. This book is a keeper! I can't wait to read all of the other books in the series!

Stephanie Plum, New Jersey's own Lady Bounty Hunter, sets out to recover a car thief/non-show and finds herself involved in a not-so-simple pickup. Evanovich out does herself with this rich cast of regular and new characters, including cross-dressing Sally Sweet.
Suddenly Plum is being stalked and people are turning up dead.
"Four to Score" is fast paced, often funny and another spectacular read from this highly talented writer. I have become a commited Janet Evanovich fan.
Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Janet Evanovich always delivers a highly enjoyable and readable book. 0nce you start one you can't put it down. The action flows evenly without any of the unnecessary and irrelevant padding that is so common in other less accomplished authors.
Stephanie Plum is the girl next door, one who just happens to hold a non-traditional job and has family and friends who are completely unbelievable, and yet it all seems so normal. Nothing is predictable, and almost anything goes.

Maxine Nowicki has skipped bail after a car theft charge made by her ex-boyfriend. Said ex-boyfriend wants some old letters back, there is much more to deal with for Stephanie, including gun-packing Grandma Mazur, new bounty hunter and evil "other woman" Joyce, who is the evil woman who was cavorting around with Stephanie's husband Dickie on the dinner table when Stephanie walked in. Stephanie's apartment is blown up and lo and behold, she has to move in with . . . Joe Morelli. Whoo!!! Can we say hot, people? I think we can!

I was greatly looking forward to this book. I love the Morelli character and just couldn't wait to find out what was going on with him. Still, I was a bit dismayed when the mystery took a back seat to graphic sex. Not that I'm a prude, I just think it should be used _when necessary_ to add to the plot or to give information about characters. The same information could have been conveyed without the "humping" scenes. The earlier books were much more about plot and character...and much enjoyable. I hope the next one is better!

Another great read by Janet Evanovich. I laughed right out loud and smiled through almost the whole book. I love the strange ways that she finds to get Stephanie in trouble! I also love the supporting characters, they are always so original and outrageous you wonder how she keeps coming up with them!

I just finished Four to Score for the second time and it was even better than the first. Knowing the plot and knowing where the relationship with Morelli was going let me relax and savor the new characters (hope she brings Sally back), and Grandma Mazur's one liners. I miss the east coast and Janet Evanovich brings it back with the sounds and smells and eccentricities (spelling?) better than any other author I have read so far. While you're waiting for #5 to come out in paperback, go back and read this one nice and slow.

I love the Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum series, with all of the characters. It's remarkable that Stephanie remains alive with all of the incidents of car bombings, attacks from the criminals and dealing with Vince her boss. However, thanks to Joe Morelli, who sounds like a gorgeous hunk and pretty decent cop who looks the other way....alot, Stephanie manages to get her FTA and stay in one piece.
Lula and Grandma Mazur keep the laughter rolling, causing Stephanie more problems than helping her; but the ineptness keeps the suspense and comedy coming.
I have lost some of the Janet Evanovich books with moving, but just buy them again. I plan to have Stephanie Plum and company in my home for many years to come.

Stephanie Plum is out to find a car thief who skipped bail. As she looks, her apartment and car explode, she gets another sidekick--a transvestite musician named Sally--and she's moved in with Morelli. Life is interesting. As the story unfolds it turns out her skip has more going on in her life than a stolen car. Funny-money, missing fingers, even a dead body...it's all in a day's work for Stephanie!
Evanovich just gets better and better. Four to Score is a laugh-out-loud story that absolutely delights!

Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum is more involved than just picking up a court dodger. This time its a woman who has stolen her boyfriends car. People are being scalped, their fingers being cut off and money is being laundered. Plum has to move in with her love/hate cop friend Joe after her car and apartment are torched. Finally! The two go at it. It's about time! The hilarity continues with the favorites of Plum's family. Especially the lovable Grandma and doding mother. There's also the co-worker, ex-hooker Lulu. Introduced is Sally the tranvestite who deciphers coded notes for her. And the gorgeous and mysterious Ranger is always watching Stephanie's back. All of this in one book means "rolling on the floor, wetting yourself" laughter. I just can't get enough of this series. It makes every stressful or dull day back slapper.

Title for next book,got a couple,Five to Survive, or Five to Thrive.Then if you do a movie ie,Kristen Lehman as Miss Plum, Ray Liota as Morelli.Then the black lady who does the Lysol commercials ,I could see her jumping with beads in her hair.So far that my picks for future screen personalities. I heard about your books on a T.V. show , I think it was on Sunday Morning with Charles (new guy). But have remembered your books since and have gotten several of my friends to read them and they love them ,too.

No. 4 is the best one yet! And yes, Stephanie finally scored some booty! Sadly, her streak with cars is still going strong. Another fantastic character, who I hope becomes regular was introduced, Sally the Drag Queen/Transvestite, yes I know there is a difference, but they couldn't seem to decide which he was themselves. Looking forward to number 5.

Marvelous, wonderful, amazing and laugh out loud are a few words to describe this book. If you need mystery, adventure, drag queens and Grandma look no future its packed into this book. 5 star a must read.

This is another fast action Stephanie Plum as a bounty hunter.
There is a little murder, some strange knife work, lots of fast driving, bullets flying, and an unusual amount of $20s floating around. As you plunge ahead, action continues till the last moment.

Book 4 in the series, and Stephanie is still getting in over her head in every imaginable situation possible. I can't wait to read each book to see what she's gotten herself into and how she's going to get out. I think her grandmother's a kick too. It shows where Stephanie's pluck comes from. Love the play between Stephanie and Joe Morelli (the cop) too. Can't wait to get the next in the series.

I have read almost all of the Stephanie Plum novels and enjoyed them, but this one just has too much profanity. I found myself trying to scan the paragraphs and just skip over the ones that had all foul language but my eyes kept stumbling over this verbal barbed wire. I understand how she was trying to portray the character of Sally Sweet, but it possible to convey the fact that he is cursing without actually using the profanity. I was very disappointed because the other books weren't so foul. It's a good thing I read them out of order or I probably wouldn't have gotten past 4

Janet Evanovich has done it again - chronicling the escapades of Stephanie Plum and her friends and associates with a wickedly ribald eye. The story line could have been more robust, but we Evanovich fans go for the snappy dialogue and the delicious sense of the absurd that permeates Stephanie's middle-class, blue-collar working America that is Trenton, New Jersey.
And of course, the highlight is that Stephanie and Joe have "done the deed" - in many, many places. Buy the book to read about this, if nothing else!
I am looking forward to the fifth book in the series - I hope it comes out before Christmas.

I was very happy to be introduced to Stephanie Plum and I have enjoyed her many adventures. The plots are interesting especially the ongoing relationship between she and Morelli. I also have enjoyed the developement of the Plum and Morelli family characters - alot like people I know! I do however, find some of the language a little too much - way too many f-words. I understand some of that is needed because of the setting and the colorful characters that Stephanie runs into, but.....

Four To Score by Janet Evanovich was released in 1998. One of the best Stephanie Plum novels yet. The usual great characters like Grandma Mazur, and Lula are featured. Very funny lines indeed. Fans of Janet Evanopvich will like this the most.

Once again, Stephanie has car trouble, man trouble, and even apartment trouble. This one got too silly for me. Ms Evanovich got caught up in the laughs so much, she forgot to put in the mystery. If you are depressed, you might enjoy this. It's fast and entertaining. I figured out the firebomber way too early. At the end, I didn't even care much about the person Stephanie was pursuing. I did like the way Steph's friends and family harassed her about the "glow" in her face.

I bought this book in spain (it was the only available book in English) and didn't expect much - but it was really cute. Stephanie Plum is a sort of rough around the edges Jersey version of Bridget Jones. And the mysteries are pretty good too - and I'm really not a mystery reader. I would recomend this book as a great pool-side read - you really don't need to pay a whole lot of attention, the characters are laugh out loud funny, and there's enough sexual tension to keep it fresh.

The stories of Stephanie Plum are absolutely great and the humor written by Janet Evanovich is outstanding. As far as the audio versions go, the first three Stephanie Plum Novels were narrated by Lori Petty. Lori did an amazing job of making you feel that she really was Stephanie Plum and you were right there with her. You didn't feel the reader is reading to you but actually talking to you.

This fourth of the series like the first three Stephanie Plum novels is great however this audio narrated by C. J. Critt. C. J. Critt sounds much like a fourth grade teacher reading to her class. Her inflections are overdone and distracting to listen to. It is difficult to overlook the narration and listen to the story.

There are whacky characters, funny situations, and surprises to delight. Her heroines and heroes stay the same, which readers can rely upon. Dialogue is exceptional making her novels consistent yet unpredictable.

Have read the first three in the series so I was looking forward to Four to Score. I was not disappointed. Janet Evanovich is a great writer.

This story kept you reading until the end. No slow spots to talk of. The chemistry between Stephanie and Joe is fabulous. Wouldn't we all like a strong, sexy, man of few words in our lives. Am looking forward to the next one.

Janet takes Stephanie,Lulu,Grandma Mazur, and Sally Sweet(a transvestite musician). To the shore and Atlantic City on her search for Maxine Nowicki. Along the way people are murdered, scalped, and fingers chopped off. Also Stephanie gets her car and apartment set on fire. Then there's Joe Morelli. After her apartment catches on fire. Her and Rex move in with him. This is a great,funny book. Just remember with any of Janet's books. Be prepared to do a lot of laughing. Enjoy.

I like this series more and more. The relationship between Stephanie and Joe is intriguing but at the same time annoying. I'm excited to start the fifth book to see if Stephanie starts to get it together. A bounty hunter that hates guns...hilarious. The reason I gave this particular book 4 stars had nothing to do with te actual story,it was due to some spelling errors I came across

Janet Evanovich still managed to write a funny - but much less so than "One for the Money"- mystery, but I felt this one had too little mystery story in it and too many hard to believe incidents. The "shooting" scene with Sugar was a little funny, but it was just too miraculous an escape even for Stephanie. Also, haven't there been enough car destructions? Time for more plot and fewer harrowing experiences for our heroine. I wonder if the reader from CA noted the use of "choose" (twice!) when, I think, "chose" was the proper tense? Wondering about Number Five!

Stephanie Plum, Jersey's favorite pistol-packing, smart mouth bounty hunter is back and better than ever. This time she's searching for a revenge-seeking waitress who has skipped bail. Stephanie's on the job and determined to nab her woman.
As with all the other Stephanie Plum thrillers, Janet Evanovich delivers with lots of laughs and many colorful characters. Not to mention a little romance. Highly recommended.

In this book Steph is on the trail of a woman who stole her boyfriends car and leads Steph and Lula on a merry chase to the shore. Danger has Steph moving in with her sometimes boyfriend Morelli. This book introduces Morelli's grandma who can put the hex on people and she see's visions of kids in Steph and Joe's future.

This is another great book in the Plum series. I love them all and can't wait for more.

I have read the entire series, and the in betweens as well! I love this bunch of people. The first books of the series are the best, toward the end they get a little too far fetched from real, but then the last couple are very entertaining again. Well worth the reads!

I purchased this book in a set for my mother-in-law. Knowing I LOVE the Stephanie Plum series, she lent it to me after she had finished it, and I was mortified. This book is much more sexually graphic than books one, two, and three. The language made me think that Fabio should have been pictured on the cover. It was a good story, and very entertaining, but beware - it's much more adult than the first three novels in the series.

Four to Score is a very unique book. Stephanie Plum is a Bounty hunter in her fourth book. This time she is hunting down a waitress who has skipped bail. With cars blowing-up, old ladies getting in the way, and a man named Sally, this book is sure to bring great excitment. I enjoyed this book more than any of the previous books. Every night I would stay up at late and read. I enjoyed this book very much.

Four to Score is a very unique book. Stephanie Plum is a Bounty hunter in her fourth book. This time she is hunting down a waitress who has skipped bail. With cars blowing-up, old ladies getting in the way, and a man named Sally, this book is sure to bring great excitment. I enjoyed this book more than any of the previous books. Every night I would stay up at late and read. I enjoyed this book very much.

This is the most current book in Evanovich's collection. She relays passion, mystery, comedy, and adventure through her use of characters. The main character, Stephanie Plum, is a bounty hunter who is at the wrong place at the wrong time, all of the time. You'll love her ongoing romance with former neighbor Joe Morelli. This book comes highly recomended along with the rest of Evanoviche's collection.

If you want to laugh out loud, read this book. On the first page, we find cousin Vinnie in his office slapping Mr. Johnson around.( It took me a minute). I could see Fran Dreisher as Stephanie, hopefully without the big hair and Nanny clothes. The gag about Joyce Barnhart was hilarious. The thought of Lula in tiger striped bicycle shorts is also hilarious. Somebody please make a movie (and don't ruin it)

I had never read an Evanovich 'Stephanie Plumb' novel before. I got this audiobook at the library and gave it a try. The narration gave Stephanie an annoying personality, not tough, not feminine, just annoying. The Sugar plotline was boring and went nowhere and the book would have been better without it. Maybe it was the narrator, CJ mazur or someone, but I didn't like Stephanie. I have to like the protagonist or I don't enjoy mysteries.

I enjoyed several of J Evanovich's books but, I must be getting over reading about the same character living the same confused life. The books are all the same, no mystery. If it wasn't for Grandma Mazer they would be a total loss.

I'm rather new to the crime novel genre, but I find Evanovich's novels hilarious. Yes, some details seem a bit silly, but, overall, it's a fun read. I like that Evanovich doesn't take herself so serious, which allows me to take myself similarly. Come on, even parts of Shakespeare's works are silly. Although I've read only 4 of her novels, this one is the most risque. However, her "love" scenes aren't so sappy that I can't enjoy them too.

Hi,

don`t want to write a two pages review but after the first it is just getting better and better and also make me laugh so everyone around me when I read look at me and ask me what is going on!

Thank so much to the author for sharing and please keep Stephanie Plum alive for long!!

Regards

I commute to work on the subway (in New York) each day, and trust me it is "NOT" cool to laugh out loud and not be able to control it. As with all the other Stephanie Plum books I again found myself laughing myself silly. This is a must buy! The only problem is that once you are done you hunger for the next one...which by the way I just ordered (High Five). Ms. Evanovice better work faster on those books, the public is waiting!

After reading the ... series, I thought this series was alittle slow on the action. I don't understand how people could comparethis series to the ... series. Although it is lacking in action itmakes up for it in witty repartee and amusing sexualinnuendo. Stephanie Plum is your average girl turned bounty hunterwithout any special talent, but loaded with dumb luck. Although herluck can be stretched at times, the author makes note of that andincorporates it into the dialogue.That's what kept me reading. It'sinteresting and definetly one of my favorite series(next to ... , ofcourse). I definetly recommend this series for those of you who like agood mystery and a good laugh, but for those hard-core action fans,this might not be the series for you. END

As a child Anne of Green Gables was my hero. As an adult, Stephanie Plum has stolen my heart. The situations that she finds herself in are priceless. Her grandmother is hilarious. When new Stephanie Plum books are released I always take a vacation day from work. I know that I am going to be up all night reading. The next day begins the torture of having to wait on the next book.

Janet Evanovich is one of the best writers. Every one of her books is wonderful. I have recommended the books to quite a few people and I have never heard a negative thing about the books. The books are so funny they make me laugh out loud. I always wind up really feeling for the characters as I read her books. I love all her novels and I wish she would put more than one out a year. I wish more writers were this talented. I can usually criticize even my favorite authors, but I have no complaints aside from the only one book a year thing! Keep up the great work Janet!

I love these books so much I have read them about four times so far. And each time I laugh out loud. I am counting the minutes until the fifth one comes out. I would love to see something happen between Stephanie and Ranger for a short time. Stephanie and Joe belong together...

Book is brand new (I love that feeling - of brand new book,) great price and, given the lack of a good book store in our small town, I was pleased to find this series online. The storyline is funny and good light reading.

I have read all four of the Stephanie Plum series. Reading this one I kept laughing out loud. Stephanie manages to get into so much trouble, and is such a strong-willed character. Joe Morrelli, Grandma Mazur and Ranger are great characters, too. Can't wait for the next one...

If you have been following the simmering saga of Stephanie and vice cop Morelli in the previous three books, you must read this book, where their love is finally consummated! You won't be disappointed. Plus, the book has all the humor and wackiness of all the others.

The Stephanie Plum series has definitely kept me coming back for more. Janet Evanovich includes just the right amount of wit, sarcasm, and cynicism in her books to balance out the action, suspense, and romance. She creates unique crimes and the answer at the end is always shocking. Four To Score didn't disappoint.

Lula, the 200 lb. ex-hooker who has appointed herself as Stephanie's sidekick, is quickly becoming a...

[...]

I'm not a big mystery reader, but boy have I had fun reading this series of books staring Stephanie Plum.Especially Four to Score. I was actually laughing out loud, and I never do that.Can't wait to read the next adventure/ misadventure of this fearless bounty hunter.

Who doesn't love a Janet Evanovich mystery? If you want something that will make you laugh and has a well developed plot, pick up one of her novels. You won't be disappointed. Protect Your Nuts

THE ENTIRE CAST OF CHARACTERS FROM THE STEPANIE PLUM SERIES HAS EVOLVED WITH EACH NEW BOOK. I FIND MYSELF LAUGHING MORE AND MORE WITH EACH ONE. BUT WITH FOUR TO SCORE IT WAS NEVERENDING. IT HAS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITES FOR THE YEAR. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE.

I've read all of the Stephanie Plum books, and this one was funnier than all the rest (unless I was waiting so long for it to come out). Loved the new character, and laughed out loud every time Stephanie has to get in that Buick with all her "help."

I am delighted that the store carries the older titles in the Plum series! I became a serious Plum fan after reading 12 Sharp and have been building my collection since that time.If you are a Plum fan I highly suggest this book as an addition to your collection--You won't be disappointed!

This is the best of the series. The action is great--... Four is a funny, action-packed adventure with all of the great old characters, and some wonderful new ones. This is literally a laugh out loud kind of book (but which of the Plums isn't?)!

I've been reading the Stephanie Plum series out of order and just finished this one and all I can say is Wow! I love Ms. Evanovich's style of writing, her quirky characters, the dialogue, premise, etc. I can't wait to go on to the next one!

I read the first three and couldn't wait for this one. I'm a cheapskate, so the fact that I bought it in hardback should tell you a lot. Lulu and Grandma Mazur are hysterical. I can't think of another author I have loved so much. I like the love scenes between Stephanie and Morelli, but I would love to see Stephanie and Ranger get serious enough to spark Morelli's jealousy. He's beginning to get on my nerves with his on again, off again love. I'm on the list at the library for HIGH FIVE.

I am a die hard James patterson fan - But I have found a new love and interest in theses books by Janet Evanovich. They are funny - full of suspense and easy to listen to. I do CD books. They keep your interest from start to finish and you grow to love the characters as though they are your own personal friends. I would recomend this series to anyone who enjoys reading. No matter what your preference is. Romance - suspense - murder - etc... I cant wait till the next one comes out.

I love the Stephanie Plum series. Absolutely hilarious. GREAT writing, great stories that all seem to overlap with each other in one form or another. You can start anywhere and know what is happening and just enjoy each one on it's own.

This book is an absolute riot -- the perfect thing to cheer you up and entertain to the max. C.J. Critt, the narrator on the CD version, is ABSOLUTELY perfect as the voices of the characters. She doesn't just talk the part, she performs. Totally enjoyable!!!!!

I loved this book! It was funny and sweet. I was excited when she and Joe got together. I'm cheering for those two. Maybe they'll get married yet. The scenes with his family were classic. Keep them coming. Here's hoping that the next one comes sooner!! A year is much to long to wait!

I enjoy Evanovich's books because they make me laugh out loud. Or as my son would say, LOL,ROF. Stephanie Plum is a great character, and Evanovich's voice is easygoing and and flip, all at the same time. Love her books.
Suggestion of Death

Laughter is always the best Medicine.. Stephanie Plum is the greatest anti-depressant I have ever come across.. I guarantee at least 2 giggles per page with fast moving action you can't let go of. I Prescribe you read at least one Janet Evanovich book per week.. If you live in a Senior Complex like me try to do it in the day time so you don't wake the neighbors with your laughter. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND and cant wait for " Seven Up" Miss Evanovich's next offering.. =0)

I love these books so much I have read them about four times so far. And each time I laugh out loud. I am counting the minutes until the fifth one comes out. I would love to see something happen between Stephanie and Ranger for a short time. Stephanie and Joe belong together...

Book is brand new (I love that feeling - of brand new book,) great price and, given the lack of a good book store in our small town, I was pleased to find this series online. The storyline is funny and good light reading.

I have read all four of the Stephanie Plum series. Reading this one I kept laughing out loud. Stephanie manages to get into so much trouble, and is such a strong-willed character. Joe Morrelli, Grandma Mazur and Ranger are great characters, too. Can't wait for the next one...

If you have been following the simmering saga of Stephanie and vice cop Morelli in the previous three books, you must read this book, where their love is finally consummated! You won't be disappointed. Plus, the book has all the humor and wackiness of all the others.

The Stephanie Plum series has definitely kept me coming back for more. Janet Evanovich includes just the right amount of wit, sarcasm, and cynicism in her books to balance out the action, suspense, and romance. She creates unique crimes and the answer at the end is always shocking. Four To Score didn't disappoint.

Lula, the 200 lb. ex-hooker who has appointed herself as Stephanie's sidekick, is quickly becoming a...

[...]

I'm not a big mystery reader, but boy have I had fun reading this series of books staring Stephanie Plum.Especially Four to Score. I was actually laughing out loud, and I never do that.Can't wait to read the next adventure/ misadventure of this fearless bounty hunter.

Who doesn't love a Janet Evanovich mystery? If you want something that will make you laugh and has a well developed plot, pick up one of her novels. You won't be disappointed. Protect Your Nuts

THE ENTIRE CAST OF CHARACTERS FROM THE STEPANIE PLUM SERIES HAS EVOLVED WITH EACH NEW BOOK. I FIND MYSELF LAUGHING MORE AND MORE WITH EACH ONE. BUT WITH FOUR TO SCORE IT WAS NEVERENDING. IT HAS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITES FOR THE YEAR. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE.

I've read all of the Stephanie Plum books, and this one was funnier than all the rest (unless I was waiting so long for it to come out). Loved the new character, and laughed out loud every time Stephanie has to get in that Buick with all her "help."

I am delighted that the store carries the older titles in the Plum series! I became a serious Plum fan after reading 12 Sharp and have been building my collection since that time.If you are a Plum fan I highly suggest this book as an addition to your collection--You won't be disappointed!

This is the best of the series. The action is great--... Four is a funny, action-packed adventure with all of the great old characters, and some wonderful new ones. This is literally a laugh out loud kind of book (but which of the Plums isn't?)!

Stephanie Plum is back again. This time she is on the trail of a revenge-waitress who's skipped bail. With the help of her eccentric Grandma Mazur, ex-hooker Lula, a transvestite musician named Sally Sweet, and the all-too-hospitable, all-too-sexy Joe Morelli, Stephanie stand a chance to catch this woman. Then again,with more mishaps than there are exits on the Jersey Turnpike-including murders, firebombs, and Steph's arch-rival bounty hunter chasing after the same fugitive-Stephanie as always, better look out again. Especially if she wants to live to crack this case.
Evanovich keeps you in constant suspense wondering what will happen next!

I've been reading the Stephanie Plum series out of order and just finished this one and all I can say is Wow! I love Ms. Evanovich's style of writing, her quirky characters, the dialogue, premise, etc. I can't wait to go on to the next one!

I read the first three and couldn't wait for this one. I'm a cheapskate, so the fact that I bought it in hardback should tell you a lot. Lulu and Grandma Mazur are hysterical. I can't think of another author I have loved so much. I like the love scenes between Stephanie and Morelli, but I would love to see Stephanie and Ranger get serious enough to spark Morelli's jealousy. He's beginning to get on my nerves with his on again, off again love. I'm on the list at the library for HIGH FIVE.

I am a die hard James patterson fan - But I have found a new love and interest in theses books by Janet Evanovich. They are funny - full of suspense and easy to listen to. I do CD books. They keep your interest from start to finish and you grow to love the characters as though they are your own personal friends. I would recomend this series to anyone who enjoys reading. No matter what your preference is. Romance - suspense - murder - etc... I cant wait till the next one comes out.

As the series goes on, the quality goes down. But the earlier books like this one are hilarious and I highly recommend them. Stephanie Plum has the worst and best luck all at once and its a great read.

Having discovered Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has made me what to be a bounty hunter. Her fourth book in her series finds Stephanie once again facing disasters, blowing up cars and suffering her mother's ever present disappointment. For those that liked her first three, will continue to discover that if it could happen to anyone it would be Stephanie.

I personally thought that this book was the funniest and the best of the Stephanie Plum series. Grandma Mazur is as crazy as ever and to add to the cast of characters, sally sweet the crossdresser adds some zest and interest to the already spicy entourage. Stephanie and Joe Morelli remind us of what it is to be in love or lust and still manage to keep some suspense and an air of mystery to the unwinding plot. I have read everyone of the Plum series, right up to Visions of Sugar Plums. And I would recommend it to anyone that loves mystery and has a sense of humor.

The fourth book in this series is a real disappointment. The language was unnecessarily rough. Why did Evanovich feel she needed to include such raw language in her book? It distracts from the story. The story was fine on its own; it was entertaining and adventuresome. Why ruin a great mystery with language that doesn't fit the series at all?

This is a fun and entertaining book to listen to. It is the story of Stefhanie Plum an unlikely bounty hunter in New Jersey. She is smart and sassy and always getting into trouble or finding dead bodies.

Stephanie Plum is a great read. By the time you see this review I will have read all 10 of her books & am looking forward to more.A lite & easy read that will keep you entertained till the end.

As usual, I enjoyed the book. However, this one seemed to really move much more slowly than the previous ones. I know there are at least 16 more, not to mention the unnumbered ones. I hope they are a bit more fast-paced.

Stephie just gets better and better. This character is growing into a person that I'd like to know personally. Ms. Evanovich has got a knack that make her heroine more human than either Kinsey or the ever whining Kay Scarpetta. Excuse me...DOCTOR Kay Scarpetta. I hope that Stephanie will eventually travel out of Trenton and see a bit more of the surrounding world. This book refines Stephanie Plum. That's it. Ross Homer

My sister-in-law is a librarian so she suggested I read Four to Score. It was not good at all. The language in the book turned me off. Surely these books can be written without these words that are offensive. The book was poorly written. The character development was lacking. It did not flow and was hard to read. I will try other Janet Evanovich books and see if they are better. So I give it a lone star.

I tried reading this slowly but I just couldn't do it. I've finished the whole series in like a month and now I just don't know what to do with myself. I tried reading other books and nothing compares to Evanovich. I feel envious of the people that are reading this currently because I wish I was reading it. Who knows maybe I'll read it over again.

We have read her earlier books and enjoyed them, and were looking forwards to reading "four to Score". However when we did, we found that the OVERUSE of swearing,reliance on "characters" and possibly too much sex got in the way of the action (not talking about the sex! )We do like a good going story and sadly this was not.