Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14399 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-28
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Low-rent bounty hunter Stephanie Plum reaches depths of personal experience that other women detectives never quite do. In Hot Six, for example, a sequence of new and hideous cars bite the dust; she finds herself lumbered with a policeman's multiply incontinent dog; and she has several bad skin days. All this when she is trying to prove her distinctly more competent colleague and occasional boyfriend Ranger innocent of a mob hit; avoid the heavies trailing her in the hope of finding him; and cope with a wife-abusing bail defaulter with nasty habits, such as setting Stephanie on fire. The peculiar joy of this series is the comic sense of place; Plum's New Jersey is one where everyone you meet, even the most dangerous of criminals, was at school with you, or stole your mother's first boyfriend, or gave your great-aunt a middling good recipe for meatloaf. Evanovich has built up an attractive cast of comic characters with Stephanie's extended family and those of her two boyfriends, the dashing and sinister Ranger and Joe Morelli (the cop whose family are only too keen on his marrying Stephanie). Hot Six will not disappoint either her fans or newcomers. --Roz Kaveney

Amazon.co.uk Review
Low-rent bounty hunter Stephanie Plum reaches depths of personal experience that other women detectives never quite do. In Hot Six, for example, a sequence of new and hideous cars bite the dust; she finds herself lumbered with a policeman's multiply incontinent dog; and she has several bad skin days. All this when she is trying to prove her distinctly more competent colleague and occasional boyfriend Ranger innocent of a mob hit; avoid the heavies trailing her in the hope of finding him; and cope with a wife-abusing bail-defaulter with nasty habits such as setting Stephanie on fire. The peculiar joy of this series is the comic sense of place; Plum's New Jersey is one where everyone you meet, even the most dangerous of criminals, was at school with you, or stole your mother's first boyfriend, or gave your great-aunt a middling good recipe for meatloaf. Evanovich has built up an attractive cast of comic characters with Stephanie's extended family and those of her two boyfriends, the dashing and sinister Ranger and Joe Morelli (the cop whose family are only too keen on his marrying Stephanie). Hot Six will not disappoint either her fans or newcomers.--Roz Kaveney

Synopsis
Sexual temptation, homicidal maniacs, car crashes and donut addiction are all in a day's work for Stephanie Plum. But nothing could prepare her for the disaster she faces when Grandma moves in.

Customer Reviews

Stephanie and Grandma Mazur become roomies
At the end of my review of the previous book in the Stephanie Plum series, HIGH FIVE, I wondered if author Janet Evanovich was on the verge of trying too hard with her plotting. Then, of course, there was thread left dangling on the last page. Whose name, Morelli's or Ranger's, did Stephanie pull out of the bowl in her Night of Passion Lottery? In HOT SIX, it seems to me that Evanovich is indeed pushing it. And it turns out that Joe Morelli is the one that got lucky.

Plum is a bounty hunter in Trenton, NJ, employed by Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, the owner being her scummy cousin, Vinnie. Stephanie's modus operandi is either Keystone Cops or Bull-In-China-Shop, depending on her mood and the amount of junk snacks that she's consumed. The fact that she ultimately succeeds is based purely on dogged persistence and good fortune.

The skeleton of the HOT SIX plot is that Vinnie tasks Plum with apprehending Ranger, his best bond enforcement agent and Stephanie's friend and frequent mentor. Ranger has skipped bail on a ridiculous concealed weapon charge - everyone carries in Trenton - and it doesn't help that the local cops want to question him about the recent murder of a crime kingpin's son. Plum wants no part of it, least of all because she hasn't the skill to nab the ex-Special Forces soldier. But, as the bodies pile up, bagging Ranger becomes the least of her worries.

Don't get me wrong. HOT SIX is as funny as any previous book in the series. It's just that Janet's imagination has, in my opinion, finally gone over the top in populating the storyline with weird characters and dropping her heroine into bizarre situations. It's gotten to the point where less wackiness may be better. It's fine that her feisty Grandma Mazur, reminiscent of Sophia (Estelle Getty) of American TV's GOLDEN GIRLS sitcom, must move in with her, but not necessary that the former take driving lessons, date the ancient geezer upstairs, or purchase a red Corvette. It's not unusual that Stephanie apprehends a couple of oddball fugitives over the course of the book, but not required that one of them here be costumed as Captain Kirk at a Trekkies gathering during the takedown. And not surprisingly, Stephanie is followed by a couple of goons who also have an interest in finding Ranger. But does one of them really have to be a Pakistani emigre who, back in the old country, used to beat unruly children working in the village rug factory? What has before simply seemed to be Plum's bad karma is now too heavy a concentration of weird to be believed.

Finally, the reactions of Stephanie's mother to her antics - she say's "Why me?" and makes the sign of the cross a lot- are getting old. And Stephanie's long-suffering Dad continues to be a virtual cipher. It's time both characters were fleshed out.

At least Stephanie is making progress in her love life. Is that a proposal of marriage coming from Morelli at the book's end? You think?

Health warning
Please, please, please do NOT read this book in public. I took it on holiday with me and I have not yet recovered. I was unable to contain guffawing shrieks of laughter and at one point, on a crowded beach, had to stop reading the book I was so embarrased. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
There is one particular episode involving a kidnapped dog which was so funny, I read it over and over with tears streaming down my face. This was in a Greek restaurant.
You have been warned.

Slapstick Rules as Klutzy Criminals Cruise
This book belongs in a new category: Something funnier than comedy that contains a little crime as context for the humor. Seriously, this book is funnier than if The Three Stooges played the criminals and took on The Keystone Kops.
The story has several running gags that are well sustained. Stephanie Plum and those who are attracted to her are very interested in having sexual relations, but are continually stymmied in unpredictable ways. Bob, the dog, comes into Stephanie's life, and one disaster follows another. This dog is the Lucille Ball of animals, and makes a complete farce out of every situation. The criminals in question are so clumsy and stupid that they continually give themselves away, leaving you with virtually no mystery to hold in your hands. Stephanie continually has her efforts to be a bounty hunter turn out poorly, yet somehow she gets out of the worst of what could happen with another hilarious mishap scene. Stephanie's grandmother decides she wants to ride the wild side and moves in with Stephanie. Between her interest in men and snoring, she is driving Stephanie up a wall. There are more such running gags, but you get the idea. Many books make the mistake of overdoing a single running gag. By filling this book to the brim with them, none are overdone.

Few novels feel like they should be a movie, but this is clearly one of them. Each scene is very visceral in its development and humor.

You may not want to read this book right away. It is so funny that you may want to save it for an emergency, like the fire hose in most building hallways. You can be sure you'll laugh your head off whenever you do read it.

By the way, for those who like a synopsis: Stephanie's mentor, Ranger, is video taped in a building moments before the victim is murdered and the building is torched. Ranger is on the lam from the cops, and there's a warrant out for his arrest. Stephanie and others help him keep an eye on things so he can prove his innocence. More murders ensue, and the bad guys are foiled in the end.

Have a ball overcoming your misconception that crime cannot be funny!