Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum, No. 12) (original 2006; edition 2006)

This is by far my favorite book of the series that I have read. There was action that kept me on the edge of my seat, and enough love triangle to satisfy. I loved getting to know more about Ranger and finally meeting his daughter. I can't wait to read the next book. I would highly recommend this book. ( )

Transferring information from 2006 spreadsheet

I know they are formulaic and over the top, but the Stephanie Plum series is my go-to series whenever I need something light and comical. As usual Evanovich delivers with this one. I thought this one was actually better than some of the previous ones in the series because Evanovich actually moved a bit away from her usual formula. Stephanie’s car surprisingly makes it in one piece, she doesn’t get as beat up and there were some nice surprises in terms of character development. Also, the mystery person was revealed pretty early in the book so it became more of a beat the clock type of story instead of a who-dun-it type of mystery. I like the changes and I hope that Evanovich continues to veer away from the formula in the future books.

What I didn’t care for though is the damn love triangle. It’s not developing at all. For FFS, even the insipid Sookie has picked a man and gone with it! I don’t understand Stephanie’s commitment issues, her reasons for them or why she can’t make out the difference between lust and love. It’s the one thing I really find annoying in this series.

As usual the secondary characters, like Lula, Grandma Mazur and Stephanie’s father continually deliver comedy relief. I really liked Lula and Sally Sweets in this one. The whole band thing was hilarious. Marvin Pickle, the movie theatre pervert, is also a nice addition to the cast. I also really loved getting to know Ranger better. Mmmm, he’s so damn yummy!
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First read in 2006 hardcover edition rated 4 stars. Finished 10/9/06

Second read 2010 audiobook rated 3 atars

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )

My husband and I listened to this on a driving trip. I'll admit that my husband is generally not a laugh-out-loud sort of person, but he was laughing as he was driving this weekend. I think this is the funniest of the series so far. I gave it a high rating, not to compare with 4 or 5 star ratings of great literature, but for what it is, Evanovich hit the sweet spot with this one. ( )