Stephanie Plum is back at it again. Sitting in the office at her cousin Vinnie's Bail Enforcement Agency, she is faced with a mountain of skips that need to be tracked down. Finally admitting that they might need some help, they decide to post a job offer to see if they can get another bounty hunter. Vinnie is off at a convention and Ranger has left to take care of his own business, leaving Stephanie and Lula, the ex-prostitute, to take over the slack.


Stephanie's life gets even more complicated when a woman claiming to be Ranger's wife shows up, waving a 9mm at Stephanie. Not sure how she feels about this new woman, Stephanie is determined to get to the bottom of this.


It seems that Ranger needs her now more than ever. He is being accused of a crime he didn't commit and needs Stephanie to help him track down the real culprit. Ranger's daughter has been kidnapped, and a man impersonating him is out to worm his way into Ranger's life, including his relationship with Stephanie. Just when things start to heat up with Ranger, Joe Morelli, Stephanie's on-again, off-again boyfriend decides to move in to her apartment to keep a closer eye on her.


Stephanie is a great character; she knows that nothing solves a problem quite like a dozen doughnuts! All of my favourite characters make an appearance in this latest in the Stephanie Plum novels. Sally Sweet is back in all his drag queen glory, and Grandma Mazur is out to terrorize the new owners of Stiva's Funeral Parlor. Add in the crazy antics of Stephanie and Lula as they chase down a variety of skips, including a man accused of whacking off in the movie theatre and a 70 year-old woman who works at an adult toy store and this is another crazy Plum adventure. Joe and Ranger are so very different and yet so very appealing, it is no wonder Stephanie has trouble choosing between them. A word of warning: If you don't want some very strange looks as you belly laugh and clutch your sides at the funny parts, you might want to read Twelve Sharp inside!! Add in some very steamy dialogue and this is a fantastic new addition from Janet Evanovich.

Shannon
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The return of Stephanie Plum, New Jersey's sassy and sexy bounty hunter in Twelve Sharp is a climax in the series. Stephanie is back to her fast filled FTA retrieval days when she gets a strange visitor, Carmen Manoso. Carmen is outfitted in head to toe black and carries a loaded gun, but her claim that she is married to Ranger is what really sets Stephanie off. Startled, Stephanie tries in vain to reach Ranger, but he is out of town. When Carmen is discovered executed and Ranger's daughter is kidnapped from Miami, Stephanie is at a complete loss. To make matters worse, Stephanie's archenemy Joyce Barnhardt has joined Vincent Plum Bail Bonds to help pick up some of the criminals at large. Stephanie is worried about Ranger, until he finally shows up at her door and they discover that someone is attempting to steal Rangers identity. Working together and living together with Ranger to try and catch a crazy man on the loose, helps provide some sexy moments. That is until the other man in Stephanie's life, Joe Morelli moves in as well. Trying to help rescue Ranger's daughter and control the tension in her life, Stephanie becomes bait for a killer. The suspense and action will have you panting until the very end, not to mention the sexy scenes. Janet Evanovich, as always also adds some laugh till you cry moments with some of our favorite characters. The storyline is one of the best, filled with the action and suspense yet perfectly paired with comic relief. Twelve Sharp is by far one of the best novels in the series. Valerie Jones [...]

Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite authors.
Tweleve Sharp is about Ranger and someone is pretending to be him. The 'second Ranger' has kidnapped Ranger's daughter, and Ranger is wanted. And 'of course' Ranger's goes to Stephanie house for help.

This is one of my favorites of the Plum series because it shows you more of Ranger. ***I'm a totally Ranger fan.***
Stephenie had some 'close' encounters with Ranger in this novel. Stephanie did 'almost' have sex with Ranger. again.

Mortelli moving in with Stephanie when Ranger was there was funny, and when Ranger threatened to kill Mortelli if Stephanie slept with him, while he was there. Priceless.

When Tank got kicked in the balls, and fell down. WaS so hilarious. This is when him and Lula kind of began as a couple.

I loved this novel.

Janet's tight writing, outstanding plot and creepy villain will keep you riveted to your seat as you ignore all outside disturbances because you simply can't put this book down. The sexual tension between Ranger and Steph and Joe is at an all-time high, and both the men are at their sexy best. A strange woman shows up in Trenton with a disturbing story about Ranger, but that's only the subplot to this engaging story that takes off like a shot and never slows down.

The great characters that JE is famous for return, along with a couple of new ones - one I especially liked was the multiplex-dwelling Melvin. Carolyn of Pleasure Treasures will make you laugh out loud, but the scene where Ranger checks out the flavor of the massage oil Steph bought will bring a different type of smile to your face.

Twelve Sharp is the best of the series. It's full of raw emotion, colorful characters and a plot that grabs you from the first page and won't let you stop until you read the last word. This truly is Janet Evanovich's masterpiece. If you love mystery, intrigue, comedy, all rolled up into one, then this is the book for you. Don't miss out on this one. I bought ten copies myself!!! What better way to hook a friend on your favorite series then giving them a book about Ranger!

A good book, in a good series. Stephanie Plum is always entertaining and humorous.

Shortly after Ranger's 10 year old daughter is kidnapped, possibly by Ranger himself, a woman claiming to be Ranger's wife shows up in Trenton looking for Stephanie, forcing Stephanie to track down Ranger, who appears to have vanished.

After "Eleven on Top", which I considered to be so disappointing that I suggested in my review of it that maybe it was time for Janet Evanovich to end the Stephanie Plum series once and for all, it is a relief to find that she is back in form with "Twelve Sharp". In the last couple of Plum books, Evanovich focused on Stephanie's family (in particular, Stephanie's sister, Valerie) and the crime elements of the story took a back seat. Although I do enjoy reading about the Plum family (in particular, Grandma), there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and four books about Valerie's failed marriage and subsequent re-marriage were a little too much. "Twelve Sharp", however, is more like the earlier Plum books, with Stephanie's personal life being present but being secondary to the mystery, which, might I add, is a pretty good one. Evanonich also manages to provide a more satisfying ending to this book that she did to any of the last couple (which all ended way too abruptly).

So, if, like me, you were disappointed by "Eleven On Top", and are wondering whether to continue with this series, give "Twelve Sharp" a go before you make your decision.

This is only the second of this series that I've read, but, well I'll read more just to enjoy Stephanie Plum's grandmother. She takes the cake! These books are fun. Most of the main characters are a little twisted in a somehow likeable way. You gotta' laugh at their antics and the one-liners are right on. To folks who aren't familiar with New Jersey, some of the book's action may seem hard to believe ... but, then, some of it could only happen in the New Jersey area!

Nothing too heavy here. Fun and entertaining.

The book was in excellant condition and was recieved quickly. Would use this company again.

It's been a while since I read a book that makes me laugh so hard that I can't see the page! Jane Evanovich is excellent! I wrote her an email years ago, telling her that I loved her book. She responded. I told her to stop reading emails, and WRITE!
I highly recommend this book.

Ranger has gone to Florida and soon after his daughter disappears. A crazy woman, claiming to be Ranger's wife, takes a shot at Stephanie and soon after her murdered corpse is found in a vehicle parked outside the bonds office where Stephanie works.

There's plenty of humor in this Plum of a novel but the book cuts a little sharper and a little deeper. We laugh, but Evanovich shows she she can keep us on tenderhooks and crying seems to be a real possibility, especially as Stephanie sits tied up in her apartment with a homicidal maniac, waiting for the door to open so the murder can kill one of the two men she loves. Which one?

I love Stephanie and all her hilarious predicaments, but this one had a more emotional side and a more serious theme as the main plot. The relationship between Steph and Morelli + Ranger has further development and complications. My only complaint is this book was too short - guess I enjoyed it too much!

Although I still intended to buy the next in the series I was rather disappointed with this one (and the last). I didn't laugh out loud once whilst reading this book and that is a fist for me. Reviews for 13 do not inspire.

I don't know if Janet (or someone on her behalf) reads these reviews, but she should certainly take note of some recurring criticisms.

The first is the "love" triange issue. The only character maintaining any integrity is Morelli. Ironically this makes his character a little less appealing as a sex god because he is being duped and you feel a little sad for him. It has gotten to the point that although I'm firmly in the Morelli camp, it is beginning to feel unpleasant because of the lying and cheating and for Steph to finally choose him over Ranger doesn't really address this issue. There needs to be a point where Morelli finds the two of them together and possibly walks away, especially as he has shown so much misguided faith in Steph. If the Steph/Morelli characters are to end together the Morelli character needs to get his dignity back, possibly by Steph making a big sacrafice. Steph's reaction to almost being caught in bed with Ranger is not what you would expect from a woman that supposedly loves Morelli. This is a low point in the integrity of this character.

I think JE missed a trick here where Steph could have finally realized that out of the two men there was one that she preferred to be entering into her room to be shot.

Obviously, this point doesn't appear to effect Ranger followers, but you do have to wonder at the lack of moral direction with regard to this issue. It does appear that Steph and Ranger are more in tune with their more shallow attitude to a relationship. The problem with this senario is that the characters have become increasingly dislikeable. Rangers less than honourable behaviour towards a "good man" leaves his integrity damaged aswell.

JE should have left the Steph/Morelli relationship lighter, where he was trying to get her naked and she was resisting - sometimes. Ranger's attempts to also get Steph naked would have then appeared more light-hearted and afforded opportunity for humour.


The second is that some of the antics of the characters are tired. I found the behaviour of grandma Mazur at the funeral home a little disturbing. The use of the body as bait was in bad enough taste to begin with, without having grandma displaying the carved up corpse for entertainment. I couldn't help but think of the distress to family members. It wasn't one of JE's finest moments. It feels like the Mazur character is becoming forced and increasingly less plausible.

One thing that wasn't the same was that Lula's character was developing. The plus side to this was that the slapstick comedy of Steph being on the receiving end of Lula's antics was removed. The negative side was that classics like Lula running down the street with a pack of dogs running after her or setting a car on fire with doggy do were also left out. Lula is probably my favourite character. I love the misguided self-confidence that gets herself and bad guys into trouble. The Tank character and Lula together is definitely a possitive. Tanks deadpan reactions and seeming invincibility (apart from to women) make a good foil to Lula's outgoing pesonality. I would love to see the comedic side of this relationship flourish.

Another positive was that some of the support characters were weeded out. Though the new character Pickle seemed very similar to the Kloughn character. I would have also liked to have seen more of the cop friends.

I hope the next book will reward both mine and Morelli's faith.

This is the funniest Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novel that I have read.

Totally hilarious!!!

I bought all 12 in the series and this one was the best by far! It was very funny.

The book received was as advertised and it was shipped and received in a very timely manner. Well done.

The book received was as advertised and it was shipped and received in a very timely manner. Well done.

The plot of this is more serious than that in any of the previous books (identity theft by a sociopath; child abduction). Additionally, there's a recognition that Stephanie's ambivalence in regard to Morelli and Ranger involves more than simple indecisiveness or immaturity.

As a final note, I worry about the focus of reviewers who call Stephanie Plum an "incompetent" bounty hunter. There's still slapstick (an integral part of the humor/comedy of the series) and she experiences pratfalls. However, most of the time, she accomplishes her task and brings the targeted FTA in.