I should point out straight away that I have been a Stephanie Plum fan from day one and that I have read all of the books in the series with an almost equal degree of enjoyment. I don’t mind the similarities and comparative lack of development, and while I did want the love triangle resolved around book eight, I have now given up on that completely and enjoy both Morelli and Ranger as they are. My main delight lies in the wacky situations, delightful minor characters, and Stephanie’s dry voice. This said, I am happy to report that Lean Mean Thirteen fulfilled all my expectations and even surpassed some, making it an altogether enjoyable and unputdownable read.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is on her last dollars, making it imperative for her to apprehend at least one skip for her cousin’s bond office. The skips are the weird folks one expects from an Evanovich novel, among them a graverobber and a taxidermist, and as usual, Stephanie – supported by her colleague Lula – spectacularly and repeatedly fails to catch them. These scenes are over-the-top and very funny, yet at the same time Janet Evanovich manages to infuse the men, outsiders all, with a dignity and humanity which is revealed in miniscule steps. It really sneaks up on you, but by the end of the book I liked them and wished them well, as does Stephanie. The same happened in the last book with Melvin (sadly, he does not reappear here), and I find the treatment of the minor characters stronger and more compelling with each book.

The main plot revolves about Stephanie’s divorced lawyer husband, Dickie Orr. Repaying a favor to Ranger, Stephanie smuggles a bug into Dickie’s pocket. To get close enough to him, however, she has to provoke a quarrel that is witnessed by several people, and when Dickie goes missing that night, leaving behind a wrecked apartment and traces of blood, she is the main suspect. Stephanie is further put out when she discovers that Dickie has become involved again with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt (the original reason for the divorce) and that Joyce will stop at nothing to convict Stephanie of murdering Dickie.

Ranger had originally wanted the bug planted on Dickie because the law-firm where he is partner is involved in very shady dealings. An accountant went missing, now the same has happened to Dickie, and Stephanie tries to find out what is going on. This requires her and Ranger to work together quite a lot, and he becomes more of a real person as we find out more about him. Morelli is tied up very much with police work, but the short scenes with him are as delightful as ever. As for the supporting cast, there are some priceless scenes with Lula and Tank, and two absolute gems with obnoxious Joyce.

As I said before, I like Stephanie Plum novels in general, but there are some aspects of this installment of the series that made it work especially well for me. I have already mentioned the minor characters. In addition, the book achieves a balance between the general wackiness and extravagance of Stephanie’s adventures and the down-to-earth side of her character. There are some insights into her relationships with both Ranger and Morelli that strike true and hint at emotional growth. Stephanie appears a stronger personality in this book to me than she did in earlier volumes.

Whether you will like Lean Mean Thirteen will depend very much on what you expect from it. If you need some striking new development and a resolution of the issues that are left unresolved from volume to volume, this book may well disappoint you (again). If you love the characters and sense of humor and are happy with small steps in the overall development, you will probably enjoy it as much as I did. However,given the steep price of the hardback, some may find it worth the wait for the paperback edition.