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Lean Mean Thirteen

Lean Mean Thirteenby Janet EvanovichI am reading multiple books at a time and that is not normal for me. However I've been so moody lately that I keep changing my mind about what I want to read. Luckily the Stephanie Plum series can always lighten my mood and keep me entertained even when I have a migraine so bad I think my eye might explode out of my head.No car explosions in this book, though one was destroyed. My one problem was the lack of continuity between this one and the twelfth one (much like between eleven and twelve). At the end of Twelve Sharp, Stephanie is still driving her black Mini Cooper and it didn't totalled or blown to smithereens, however she's driving an old Crown Vic at the start of this novel and it's said that she's driving it because her last car (something other than the Mini) was destroyed. I guess it's just taken for granted that this lady goes through cars like candy, but still, no mention of why she didn't have it at all. And for once she made it through an entire story and didn't destroy it. I think that car should have been honoured!Lean Mean Thirteen has us dealing with Stephanie's douchebag Ex, Dickie. He's an obnoxious moron who has managed to disappear and Stephanie looks to be the prime suspect in this disappearance (ok, so she happened to have been in his office earlier that day trying to strangle him, but really, it was his own fault!). Stephanie's off-again, on-again cop boyfriend Joe Morrelli was under lockdown guarding someone so Stephanie's well being was once again being looked after by Ranger.Boy is that Ranger a whole lotta YUM!When I wasn't drooling over Ranger, I was giggling at the unfortunate events which always seem to befall Ms. Plum. Having to take Ranger (*drool*) to dinner at her parents' place rather than Morrelli is always a laugh. He was able to sneak out on her though and leave her to suffer alone like he normally does. My favourite laugh-out-loud moment in the entire book was between Stephanie and her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt after that particular dinner. Joyce was following Stephanie around trying to get a lead on where Dickie might be so she could get her hands on the 40 million he supposedly took before he vanished. I actually stopped reading for a second to catch my breath after reading the following passage:

"I drove off, and after a block I realized Joyce wasn't following. I checked her out in my rear-view mirror and saw that she was out of the car, looking under the hood. I turned around and pulled alongside her.'What's up?' I asked'I don't know much about cars,' Joyce said, 'but I think someone took my engine.'"

HA HA HA! Ok, you might not find it that funny, but I swear to god it was hilarious last night while I was suffering from my migraine!Now I just have to wait for my library to catch up with the times and get the next book in. Fearless Fourteen is currently out in stores in hard cover now. If you're an avid Janet Evanovich reader and like to  have all her books in hard cover, then I suggest you head on over to your local bookstore and get yourself a copy!Interesting to Note:There are also three Stephanie Plum novellas which fall in-between the regular books (a Between-the-numbers Book). In case you are as OCD about reading a series in order as I am.

Stephanie Plum series

  1. One for the Money
  2. Two for the Dough
  3. Three to Get Deadly
  4. Four to Score
  5. High Five
  6. Hot Six
  7. Seven Up
  8. Hard Eight
  9. To the Nines
  10. Ten Big Ones
  11. Eleven on Top
  12. Twelve Sharp
  13. Lean Mean Thirteen
  14. Fearless Fourteen
  15. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
  16. Sizzling Sixteen (JUNE 2010 – hard cover)

Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novellas

  1. Visions of Sugar Plums (between 8 & 9)
  2. Plum Lovin’ (between 12 & 13)
  3. Plum Lucky (between 13 & 14)
  4. Plum Spooky (between 14 & 15)