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Book Review - Hard Eight

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Hard Eight
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press, June 2002
311 pages, $25.95
ISBN 0312265859
Stephanie Plum series #8

Stephanie Plum, bond enforcement agent, is having a rough life lately. It seems like everything that can go wrong does.

Stephanie starts out with good intentions. This tough New Jersey Burg girl is asked by her parents' long-time neighbor Mabel Markowitz to help find her granddaughter, Evelyn. Evelyn, recently divorced from seedy bar owner Steven Soder, has skipped out with her seven-year-old daughter, Annie. But the divorce was so nasty that Evelyn had to take out a child custody bond through the True Blue Bond Agency to deter her from skipping town with the child. Since Evelyn had no money, Mabel had put her house up for collateral. Now, Mabel has three weeks to find Evelyn and Annie or the bond company will take her house and pass the proceeds on to Steve so that he can hire someone to find the missing child. Stephanie agrees to look for Evelyn and Annie at no charge--purely as a neighborly gesture.

Stephanie barely has time to take an unauthorized peek into Evelyn's house with the so-called help of Evelyn's divorce lawyer and the irrepressible Lula when she is confronted by Eddie Abruzzi. Eddie is not only Evelyn's landlord but somehow linked to Steve. And he is out for Stephanie's blood--she was the reason that former heavyweight boxer Benito Ramirez was shot and killed (see High Five). Abruzzi had lots of time and money invested in Ramirez but he's willing to give Stephanie amnesty if she stops looking for Evelyn. And if she doesn't, he threatens to mount a campaign of terror against her. But Stephanie can't let down a neighbor and family friend--and she hates to be bullied.

Steph's life has been in limbo--on-again, off-again lover, Joe Morelli, is in the off-again stage and Ranger is waging his own campaign to torment Stephanie. The bills have to be paid so Stephanie is trying to bring in bail jumpers such as Andy Bender once again. A mean drunk, Bender has attacked Stephanie in the past with a chain saw. Stephanie is nonetheless optimistic that she can bring him in even though she is scrounging for handcuffs in order to do so.

Reluctantly, Stephanie asks Ranger for his help in locating Evelyn and Annie even though she knows she will be further indebted to him (see Seven Up). She also can't help but wonder when and how he will collect payment--her tab is rising rapidly.

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