It took me about 3 years to finish this book. Not sure why.

Steph has to pay up on her debt with Ranger and they have sex.
She and Morelli are on a time-out...but may have gotten back together in the end.
Grandma Mazur was a hoot.
Nattation by CJ Critt = awesome!!

Ranger  Stephanie

I love this series and rereading is like experiencing it new again. After reading three so-so romantic-suspense books it’s great to read a book that has it all: romance, mystery, suspense, humor. Just wonderful entertainment. This is also the book that made me Team Ranger. Ranger has a moral code all his own and he doesn’t hesitate to do what needs to be done to protect Stephanie.

This time Stephanie is after a mother, Evelyn, and her child, Annie, and it's a favor for the lady who lives next door to her parents. Evelyn and Annie took off and now Mabel is in danger of losing her house to forfeiture on the child custody bond she secured for her granddaughter. Stephanie is forced to ask for Ranger’s help and she still hasn't paid for the last time.

Somehow a nasty loan shark, Eddie Abruzzi, who hides his dirty money in real estate, is mixed up in the situation as Evelyn's landlord. He's scary and he's stalking Stephanie, leaving some really bad presents for her. Since she and Joe are off-again in their on-again, off-again relationship, Stephanie turns to Ranger for help and protection. Where is that going? Read the book and find out.

Mmmm... Ranger.

This is a humor/cozy mystery/chick-lit, and this is the 18th book in the Stephanie Plum series. I have listen to this whole series on audiobooks, and the narrator of the audiobooks does a great job on this book. All the books in this series will make you laugh so much, and I will say the way to read these books is by audiobooks. All the characters are so fun and developed. I love this series so much. I love the Ranger character so much. Stephanie Plum always gets into big messes, and she will make you laugh so much. (*)

Yet again I'll add the asterisk first and say my rating is based on my enjoyment of the book not any kind of literary merit and I loved this book.

Stephanie is back, as is Morelli, Ranger, Lulu, Grandma Mazur and everyone else from Jersey.
Stephanie is trying to find a missing kid and of course there is an estranged ex-husband, scary bad guys, Ranger, competing bond agents, spiders, snakes and a killer bunny. So...pretty much what you would expect from a Stephanie Plum novel.

Characters were amazing, plot was non-stop, pacing was great and of course the humor. I am not exaggerating when I said I was laughing out loud at least every five pages but usually more frequent than that.

Is it Dickens? No. But it never tries to be. Is it 100% fun and entertaining and a page turner. Yes!

*** 4.48 ***

Finally!

I liked this installment a lot. This book held the key anchor points for the series, but the incessant pursuit of Stephanie in this one was just what this read needed. The added drama raised the enjoyment and added to the complex relationships of the characters. I like how her failed attempts bring the boys back into her circle and always add to her ever growing indecision regarding where her life will go in the future.

I don’t get it.
This book has an amazing rating and it’s so boring. I got 100 pages in and the main storyline of Stephanie Plum investigating the missing woman and daughter was no further along and was possibly less interesting than at the start.
The characters that show up are flat and cartoony, the main character is pathetic and really crap at her job.
I’m just baffled at the rating as I seem to be a minority who just gave up on this book.

Itt négy csillag, de valójában 3 és fél, nem szoktam meg hogy ennyire komor legyen a történet, a korábbiakhoz képest.
Stephanie Plum az amerikai kisváros átlagvilágában egy lázadó személyiség, bounty hunter/fejvadász/
így aztán gyakran keveredik érdekes és veszélyes kalandokba. Az írónő humorral, iróniával ábrázolja
ezeket, különc figurák is hemzsegnek mindegyik regényben.
Ez már a nyolcadik kötet, az előzőeknél többet nevetgéltem, de nyelvgyakorlásra mindegyik használható.
Bár jó néhány szót nem kerestem még ki a netes szótárból, pedig mindig megfogadom, hogy jegyzetelgetek magamnak:)
Na, majd a következő rész olvasásakor szorgosabb leszek!

Another great read in the Stephanie Plum series. Light suspense drama. Can’t wait to read next one in the series

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
4 out of 5 stars to Hard Eight, the 8th book in the "Stephanie Plum" cozy mystery series, written in 2002 by Janet Evanovich. OK... so I cannot figure out for the life of me how Ms. Evanovich comes up with the hilarity in these characters. It's absolutely amazing to see the varying degrees of lunatics Stephanie has to deal with. In this book, it's less about one particular mystery, although there is a driving case she is working on. There are about 10 skips (bail jumpers) she's trying to chase, all the while solve little crimes and issues throughout the lives of her friends, family, and the people she's trying to capture whom she takes a liking to. She's in the wrong profession, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It gives me a regular dose of humor to enjoy. The main story, about a kidnapped child, though not funny, is handled quite well. You never know who to root for in these books. Sometimes I wanna see Stephanie put in these bad situations... I mean who wouldn't want to watch Lula trying to take control and become her own bail bonds woman.

n  n    About Men  n
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Your standard Stephanie Plum novel.
Amusing and enjoyable enough that I can still keep reading them despite the predictability and repetition, as long as I space them out.