| | |  | | Home » Lean Mean Thirteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel | | | | | | | Description: | | New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!
MISTAKE #1
Dickie Orr
Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her with her archnemesis, Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that, Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping never to see either one of them again.
MISTAKE #2
Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (aka Ranger)
Ranger needs Stephanie to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing something shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, Dickie's also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger's favors always come with a price. . . .
MISTAKE #3
Going completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger, and trying to apply bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office
Now Dickie has disappeared, and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can Stephanie Plum stay one step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in Trenton, New Jersey, is also keeping Stephanie on her toes---and he may know more than he's saying about many things in Stephanie's life. It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum wherein the ultimate prize might be her life.
With Janet Evanovich's flair for hilarious situations, breathtaking action, and unforgettable characters, Lean Mean Thirteen shows why no one can beat Evanovich for blockbuster entertainment.
| | | Features: | |
• 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Stated First Edition, First Printing June 2007. Published by St. Martin's Press.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Janet Evanovich | | Hardcover:
| 310 pages | | Publisher:
| St. Martin's Press | | Publication Date:
| June 01, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0312349491 | | Product Length:
| 9.35 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.6 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.12 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.18 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 410 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 410 customer reviews )
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176 of 200 found the following review helpful:
 Status QuoJun 22, 2007
By Cherise Everhard
Accident prone Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum, is the number one suspect in her ex-husband's disappearance; mainly because she attacked him in his office, again. While helping Ranger search for Dickie (the ex) she has three 'skips' to find for the bond office. Lula is along for the ride when the usual zany antics 'explode' and make the fugitive apprehensions, less than smooth.
I titled this review as Status Quo, because nothing really happens. There is no character development; same old, same old. While looking for the ex had the potential to be really comical and a different spin on the Plum series, the few laughs I had in this book were all similar to the laughs I have had in the previous books; nothing terribly original.
As far as the Ranger, Stephanie and Morelli love triangle, while I once enjoyed this part of the series, it is getting a little old. How long will Stephanie continue to make out with Ranger while professing her love to Joe? This dishonesty is really bothering me.
With the previous books in the series, I flew through them in a day, pausing only to dry my eyes when my laughing had watered them. With this book it took me a couple of days of reading, I could set it down and pick it up, not really worrying about what was going to happen next. I think something's got to give in the next book, something to shake things up and get this series back on track. It's a good read, but far from the great read I am used to in this series.
36 of 40 found the following review helpful:
Cherise said it all--or most of it ****SPOILERS****Jun 23, 2007
By R. Kyle
The book does open with an interesting twist. Ranger wants Stephanie to go see her ex-husband, Dickie Orr--whose name really fits him, if you know what I mean. Ranger's job for Steph is to place a bug on her ex-cheating-spouse. Naturally, things don't go well and Stephanie ends up trying to choke Dickie.
The next day, Dickie ends up missing and presumed dead. Three guesses and the first two don't count as to who the police's number one suspect for the murder is.
Plus, Joyce Barnhart, her arch enemy, is in the picture. Seems Joyce and Dickie were 'cosy' again and he had some serious money, which he was going to leave Joyce in his will. Joyce figures Stephanie is going to be the one to find Dickie--probably her radar for trouble, I guess.
From there, the book was pretty much the same. Bungling Bounty Hunter Steph gets assigned half a dozen skips to bring in--she only manages to arrest one and that's because she worked out a housesitting deal. Failed FTA (failure to appear) takedowns are getting less funny. At some point, even Stephanie's got to learn her craft or give up.
That's probably my biggest bone to pick with the series. There is zero character development on Steph's part. She's still the worst bounty hunter ever known, she's still in a three-way with Joe and Ranger and can't decide. Well, and the fact that Joe and Ranger seem to wait almost endlessly for her? Okay, she's hot--but bailing some hot chick out of the same mistakes has got to get old even for them.
One bright spot is that Lula may have a man. Least I hope so. While her wardrobe hasn't changed, I think Lula at least has somewhat grown from her first appearance as a 'ho in the novels.
Oh yes, there are plenty of laughs, I wouldn't read Steph at all if she didn't still amuse me. But, this time, I didn't invest in the book on the first day of issue to pass along--I borrowed a copy from a friend and waited to get it. It's past time for Steph to step to the plate, make a decision about her man and her career and do something different to amuse us.
32 of 37 found the following review helpful:
CommitophobiaJun 29, 2007
By Haley Wood Hills
"Haley Wood, Wouldn't She?"
I have read 1-12 too many times to count. I've forced these stories on friends, loved ones, strangers and my massage therapist. The first twelve books made me laugh aloud (and lust silently... gosh, at least I hope I was pretty quite ;-). I've pondered the Joe/Ranger/Ranger/Joe possibilities more times than would be considered healthy considering they are both fictional men. But this time, no, 13 just didn't work. Thirteen just doesn't have the same spark, style, or charm.
I knew exactly when Janet E. lost me on this one and it was early on (and I've dated more than half my life, I know early isn't a good time to lose the love). Lula was bemoaning the snake, and worried she might wet her pants and Stephanie said "too much information". Stephanie has a grandmother who talks about penises real, fake, and dead, metamucil and the big "D", so urination information is nada on the Stephanie Plum information scale! Stephanie has said it a time or two herself! It's like we're losing our Stephanie right then and there. This was a fake line, an attempt at something but I don't know what, and I don't know why Janet's editor didn't call foul but that's another review altogether... I think Janet just phoned this installment in!
Losing the Stephanie was bad, but it got worse. Now that I'm almost finished with 13 I believe that the real problem is Stephanie can't commit, and Janet can't either. They have the same issue: Commitophobia. I know the signs, because I've fot a bad case myself. I can remain commitophobic, it works for me, and it has twelve times now worked for Stephanie. It worked, though, because she, and the reader, felt truly torn. Now she just seems ambivalent about both situations but not passionate about either, much less both!. She can't commit because neither situation is so compelling that she wants it more than anything. And Janet is in the same position! She doesn't want to choose because she wants us to love both men and feel torn. But how can we feel torn when Stephanie doesn't really? She knows they both want her, she knows she can have either, and yet, she doesn't choose. And the men don't choose either, and I think real men would choose to hasta la vista at this point.
It comes to this: WE don't care that much because THEY (Janet & Stephanie) don't care that much! Janet Evanovich's job is to make us care, want, crave, hope, laugh, and wonder. She is here to supply us with the soul-wrenching-heart-spinning-dizzy-can't-think-can't-eat-can't-tie-your-tennis-shoes kind of feeling. Instead, we're all in a non-committal but familiar relationship together. Oh great. Maybe I can date my high school boyfriend again while I'm at it. Or marry a dentist (oh wait... my HS boyfriend IS a dentist now and while free dental would sure be nice...) Hello!!!. At a point, as a writer, you have to choose a path, and Janet hasn't; she is trying to keep us all perky with Ranger and Joe, and that did work when Stephanie truly seemed to want Joe terribly and Ranger was a taste treat delight, but now both Stephanie and Janet seem rather bored with Joe who is starting to seem wimpy and Ranger/Batman seems about as dangerous as Joe. What's next? They divy up the duties about who does Steph's laundry?
Now maybe Janet's trying to segue into the Ranger as stable guy thing, but c'mon if we wanted a stable guy, we wouldn't want Ranger. We'd want my ex-boyfriend the dentist. Ranger is so hot because he's the dessert we shouldn't have, not the healthy alternative with only 3 grams of fat. If you're going with the healthy alternative, why not take Joe, at least he's got Bob, AND Joe's hot, or he was till he became wimpy. So then maybe we should just take the free dental. I don't know. See, that's why I'm uncommitted. But Janet and Stephanie can't just stay in limbo, and they can't just go with Ranger because his life is nicer, that's not the way romantic comedies work.
So Janet is stuck.
And now she's left us stuck too. Janet is like the guy who's stringing us along, telling us he only needs 'time and space' and then he'll commit. Yeah, right. And I'm Dorothy in ruby slippers. Janet and Stephanie need to make us CARE and WANT again, and how to do that, well, that's their problem, but I can tell you from experience, it's not going to happen riding the fence between two equally delicious flavors. How to get Stephanie out of her malaise, and us out of ours? Well, Janet is going to have to make a commitment. And so is Stephanie. Just my opinion, but it's easy for me to say since I can still read 1-13 and have Ranger AND Joe!
55 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Plum Forever!!!Jun 23, 2007
By Kyra_Athena
"Kyra_Athena"
I cannot help but be amused by Stephanie's constant adventures. In this outing, she has a confrontation with her obnoxious ex-husband-lawyer in his office and is heard threatening him. He is reported missing, possibly dead, and Stephanie is blamed for it. Joyce Barnhardt and Dickie Orr's affair is the reason for his and Stephanie's divorce, but apparently they were again "dating". Joyce is after Stephanie, especially when Dickie's unchanged will surfaces making Stephanie the heir to his estate, valued at over $40 million. Morelli and Ranger try to amicably take turns guarding Stephanie, which is a hard job on any day. Other wheels are turning with Grandma's new love with a taxidermist and Lula and Tank. As with any Plum novel, there has to be some vehicular damage. Still no definite word if Stephanie and Morelli will ever be more than occasional roommates. Don't worry, Ranger has been clear that he is more than willing to be with Stephanie in some capacity. (Impossible to see him in the 'burbs and a mini-van though.) It was a fun read, good for the beach or vacation.
18 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Vaguely disappointingJun 22, 2007
By Karen
I love this series and couldn't wait to rip through Amazon's packaging to get to #13, but this one left me a little empty. Even at the three-quarter mark, I was still waiting to sink into the Plum universe. There wasn't an eye roll, forehead smack or damn-skippy in the book. Between the burning pot house and exploding taxidermy, there were some VERY funny moments, but the characters lacked snap. No tension between Steph and Ranger, even when she lived with him. No real tension between Steph and Morelli, when he should've been at least waving his arms around. And Ranger and Morelli acted like teammates, for heaven's sake, even when Ranger overtly threatened to poach. What happened there? Where's the conflict? When Ranger and Morelli passed Steph-sitting duty back and forth between them like she was a piece of luggage, all she could manage was a heavy sigh. None of the characters acted right - Lula starts saying "heaven to goodness" rather than F***in-A, and even Grandma seemed colorless. And since when did Ranger get so chatty?
I enjoyed the action, and enjoyed the skips. I enjoyed seeing Steph choke the snot out of Dickie Orr. But I zipped through the book in four hours, and that made me kind of sad. Her books used to have so much meat and quirk. Now there's pages of dialogue that read more like a sedate screenplay. I read in an interview that Janet writes the books in six months, then does promotion and other things for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, I think that's very telling at this point in the series.
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