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Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14) | 
 enlarge | Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $9.45
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Rating:  393 reviews
Sales Rank: 206
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312349513
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780312349516
ASIN: 0312349513
Publication Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New!!! bce
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Product Description
Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet. The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one. The Cousin: Joe Morelli Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family. The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux Less than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing. The Catastrophe: Moonman Morelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes. The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one. The Crisis: A favor for Ranger Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities. The Conclusion: Only the fearless should read Fourteen. Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 New characters with the old June 17, 2008
Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA)
47 out of 93 found this review helpful
This book is a hoot. As in "Plum Lucky" (the last between-the-numbers novel), Evanovich introduces some new characters to the series to keep it vibrant. We have Zook, the teenage son of one of Morelli's cousins, who is a likable character whom I would hope to see pop up in future novels in the series. We also have Brenda, a 61-year old version of Briteny with the same bad girl habits. We see a lot more of Morelli's family in this novel, but still a little of the Plum family, including Grandma Mazur. Of course we also have Ranger, whom Stephi can call on for help if she needs a little B&E to gain entry to a building or a file of information on an individual. Every man has his uses. Of course there is Lula, and there is Bob (woof). Yes, there is a monkey that shows up in a couple scenes.
Janet Evanovich may not win a Pulitzer, but she does provide some very good light entertainment. A member of an Internet Forum compared her to Carol Burnett. You can expect things to be blown up (usually at least one vehicle) or set on fire. Some reviewers complain that she reuses the same plot devices, but there are many ways to blow up a vehicle. She also introduces a few new things. In this novel you are introduced to the potato gun. Don't do this at home. More to the point, don't let your children do this at home.
There is a plot in all this. There is the $7 million in loot missing after a robbery 10 years previously where one of Morelli's cousins was involved. There are people from the Burg and a couple dead bodies. And there is Brenda, an aging star looking for a new lease on life. The novel has earthy language and sex by reference.
It has come to my attention that there is a small, vocal group of Ranger fans making an attempt to give this novel a bad rating. They are easily identified. The best you can do is ignore their squaking.
As a side note, an interview with Janet Evanovich appears in "Speaking of Murder - Volume 2." She said her first novel (unpublished) was "this very strange book about a fairy who was living in this scary forest in Eastern Pennsylvania." She obviously has a creative mind when it comes to characters, and only she could come up with the ones used in the novels.
If you are interested in characters created by a different author, I would recommend independent insurance investigator Fifi Cutter and her freeloading half-brother Bosco Dorff in "Murder...Suicide...Whatever," a novel by Gwen Freeman.
For something different, you might also try PI Izzy Spellman in "The Spellman Files," the first novel in a fairly new series by Lisa Lutz.
Plum back on form July 3, 2008
L O'connor (richmond, surrey United Kingdom)
9 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is the funniest Plum novel Janet Evanovich has written for a while.
This time, Stephanie is trying to arrest a petty thief called Loretta, but Loretta goes missing and Stephanie ends up having to babysit her teenage son Mario (Zook as he prefers to be called). Zook has the unfortunate habit of spray-painting everything in sight with graffiti, including Morelli's dog. He also infects Grandma Mazur with his passion for a computer game called Minionfire, and soon she and all her friends are playing it.
Meanwhile, Loretta's crazy brother Dom thinks that Morelli is the father of Zook, and he also thinks that there is nine million dollars buried under Morelli's house. There are many other delightful complications in Stephanie's life, and the book made me laugh all the way through. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of this one, as I think it is the funniest book she has written in a long time.
Whose toes were they? July 9, 2008
Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA)
8 out of 14 found this review helpful
After two appetizer books, it's fantastic to get the main course of Stephanie Plum and her odd assortment of friends again! The "usual suspects" are there (Morelli, Ranger, Grandma, etc.), and we are introduced to a few new ones (Gary the stalker, Mooner the "stoner" and Zook the who knows?) The plot might be a bit thin, but then most of the books have thin plots. The main enjoyment comes from the ridiculous scenes, and the snappy dialogue. There are the usual assortment of fires, explosions, car crashes, angry dogs, etc., to keep any Plum fan happy. Perhaps the series is showing it's age a bit, but I still find it tremendously funny, and a good way to spend a few hours of free time.
Five stars because it made me laugh out loud!!! June 18, 2008
Laura (New York USA)
33 out of 50 found this review helpful
I am one of those Janet Evanovich fans who runs to the bookstore (or computer) to make sure I have her latest novel in my lap almost as soon as it is off the press. The Stephanie Plum series is without question her finest effort. It features the greatest lineup of kooky, lovable characters and wildly funny scenarios I have ever read. I don't know of any other books that make me laugh so hard.
I agree with many of the reviewers who feel that "Fearless Fourteen" is not the best or brightest star in this series. It lacks the depth of plot and fast paced telling that many of the earlier novels had. But it ranks among Ms. Evanovich's best writing as far as I am concerned. She has an amazing gift for being able to paint a wonderful portrait of her characters wtih very few words. Just one small example, when encountering Lula for the first time in this novel, she is described as "a former 'ho turned bonds office file clerk and wheelman. She's a plus-size black woman who likes to squash herself into too small clothes featuring animal print and spandex. Lula's cup runneth over from head to toe." Now if that doesn't place a clear image of this bizarre character in your mind I don't know what will! This book, like all of the author's novels in the series, is replete with such fairly brief but wonderfully descriptive characterizations.
This book is another wonderful romp through Stephanie's world of bail bondsmanship in Newark, New Jersey. While it may be short on mystery and suspense it is hysterically funny in its vivid portrayals of the bumbling yet somehow successful efforts of its protagonist. Some of the characters, like the unforgettable Grandma Mazur, may be that much more funny if you know them a bit (from prior novels of course!), but many of the new characters, like Zook and Moondog, and their video gaming nuttiness, had me rolling. I noted that some of the reviewers of this book were unhappy with some of the changes in some characters (e.g., Stephanie would never tolerate that!), but for my part I wholeheartedly enjoy these people, and if they have grown up a bit, well I guess we have to accept that in fiction as in real life! It didn't bother me at all that some of them have softened around the edges.
Whatever you do don't skip this book because of some negative reviews. It is a hoot and a half in a fine tradition of darn funny comedy!
WHAAAT IS THE PROBLEM??? June 28, 2008
Dana Y. Bowles (West Chester, PA USA)
11 out of 23 found this review helpful
Why so many bad reviews?? I was apprehensive about this latest Plum novel after reading all the naysayers comments....but frankly, I don't know what they expect.
What you have here is vintage Stephanie Plum, with all of the ridiculous ingredients that her adventures encompass. Silly, bumbling bad guys; kidnappings; a little suspense and lots of laughs. Grandma Mazur is as hilarious as usual; the only one missing here is Vinny, who is out of town...and frankly, he's not necessary anyway. Yes, certainly, all of these novels have the same type of plot. If you're looking for that level of originality, you should probably find a new series. If you're looking for something to make you laugh out loud....you've got it.
My one criticism remains, however, and clearly doesn't matter; I would like to see a little more ethnic diversity in these stories. Somewhere, somehow, she could throw in a character that is more representative of America and the Evanovich fanbase at large....something other than the embarrassingly stereotypical Lula. How about it, Ms. Evanovich?
Other than that, to me this is what I was looking forward to (the laughter) and what I've come to expect. Any novel that makes me laugh out loud is hard to be upset over or overly critical about. Happy reading!!
DYB
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