Evanovich, Janet

Janet Evanovich (born Janet Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall. She is a second-generation American born in South River, New Jersey to a machinist and housewife. After attending South River High School, she became the first in her family to attend college when she enrolled at Douglass College, part of Rutgers University, to study art. When Evanovich had children, she chose to become a housewife like her mother. In her thirties, she began writing novels. To learn the art of writing dialog, Evanovich took lessons in improv acting. For ten years, she attempted to write the Great American Novel, finishing three manuscripts that she was unable to sell. After someone suggested she try writing romance novels, Evanovich read several romances and discovered that she enjoyed the genre. She wrote two romances and submitted them for publishing. Still unable to find a publisher, Evanovich stopped writing and signed with a temporary employment agency. Several months after beginning work for them, she received an offer to buy her second romance manuscript for $2,000, which she considered an "astounding sum. After finishing her twelfth romance, however, Evanovich realized that she was more interested in writing the action sequences in her novels rather than the sex scenes. She gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a former lingerie seller from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter to make ends meet after losing her job.

My Opinion: Coming to Ohio after 30 years in New Jersey, I had an instant attachment to her descriptions of that area. The pace, the ethnic conclaves all rang true. So did the craziness of N.J. life. The Stephanie Plum series has some wonderful and unforgetable characters: Grandma Mazur, Lula, Diesel and of course, the redoubtable, Ranger. I loved the early books which were laugh out loud funny. There has been some drop-off since. I tried some of her romance works and didn't care for them.

If you have never read her books, start with "One for the Money" and go forward as far as you want.

Stephanie Plum Series[edit]

• 1. One for the Money (1994)

  2. Two for the Dough (1996)

  3. Three to Get Deadly (1997)

  4. Four to Score (1998)

  5. High Five (1999)

  6. Hot Six (2000)

  7. Seven Up (2001)

  8. Hard-eight (2002)

  9. To the Nines (2003)

  10. Ten Big Ones (2004)

  11. Eleven on Top (2005)

  12. Twelve Sharp (2006)

  13. Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)

  14. Fearless Fourteen (2008)

  15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (2009)

  16. Sizzling Sixteen (2010)

  17. Smokin' Seventeen (2011)

  18. Explosive Eighteen (2011)

  19. Notorious Nineteen (2012)

  20. Takedown Twenty (2013)

  21. Top Secret Twenty-One (2014)

  22. Tricky Twenty-Two (November 17, 2015)^[12]

  23. Turbo Twenty-Three (2016)

  24. Hardcore Twenty-Four (2017)^[12]

1. Look alive twenty five

2. Look Alive Twenty-Five (2018)

   1. Twisted Twenty-Six (2019)

   2. Fortune & Glory Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (2020)^[13

Other Stephanie Plum[edit]

• 1. Look Alive Twenty-Five (2018)

  2. Twisted Twenty-Six (2019)

  3. Fortune & Glory Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (2020)^[13

(aka "Between the Numbers" with Diesel)

• 1. Visions of Sugar Plums (2002)

  2. Plum Lovin' (2007)

  3. Plum Lucky (2008)

  4. Plum Spooky (2009)

Wicked Series[edit]

(Diesel & Lizzy)

• 1. Wicked Appetite (2010)

  2. Wicked Business (2012)

  3. Wicked Charms (co-written with Phoef Sutton) (June 23, 2015)^[13]

To learn more about this author, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Evanovich