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Three to Get Deadly

Review

Three to Get Deadly

Stephanie Plum --- New Jersey's accident-prone version of a Canadian Mountie --- is back on the case. Mo Bedemier, Trenton's most popular citizen, is a court appearance no-show after he is arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Affectionately known as Uncle Mo to his friends and the neighborhood kids, he may be in big trouble as Stephanie discovers his clandestine life as an anti-drug vigilante. Nobody in Trenton wants to see him put behind bars, and Stephanie is on the verge of being voted Trenton's most unpopular bounty hunter.

As the search narrows, Stephanie suddenly notes that a lot of known drug dealers have left town, gone into hiding or are ending up dead --- and she winds up unconscious next to the body of one of them. With a full house of threatening, ominous characters and Stephanie's growing gang of misfit helpers, including her old nemesis, Joe Morelli, THREE TO GET DEADLY may be the funniest of the first three detective hits.

The whole gang is back, Lulu, Grandma Mazur, Ranger, Stephanie's long-suffering father and doting mother, the odious 1953 Buick --- and Trenton cop, Joe Morelli. Former deflowerer of her maidenly charms, he's Stephanie's first perp. From perp, to partner in detection, to bane of her existence, with the unlikely hint of romance in the air, Morelli was, is, and will be a source of aggravation and surprise in future Stephanie Plum adventures.  

Following the success of THREE TO GET DEADLY, Evanovich ran a contest among her growing list of fans to name the next book. The choice was FOUR TO SCORE, perhaps a hint from her readers for Steph and Joe to "do the deed." We leave it to you to decide what that title means.  

Reviewed by Roz Shea on January 23, 2011

Three to Get Deadly
by Janet Evanovich

  • Publication Date: July 15, 1998
  • Genres: Fiction, Mystery
  • Mass Market Paperback: 396 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • ISBN-10: 0312966091
  • ISBN-13: 9780312966096