Lean Mean Thirteen (novel)
| Author | Janet Evanovich |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Stephanie Plum |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
|
Publication date
|
June 19, 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 486 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 104626191 |
| Preceded by | Plum Lovin' |
| Followed by | Plum Lucky and Fearless Fourteen |
Lean Mean Thirteen is a 2007 novel by Janet Evanovich, the thirteenth in the Stephanie Plum series. It was released on June 19, 2007.
The novel marks another thematic shift in the series; the first through seventh novels focus on Stephanie learning her trade as a bounty hunter, and the travails that come as she tries to apprehend a particular fugitive. The eighth through twelfth novels feature Stephanie coping with being stalked by criminals for various reasons; Lean Mean Thirteen, and several of the subsequent novels, focus on Stephanie getting caught up in the search for a missing person, in a manner related only peripherally, or not at all, to her work as a fugitive apprehension agent.
Stephanie's path crosses again with that of her despised ex-husband, Richard "Dickie" Orr, while doing a favour for Ranger. When Dickie is later discovered missing from his apartment under some rather violent circumstances, Stephanie becomes the prime suspect in his apparent murder.
On the pretext of seeking legal advice from Dickie, Stephanie drops by his office, hoping to plant a listening device on him. The meeting goes downhill when she notices a recent photo of him and her archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt (Stephanie divorced Dickie after catching him in flagrante with Joyce). Dickie makes the mistake of remembering his affair with Joyce as an amusing lark, and ends up on the floor of his office with Stephanie's hands around his throat, before her friends Connie and Lula pry her away. In a fit of indignation, Stephanie snatches a desk clock off Dickie's desk, declaring that it was a wedding present from her aunt.
Later that evening, Stephanie's on-again/off-again boyfriend, detective Joe Morelli, is told that Dickie has disappeared, and there are signs that he has been abducted or murdered from his house. Because of her earlier altercation with Dickie, Morelli tells Stephanie that she might be a suspect in his disappearance. Joyce Barnhardt has no trouble believing it, and reports Stephanie to both the Trenton police and the press. When she is questioned by the police, Stephanie is stunned to learn that Dickie never changed his will after their divorce, which means she will inherit everything.
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