Ten Big Ones

I have been hooked on this book series for years now.  It is Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels.  It is a numbered series starting with...you got it....One.  Stephanie Plum came on the scene in One for the Money, which was first published in June 1998 and her most recent publication was Sizzling Sixteen in June 2010.  To sum it up, Stephanie is a bounty hunter in Trenton, New Jersey.  She falls into this line of work because she lost her job as a lingerie buyer for a local store and her cousin is a bail bondman.  This is a crime novel series that will make you laugh out loud because Stephanie is the worst bounty hunter ever and it gets her into more trouble than one would think possible.  She gets shot at, hand-cuffed, and wrestled to the ground by naked skips (people who do not show-up for the court dates and hence, she has to go looking for them), in addition, getting her cars riddled with bullet holes and blown-up.  But you think, it's New Jersey, it probably could happen.  Her fashion sense and wacked-out priorities are things that I have come to look forward to reading in each book.

I am currently reading Ten Big Ones and the story gets better with each book.  As you read this series you come to love the characters such as Grandma Mazur, Lula, Rex and then the men in Stephanie's life, Joe Morelli and Ranger.  I have a mental picture of who these people look like, although you may not agree, I will tell you what I think, starting with Grandma Mazur:

Estelle Getty, but with a gun

I know it is a bit cliche because she is the perfect spunky old lady, but that is how Grandma Mazur is - spunky as all get out!  Okay, that now brings me to Lula.  Now Lula is an unforgettable person, who, shall we say, has "reached her full potential" on the bathroom scale.  I picture:

Mo'nique, but with a gun

But Lula only wears either animal print spandex or neon-colored spandex.  I could not locate a picture of Mo'nique with leopard print...hmmm, not looking hard enough, I guess.  Next is Rex and I don't have to go through and find a picture, because Rex is Stephanie's hamster.  He sounds really cute, but I'm not all that into hamsters, so no pic, sorry Rex!

This leaves the last three main charaters: Morelli, Ranger and Stephanie herself.  For Morelli, I envision:

Richard Grieco, but with a gun

Now, I say this because I used to watch Booker on tv in the 80's and thought he was so fine!  Yes, I said "fine" because that is how I would have said it back then!  I am reading on the internet vine that he had some plastic surgery done since those days and I am not talking about current Richard Grieco, but 1989 Richard Grieco.  Next, I go to Ranger.  Unfortunately, in my mind's eye, I never see Ranger's face.  He is always in black, he doesn't often come out in the day, and he is always shrouded by this black veil of mystery.  So, I really only have a hunky latino body image that comes to mind. 

Lastly, this brings me to Stephanie.  I always think of a short gal with large brown curly hair:

Alyssa Milano, but with a stun gun

Alyssa Milano is the perfect take-no-attitude-only-give-it type of girl. But, she has to have big hair, no flat-ironed hair will do for Stephanie.

Good news for those of you that either are into this series already or would like to dive in, there is a movie deal out for One for the Money.  I am very excited about this because it has been a long time in the making, but the actors they have chose to play the key roles are not those that I have featured above.  Now I really can only say that they chose Katherine Heigl as Stephanie, Jason O'Mara as Morelli and Daniel Sunjata as Ranger.  Now, what comes to mind when these names are read?  A tall blonde with big boobs as Stephanie? An Irishman as Morelli?  Daniel who?  Yes, those are my thoughts as well.

I would love to know who your mind's eye views these favorite characters as.

Her complete book list and novel debut dates can be found at Janet's web site.