Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum #3) (1997)

by Janet Evanovich

When Uncle Mo, owner of an ice cream shop and a beloved member of the community, fails to appear in court for a concealed carry charge, Stephanie Plum is tasked to track him down.

 It’s supposed to be an easy assignment for the fledgling bounty hunter, but it makes her unpopular in the community and takes a dark turn when dead bodies start popping up. 

This outing isn’t a mere repeat of the previous two adventures, in which Stephanie chased down quirky bail jumpers. 

Although this one dips a toe (but only a toe) into the vigilante men’s adventure pool, my understanding is that subsequent entries pull back from this direction. 

So it’s a little darker, but the formula is also beginning to gel (or congeal, depending on your view of it). 

Reliable cast members such as Morelli, Ranger, and Grandma Mazur are present, but there is no development to their characters, and it’s starting to look like their unchanging nature may just be part of the formula. 

Author Janet Evanovich is also guilty of forced quirkiness, as when Stephanie eats breakfast alone watching Winnie the Pooh on VHS. 

Janet Evanovich

It’s a light fast read and your appreciation of it is bound to be colored by how much your sense of humor aligns with the author’s. 

Mine aligns enough to make it a pleasant enough read and there’s a good chance I’ll be back for more, but I won’t be in a hurry.

"Thirdly, as a Matter of Principle" (Polish)

"A Life-Threatening Threesome" (Chinese)

"Three Problems for Cinderella" (Russian)

"Three to Hit" (Portuguese)

"The Single Bounty Hunter 3" (Hungarian)

"The Third Hard Break" (Finnish)

"Three and You're Dead" (Italian)

"Three for Murder" (Hebrew)

"Before You Can Count to Three" (Czech)

"Heroic Deeds Done for Money 3" (Thai)

"At One, at Two, at Death" (French)

"Deadly Trio" (Dutch)

"Uncle Mo's Disappearance" (Japanese)

"One, Two, Three and You're Free" (German)