Bounty hunter
Among its many firsts, the US has the dubious distinction of having the fullest prisons in the world. Curiously, at the same time, it has one of the poorest arrest records of felons. Not that its police aren’t dedicated; but laws aren’t enforced as well as they should be.
The protagonists of crime thrillers are more efficient in getting their man. To be sure, a lot of felons are plain incompetent and easily caught. However, all too many felons are smart and have clever lawyers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew this, noting that super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes was unable to apprehend arch-felon Irene Adler. Pointers ought to be taken from the Japanese, who have a 95% arrest record.
Yank author Evanovich has penned several series featuring crimebusters. The most popular is Stephanie Plum. Not a cop but a bounty hunter, she works for a bail-bond firm in Trenton, New Jersey. She is described as good-looking, not unlike US actress Julia Roberts.
After a person is arrested for a crime, he or she is brought before a judge, who announces how much bail he must pay to stay out of jail until his trial. On the outside, a bail bondsman puts up the money, for a fee. If the man skips, the bondsman sends a bounty hunter after him rather than pay the bail himself.
Enter Plum and her bounty hunter associates. In Turbo Twenty-Three, their pursuit leads to more than one murder victim. The plot expands to a rivalry between two ice cream companies. Then into drugs.
The subplot has our heroine torn between two lovers, a policeman and a security firm head. Plum and Lula, a reformed prostitute, share a sense of humour. Abducted and marked for death, Plum’s rescue in the penultimate chapter will raise eyebrows.
Evanovich’s multitude of stories are fast, though not compelling to read. The romance angle is given equal play to the crimes. Sex is glossed over in a sentence. Meals are detailed. Trenton’s streets are named, and nothing about them will attract tourists.
The publisher’s jacket copy says Stephanie Plum is vastly popular. This reviewer will just have to take their word for it.