SEVEN UP--ANNOTATION 6

"Seven Up" is a book in which Stephanie Plum repeatedly tries and fails to capture an blind, deaf, old man who suffers from erectile dysfunction and stops for repeated bathroom breaks.

In "Seven Up" Stephanie is tasked with tracking down Eddie DeChooch, a washed up mob man who got busted with a shipment of stolen cigarettes. Stephanie rarely has a problem tracking DeChooch down; she pays him a visit in his home, she meets up with him at a church, she runs into him at the funeral parlor, she sees him constantly in his big white Cadillac; still he gives her the slip every time. When it seems like finally, Stephanie has gotten her man, with DeChooch passed out in a chair with a gun shot wound to the head, he still manages to get away from her.

Stephanie Plum is a hapless bounty hunter. She has gained experience on the job over the previous six novels in the series, but she has seemingly gained no skills at the job. When she finds herself in a situation where a gun may be handy (DeChooch repeatedly fires off rounds at an unarmed Stephanie) her gun is inevitably at home in the cookie jar.

While Stephanie bumbles around haplessly, often with her equally clueless pal Lula, she inexplicably stumbles upon lead after lead. Her stoner pal Mooner (often appearing in this novel wearing his super suit) is a big piece of the overall plot puzzle of this novel. With his connection to his buddy, The Dealer, the rump roast that was stolen from his refrigerator, and his subsequent kidnapping, Stephanie has to try to tie all the pieces of the puzzle together.

In addition to the mystery going on around Stephanie she also has to deal with her ever lively personal life. From her supposed engagement with her boyfriend Joe Morelli to the steamy kisses she shares with Ranger, Stephanie has her share of personal issues to sort out. Also in town for this new novel is Stephanie's perfect sister, Valerie, who has decided to experiment with becoming a lesbian after her husband runs off with the 18 year-old babysitter.

Overall "Seven Up" is an enjoyable addition to the Stephanie Plum novels. Stephanie manages to get into enough mischief to provide hours of entertainment.