Plum Lucky

Evanovich's latest “Between-the-Numbers” outing begins on St. Patrick's Day, when bounty hunter Stephanie Plum spots her Grandma Mazur dragging a mysterious duffel bag down the street. Then Grandma Mazur vanishes, and Stephanie's frantic mother begs Stephanie to track her down. Soon, Stephanie and her usual band of sidekicks (including sexy, inexplicably lucky Diesel) are on their way to Atlantic City and into a hilariously funny mess involving stolen mob money, a kidnapped horse and a thief/con artist who thinks he's a leprechaun. Lorelei King does the story justice, milking the prose for every drop of humor with her amusing, distinctive and superlatively accented rendition of each character. Her voices border on caricature, but that's entirely appropriate for this farcical, delightful New Jersey jelly doughnut of a novel, a satisfying snack for listeners anxiously awaiting Stephanie's 14th full-length adventure. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 24). (Jan.)