Stephanie Plum

Stephanie Plum is a fictional character and the protagonist in a series of novels written by Janet Evanovich. She is a spunky combination of Nancy Drew and Dirty Harry, and - although a female bounty hunter - is the opposite of Domino Harvey. She is described by the author as "incredibly average and yet heroic if necessary."

Evanovich claims the inspiration for Stephanie's character came after watching Midnight Run starring Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro, adding, "If Mickey Spillane wrote Archie and Veronica, Stephanie would be Betty." As the series has progressed, Stephanie has become more stable and responsible, and a better bounty hunter. "But truthfully," Evanovich says, "Stephanie has stayed the same more than she’s changed."

As of July 2007, Stephanie has appeared in thirteen full-length novels, two holiday novellas, and a short story in a compilation of various authors' works.

Character history

Janet Evanovich admits that Stephanie Plum's character is inspired by her own, in both history and "similar embarrassing experiences." Evanovich says, "I wouldn't go so far as to say Stephanie is an autobiographical character, but I will admit to knowing where she lives."

Like Evanovich, Stephanie originates from Trenton, New Jersey, the city where the series is set. Stephanie grew up in the Chambersburg neighborhood known to locals as "the Burg", and - like Evanovich - attended Douglass College, although Stephanie graduated "without distinction".

After graduation, Stephanie married Dickie Orr, then promptly divorced him after discovering he cheated on her with rival Joyce Barnhardt. Immediately before the first book, One For the Money begins, Stephanie is fired from her job as a lingerie buyer, which propels her to blackmail her cousin Vinnie, owner of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, into giving her a job as an apprehension agent or bounty hunter.

When the series begins, Stephanie Plum is single and living with her hamster, Rex, in an apartment block with predominantly elderly neighbors. She revisits her parents who live several miles away in the Burg for meals, "family time," and pineapple upside-down cake.

Appearance

Stephanie Plum briefly describes herself in the first chapter of each book, typically mentioning her Italian-Hungarian descent, fast metabolism, brown curly hair, (sometimes described as red), and blue eyes. Evanovich originally envisioned Sandra Bullock as Stephanie in the movie adaptation of One for the Money, and although the author is now considering Anne Hathaway, according to a poll on the official website Bullock is still preferred by 61%.

Friends and colleagues

Lula

Lula was introduced as a minor character working as a hooker in the first book in the series, One For the Money. In Two For the Dough , she becomes Vinnie's filing clerk and Stephanie's sometimes partner. Stephanie refers to her as a plus-sized black woman who attempts to shove a size 16 body into size 10 spandex. According to the reader poll on Evanovich's official site, the favored actress to portray Lula is Queen Latifah.

Connie Rossoli

Connie is Vinnie's receptionist/guard dog. Her ties to the Mafia are hinted at but never fully explored. She is short and curvy with a hairy upper lip.

Vinnie Plum

Vinnie is the owner of Vinnie Plum's Bail Bonds, where Stephanie is employed. He is also Stephanie's cousin, and he can barely tolerate his employees. He's rumored to have had a romantic relationship with a duck and is usually locked away in his office talking with his bookie; taking a snooze or have a conversation with his "Johnson".

Family

Grandma Mazur

Grandma Mazur is Stephanie's maternal grandmother. She is a woman unwilling to grow old, ever. Stephanie relates to Grandma Mazur more than any other member of her family. Beginning in Two For the Dough, Grandma Mazur begins to tag along on cases with Stephanie, often pulling a gun out of her purse at inappropriate moments.

In several interviews, Evanovich says the inspiration for Grandma Mazur is "loosely based on my Aunt Lena and my Grandma Fanny," adding "She's who I want to be when I grow up."

Valerie

Valerie, Stephanie's older sister who moved to California after getting married, is mentioned briefly in the first six books as being the perfect daughter. In Seven Up, Valerie moves back in with her parents after a failed marriage, her two daughters - Angie and Mary Alice - in tow. Angie is much like Valerie was at her age, and Mary Alice has a vivid imagination more like her Aunt Stephanie. Mary Alice thinks she's a horse. In Hard Eight, Valerie becomes bumbling lawyer Albert Kloughn's receptionist, and the two begin a relationship. In Visions of Sugar Plums Valerie becomes pregnant with Kloughn's daughter, whom they name Lisa. In Eleven on Top, Valerie and Kloughn cancel their wedding after a stressful bout of wedding planning, but are eventually tricked into getting married in Plum Lovin after Val gets pregnant with Kloughn's second child.

Stephanie's parents

Her mother and father have the type of relationship built to last. Her father gets served first in exchange for getting to pretend he controls the house, and to keep him from stabbing Grandma Mazur with his fork. Her mother gets to cook and rule the house. Her mother thinks Stephanie should have a relationship like hers but Steph is skittish about marrying again. Her mother also wants Stephanie to get a nice, safe job and reminds her regularly, "They're hiring at the button factory!"

Bob

Bob is a big golden retriever a cop acquaintance of Stephanie's conned her into dog-sitting in Hot Six. The owner never came back for Bob and the dog became a part of Stephanie's life. He currently lives with Joe Morelli and has been described as a big, orange bottomless pit. He'll eat just about anything and usually leaves big dog piles wherever he goes... which is why Stephanie likes to walk him on Joyce Barnhardt's lawn.

Romantic relationships

Joseph Morelli

Joe Morelli is Stephanie's on-and-off boyfriend, former bad boy, now vice cop. Her history with Morelli started with a "choo choo" incident when she was six. At the age of sixteen, Stephanie lost her virginity to Morelli, after which he never called (but left quite a few flattering messages in bathroom and stadium walls around town). Two years later she saw Morelli and ran over him with her father's Buick, breaking his leg. Their relationship has now evolved into a on again, off again romance. In Hot Six, they get engaged under pressure from their families, but call off the wedding in book seven.

When asked if Stephanie and Morelli will end up in a permanent relationship, Evanovich responds, "I don't want to tie Stephanie down to Morelli yet. Maybe some day, but certainly not for several more books."

Morelli and Stephanie have shared ownership of a big orange dog named Bob, who devours everything in sight. In Hot Six, Stephanie is asked by one of Morelli's co-workers to babysit his dog, an arrangement that becomes permanent when the guy never returns. By Seven Up, Bob had decided to move in with Morelli.

Ranger

Ranger is Stephanie's fellow bounty hunter and tutor. Ranger loves Stephanie "in his own way" but isn't the marrying type. Ranger is Cuban-American, always wears black, and drives a rotation of four, very expensive black cars. Stephanie's relationship with Ranger, somewhere between boyfriend/girlfriend and teacher/pupil, provides much of her day-to-day stress, along with the almost constant threat of car bombing. He sometimes lends a hand with some of the more dangerous or slippery FTAs (an acronym for Failure-To-Appear in court). He often assigns employees to guard or track her when she is in serious danger. Ranger "bleeds money" every time Stephanie requires protection, which is frequently; she appears as a line item in his budget (under "entertainment"). He is the C.E.O. of RangeMan, Inc. In some of the later novels, Stephanie moonlights for RangeMan during safety or financial dilemmas. As revealed in Two for the Dough, Ranger's real name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso, and in High Five that he has a daughter named Julie. Julie's mother is named Rachel whom Ranger got pregnant one night on leave when he was in the military. When Rachel got pregnant, Ranger married her and gave the baby his name and financial support. The two were divorced when the baby was born.

Car Death

Plum is infamous for destroying cars, for which she has been dubbed the "Bombshell Bounty Hunter" in the local paper. Over time, Plum has had to resort to taking a truck with a bad radiator, a mismatch of two cars called a Rollswagon, and most frequently, her Uncle Sandor's seemingly indestructible powder blue '53 Buick, aka "Big Blue" that now belongs to Grandma Mazur. This car is based on the car on which Evanovich learned to drive.

References

• Evanovich, Janet (1995). One For the Money.
• Evanovich, Janet (1996). Two For the Dough.
• Evanovich, Janet (1997). Three to Get Deadly.
• Evanovich, Janet (1998). Four to Score.
• Evanovich, Janet (1999). High Five.
• Evanovich, Janet (2001). Hot Six.
• Evanovich, Janet (2002). Seven Up.
• Evanovich, Janet (2002). Hard Eight.
• Evanovich, Janet (2003). Visions of Sugar Plums. A short Christmas special.
• Evanovich, Janet (2003). To the Nines.
• Evanovich, Janet (2004). Ten Big Ones.
• Evanovich, Janet (2005). Eleven on Top.
• Evanovich, Janet (2006). Twelve Sharp.
• Evanovich, Janet (2007). Plum Lovin'.
• Evanovich, Janet (2007). Lean Mean Thirteen.
• Evanovich, Janet (2008). Fearless Fourteen.