Two for the Dough

Name: Two for the Dough
Author: Janet Evanovich

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dirty Thirty and “most popular mystery writer alive” (The New York Times), Janet Evanovich’s Two for the Dough is irresistibly fun and powerful suspense entertainment featuring beloved bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

It's the return of Stephanie Plum, New Jersey’s “fugitive apprehension” agent (a.k.a. bounty hunter), introduced to us in the award-winning and bestselling novel One for the Money.

Now Stephanie's back, armed with attitude—not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, killer flashlights, and her trusty .38, Stephanie is after a new bail jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton’s burg. He’s fresh out of the army, suspiciously wealthy, and he’s just shot his best friend.

With her bounty hunter pal Ranger stepping in occasionally to advise her, Stephanie staggers knee-deep in corpses and caskets as she traipses through back streets, dark alleys, and funeral parlors.

And nobody knows funeral parlors better than Stephanie's irrepressible Grandma Mazur, a lady whose favorite pastime is grabbing a front-row seat at a neighborhood wake. So, Stephanie uses Grandma as a cover to follow leads, but loses control when Grandma warms to the action, packing a cool pistol. Much to the family’s chagrin, Stephanie and Granny may soon have the elusive Kenny in their sights.

Fast-talking, slow-handed vice cop Joe Morelli joins in the case, since the prey happens to be his young cousin. And if the assignment calls for an automobile stakeout for two with the woman who puts his libido in overdrive, Morelli’s not one to object.

Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie eventually must face the danger alone when embalmed body parts begin to arrive on her doorstep and she’s targeted for a nasty death by the most loathsome adversary she's ever encountered. Another case like this and she'll be a real pro.

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Published: January 10, 1996

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Stephanie Plum

The series

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In a world of cold, calculating crime fiction, the Stephanie Plum series flips the script—with high heels, hot tempers, and hilariously high-stakes mayhem. Set in the unglamorous heart of Trenton, New Jersey, this long-running series follows an underqualified bounty hunter with a knack for catching criminals—and blowing up cars along the way.

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What starts as a desperate gig to make rent quickly spirals into a career filled with bad guys who won’t stay caught, friends who can’t stay out of trouble, and love interests who are anything but simple. But this isn’t just a series about solving cases. It’s about surviving life one ridiculous mishap at a time. Each book dives into the absurdity of crime-solving with a heroine who’s as relatable as she is chaotic. Whether she’s wrangling skips, dodging mobsters, or getting unsolicited advice from Grandma Mazur (armed and ready), every chapter walks the line between laugh-out-loud humor and genuine suspense.

Blending mystery, romance, and slapstick, the tone stays light even when the stakes climb high. The atmosphere is fast-paced and unpredictable—like a sitcom crashed into a crime scene. Side characters like the fierce and fabulous Lula or the emotionally elusive Ranger help build a world that feels lived-in, weirdly lovable, and impossible to leave behind.

With each new entry, the series reinvents itself just enough to keep readers guessing, while staying true to its core: one woman, a mountain of problems, and the undeniable pull of a life she never meant to choose. Equal parts caper and comedy, Stephanie Plum is the perfect series for readers who like their mysteries spiked with laughter and just the right amount of danger.