Evanovich, Janet (1943-…), is a best-selling American author known for her humorous detective novels that feature a character named Stephanie Plum. An independent young woman, Plum is a bounty hunter who tries to locate missing people for her sleazy cousin, a bail bondsman named Vinnie.
The Stephanie Plum stories take place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, and are filled with extravagantly comic men and women. The recurring characters include Stephanie’s feisty Grandma Mazur and a sassy former prostitute named Lula who assists Stephanie with her cases. The novels also explore Stephanie’s uncertain romantic relationships with policeman and childhood neighbor Joe Morelli and a mysterious adventurer called Ranger. Evanovich introduced Stephanie Plum in One for the Money (1994). Since then, she has completed a Plum novel almost every year, each title including a number. Evanovich has also written two short novels featuring Stephanie Plum, Plum Lovin’ (2007) and Plum Lucky (2008).
Evanovich wrote a dozen romance novels, beginning with Hero at Large (1987), before beginning the Stephanie Plum series. She wrote three of the romances under the pen name of Steffie Hall. Evanovich has also collaborated with American author Charlotte Hughes on a series of comic mysteries, all beginning with the word Full in their title, such as Full Bloom (2005). In addition, Evanovich wrote two comic mystery stories, Metro Girl (2004) and Motor Mouth (2006). The novels feature a heroine named Alexandra Barnaby, who closely resembles Stephanie Plum. Evanovich and American author Dorien Kelly collaborated on the romantic novels Love in a Nutshell (2012) and The Husband List (2013). Evanovich and American author Lee Goldberg co-authored a series of detective novels that feature the unlikely team of FBI special agent Kate O’Hare and international con man Nicolas Fox. The series began with Pros and Cons (2013). The Recovery Agent (2022) marks the launch of a new adventure series about Gabriela Rose, who locates lost treasures and people.
Janet Schneider was born in South River, New Jersey, on April 22, 1943. She received a B.A. in art from Douglass College at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in 1965. In 1964, she married a fellow Rutgers student, Peter Evanovich, a mathematician.
