Well turns out I was sort of wrong when it comes to the Steph-Joe-Ranger love triangle. Eleven On Top and Twelve Sharp have almost made me appreciate what Ranger brings to the table. He has a certain easy charm and like Stephanie says, he’s Batman. Who doesn’t want to get with Batman?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The reason Stephanie is spending more time with Ranger so we can get a better look at their dynamic is because Eleven On Top begins with Stephanie considering her other career options. Bounty hunting is harrowing, dangerous work and dealing with flashers, drunkards and sociopaths isn’t what she wants to do all her life. But a disasterous stint at a button factory, laundromat and others send her to Ranger’s Rangeman security for extra moolah, and extracurricular activities. No, they don’t sleep tigether yet, but damn the unresolved tension is suspenseful. Plus I enjoyed how the security jobs offer a bit more variety to Stephanie’s workload from taking care of aging country singer diva Brenda to sniffing out a Rangeman Security infiltrator.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, it’s nice to see some more progression. It really makes the characters feel like the years are going by with Stephanie considering other future options, Morelli becoming a bit more domestic (He has a toaster and everything!), Ranger opening up about his backstory like that he has a mom (of course he does, but he actually mentions other family members).

Which brings me to more mysterious Ranger backstory revealed! Like his ex wife and daughter!! Of course, there’s a big twist involving the Martine family and psycho stalkers but it was cool to see Ranger on the offense, tracking down someone who is out to kill the daughter he loves. Speaking of families, more of the crazy Morellis come out of the woodwork when his cousins, Dom and Loretta get out of jail and get kidnapped respectively. That was a classic family dysfunction at its finest and enjoyable to see.

Though Stephanie’s still takes the cake with Grandma Mazur moving in again (just for the night) during Valerie’s pregnancy/wedding craziness. It gave such a gem line in Grandma’s “Eat cake and die” line. And there’s ex-family members too like Stephanie’s ex husband, Dickie Orr whose sleazy horriness has to be seen to be believed.

A surprising guest star in most of these books is Joyce, Stephanie’s arch nemesis who is really a thorn in Stephanie’s side as she attempts to follow all the same targets. And all the same men like Morelli during their breakup. Luckily, Stephanie’s disasterous cooking skills help kick Joyce out of her rebound attempt. But I also enjoyed what almost seemed to be a potential team-up in finding Dickie. Of course, that only lasted for a page but now the seed is planted. I want a genuine team up between the two even if it’s for one mission.

But let’s not forget Lulu who was the star of Finger-Lickin Fifteen with one surprising barbacue sauce-induced move that took down the giggling clever-wielder. It’s a weird sentence to write but that’s part of Evanovich’s comedy. It’s still gross but it’s also growing on me.