HOT SIX

'I have so many dilemmas,' says Stephanie Plum—Trenton's most adorable, least reliable bond enforcement agent—'I can't even remember them all.' And no question about it, they do come in bunches in this sixth venture into bounty-hunting ineptitude. There's the dilemma of the heart, for instance. Steph can't decide which of the two hunks in her life, each abrim with testosterone, turns her on faster. Is it the sexy policeman, Joe Morelli, the guy she's known all her life, the guy who succeeded in taking her teenage virginity without even trying? Or the enigmatic Ricardo Carlo Manoso, a.k.a. Ranger, the bounty-hunting mentor she can't say no to, though he only half asks? Nor can she decide what to do about the Ramos dilemma, derived from a family of hard cases who want to kill her, mostly because, unlike most of Steph’s prey, they prefer fight to flight. Then there's the pimple dilemma (it's right in the middle of her chin! Should she squeeze or wait?); the Grandma Mazur dilemma (she’s suddenly Steph's roommate); the big, slobbering dog dilemma (a love-hate relationship worthy of a deeply confused heroine); the suicidal-girl-on-the-bridge dilemma; the . . . well, you get the idea. The essential thing is that the day this Jersey tomato decides to diarize, Bridget Jones had better look to her laurels.

Steph and company make for another helping of energetic entertainment (High Five, 1999, etc.)—a savory Plum pudding for her growing army of fans.