Explosive Eighteen (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Stephanie Plum: Trenton area bounty hunter who works for her cousin Vinnie at his bail bonds company.
• Lula Sunshine: Former prostitute; Stephanie saved her life; works for Vinnie's bail bonds company; "helps" Stephanie apprehend the FTAs. Her character is larger than life and hysterically funny.
• Joe Morelli: Police detective; love interest of Stephanie; owns a dog named Bob.
• Joyce Barnhardt: Nemesis of Stephanie's from high school; makes a living by marrying rich men! Will not think twice about stealing your man!
• Carlos "Ranger" Manoso: Bounty hunter and security expert; has many secrets from his past; is a love interest of Stephanie.
• Grandma Mazur: Stephanie's maternal grandmother; likes to crash funerals. My favorite character. She is hilarious.
• Vincent Plum: Stephanie's cousin and boss; owns the bail bonds company that Stephanie works for.
• Salvatore DeAngelo: Contractor; is rebuilding the bail bonds office for Vinnie Plum after it was destroyed in a suspicious fire; probable ties to the mob.
• Connie Rosolli: Office manager of the bail bonds company owned by Vinnie Plum; friend of Stephanie's; many of Connie's family are associated with the mob.
• Lahonka Goudge: FTA; credit card fraud
• Mortimer Lancelot aka Lance Lancer: fake FBI agent; Larder's partner; searching for a photograph given to Stephanie by accident/on purpose
• Sylvester Larder aka Sly Slasher: Fake FBI agent; partner of Lancelot; searching for photograph given by accident/on purpose to Stephanie.
• Bill Berger: FBI agent (for real); Chuck Gooley's partner; not too concerned with Stephanie's safety concerns due to budget cuts
• Chuck Gooley: FBI Agent; Bill Berger's partner
• Lewis Bugkowski aka Big Buggy: FTA; purse snatching; under the delusion of a love potion, Lula found love with Big Buggy
• Annie Hart: she believes she is the reincarnation of Cupid and sent to help others find love
• Mrs. Plum: Stephanie's mother
• Mr. Plum: Stephanie's father
• Richard Crick: passenger on plane from Hawaii sitting next to Stephanie; slipped her a photograph that starts the adventures in the book
• Lucille Plum: Vinnie's wife
• Manny Rosolli: Connie's cousin; owns a junkyard
• Andy Kulicki: Employee at the junkyard owned by Manny Rosolli
• Hal: Employee of Rangeman and previous love interest of Lula's
• Frank Korda: Jewelry store owner
• Razzle Dazzle: aka Razzle Dazzle; one of the pursuers of the photograph
• Tootie Ruguzzi: Simon Raguzzi's wife
• Simon Ruguzzi: FTA sought by Vinnie's Bail Bonds company; Stephanie spotted him in Hawaii while she was there on vacation, also known as "The Rug"
• Donald Grezbek: aka Magpie; FTA wanted for burglary because he likes shiny things
• Brenda Schwartz: claims to be Richard Crick's fiancée; searching for the photograph. Previously married several times, most recently to Bernie Schwartz who owned a string of car washes.
• Mr. Kolakowski: Stephanie's neighbor; "the crankiest man to ever walk the earth" according to Stephanie
• Carol Baumgarten: Former mistress of Frank Korda.
• Chester Billings: Owner of a Las Vegas food supplier that services the casinos. Brother of Brenda Schwartz.
• Sammy the Pig: Loan Shark operating in NJ. Bernie Schwartz borrowed money from him.
• Jason: Brenda's son. A hacker.
• Tank: Ranger's right hand man at Rangeman.
• Tom Cruise: another possible identity of man in photo
• Bob: Morelli's clumsily loving pooch
• Ashton Kutcher: Possible identity of man in photo
• Hamilton: Add a description of this character.
• Ritchy: A murder victim
• Esther Philpot: Grandma Mazur's friend
• Marianne Mikulski: Newly seperated, lives down the street from Morelli, rumored to be spending "quality time" with Morelli.
• Harry Zimmer
• Rex: Stephanie's hamster
• Magpie: An FTA, lives out of his car, usually near a cemetry
• Mrs. Kulicki
• Gina Giovichinni: Related to family owning Giovichinni grocery. / deli
• Sylvester Larder
• Pat Korda: Wife of missing jewelry store owner.
• Mortimer Lancelot
• Louisa Belman
• Miss Kitty
• Bernard Schwartz: Guy who was seated next to Stephanie on flight from Hawaii

Quotes edit see section history

• “"And look what that idiot did to my shoe. These are genuine Louboutin knock-offs. Where am I gonna get another shoe to match this?””

• “It wasn't exactly that Lula was fat. It was more that she was too short for her weight. Or maybe it was that there was an excess of Lula and not ever enough fabric.”

  Stephanie Plum

• “Earl Krizinski was sitting behind me, and he said he saw Louisa's underpants when they picked her up, and he said he got a stiffy." "Louisa Belman is ninety-three years old." "Well, I guess to Earl underpants are underpants."”

  Grandma Mazur and Stephanie Plum

• “I saw the animal backed into the corner. Too big for Rex. Rat, I thought. BIG rat! I could see it's tail and hideous fat body. I drilled about ten holes into it. It wasn't moving. I flipped the light on and looked at the carnage. It took a couple of beats for me to figure it out. It was Joyce's hairpiece.”

  Stephanie Plum

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “There’s always been true love, but in my day, you either talked yourself into thinking you had it, or you talked yourself into thinking you didn’t need it.”

  Highlighted by 155 Kindle customers

• My family solves problems with silence and meat loaf. Our philosophy is, if you don’t talk about a problem, it might go away. And if it doesn’t go away, there’s always meat loaf, mac and cheese, roast chicken, pineapple upside-down cake, pasta, potatoes, or baloney on white bread to take your mind off unpleasant things.

  Highlighted by 39 Kindle customers

• “It’s good to have a Ranger,” Lula said. “He’s like a personal Spidey.”

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

• It wasn’t exactly that Lula was fat. It was more that she was too short for her weight. Or maybe it was that there was an excess of Lula and not ever enough fabric.

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• “You have no spirit of culinary adventure. You need to be more like that snarky guy on the Travel Channel. He goes all over the world eating kangaroo assholes and snail throw-up.

  Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers

• “I’m not so old,” Grandma said. “There’s parts of me don’t sit as high as they used to, but I’ve got some miles left.”

  Highlighted by 23 Kindle customers

• My brain didn’t want either of the men in my life. And my hooha wanted both of them!

  Highlighted by 21 Kindle customers

• “This makes you real special,” Lula said. “It’s like you’re a reality show, all by yourself.”

  Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers

• Wicked Appetite THE BARNABY AND HOOKER NOVELS

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

• Trouble Maker #2 (graphic novel) Trouble Maker #1

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Hawaii: Stephanie takes a trip to Hawaii between books 17 & 18 of the series. She's leaving Honolulu and flying home on her own at the beginning of this book.
• Trenton
• Lincoln
• Atlantic City
• Rangeman

Organizations edit see section history

• Vincent Plum Bail Bonds: Owned by Vincent Plum, Stephanie's cousin, who employes Stephanie to track down those who've failed to appear (FTA). Currently operating out of a bus while their physical location is being rebuilt.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Real FBI agents and people impersonating FBI agents interact with Stephanie Plum regarding the photo.
• Pink Panthers: Code name for international diamond thieves. Joyce Barnhardt believes it is the code name for an international jewel theft network.
• Interpol: International police-investigating the Pink Panthers.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• apres: Coming after in time; following an activity

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Smokin' Seventeen, and followed by Notorious Nineteen.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Janet Evanovich (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3555.V2126E97 2011
• Dewey: 813 54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Crude humor

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Janet Evanovich: Official website of the author

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history