Janet Evanovich
in order.
Creator of Stephanie Plum, the Jersey bounty hunter behind one of the funniest and longest-running series in crime fiction.
Janet Evanovich was born in South River, New Jersey in 1943. She began her career writing short romance novels, but changed course in the early 1990s with an idea for something new: a broke, wisecracking lingerie buyer from Trenton who stumbles into work as a bounty hunter. One for the Money (1994) introduced Stephanie Plum, and the series became a publishing juggernaut, with the numbered titles reliably debuting at number one on the bestseller lists.
More than thirty books later, the Plum series is still going strong, powered by its signature mix of mystery, slapstick, exploding cars, and the eternal love triangle between Stephanie, cop Joe Morelli, and security expert Ranger. Evanovich has also co-written several other series, including the Fox and O'Hare capers (begun with Lee Goldberg), the supernatural Lizzy and Diesel books, and the globe-trotting adventures of recovery agent Gabriela Rose.
Where to start
Start with One for the Money (1994), the first Stephanie Plum novel, and read the numbered books in order — the mysteries are self-contained, but the running jokes, recurring characters like Grandma Mazur and Lula, and the Morelli-versus-Ranger love triangle build from book to book. The four 'Between the Numbers' holiday novellas are optional fun you can slot in anytime after book eight or so. If you want a break from Trenton, the Fox and O'Hare heist series (start with The Heist) offers the same banter with a con-artist twist.
Stephanie Plum 32 BOOKS · IN ORDER
The flagship numbered series follows Trenton's most accident-prone bounty hunter as she chases skips, wrecks cars, and juggles Joe Morelli and Ranger.
01
One for the Money 1994
Broke and desperate, Stephanie blackmails her cousin Vinnie into a bail enforcement job — and her first skip is Joe Morelli, the cop who wronged her years ago.
Amazon ↗
02
Two for the Dough 1996
Stephanie hunts Morelli's cousin Kenny while Grandma Mazur turns funeral homes into her personal social scene.
Amazon ↗
03
Three to Get Deadly 1997
A beloved local candy-store owner skips bail, and nobody in the Burg wants Stephanie to find him.
Amazon ↗
04
Four to Score 1998
A waitress on the run, a code-writing rival bounty hunter, and Stephanie's apartment going up in flames.
Amazon ↗
05
High Five 1999
Stephanie's Uncle Fred disappears, and she moonlights for Ranger to make rent — ending on the series' most famous cliffhanger.
Amazon ↗
06
Hot Six 2000
Ranger is the prime suspect in a murder, and Stephanie is assigned to bring him in.
Amazon ↗
07
Seven Up 2001
A semi-retired mob guy skips bail, and Stephanie must produce him or lose a bet with life-changing stakes.
Amazon ↗
08
Hard Eight 2002
A missing child case brings out the scariest villain of the early books and a rabbit suit no reader forgets.
Amazon ↗
09
To the Nines 2003
A visa-bond skip leads Stephanie to Las Vegas with Lula and Connie in tow.
Amazon ↗
10
Ten Big Ones 2004
Stephanie witnesses a gang robbery and ends up hiding out in Ranger's mysterious apartment.
Amazon ↗
11
Eleven on Top 2005
Stephanie quits bounty hunting for a 'normal' job — several normal jobs, actually, each ending in disaster.
Amazon ↗
12
Twelve Sharp 2006
A woman claiming to be Ranger's wife turns up, and Ranger's daughter goes missing.
Amazon ↗
13
Lean Mean Thirteen 2007
Stephanie becomes the prime suspect when her ex-husband Dickie vanishes.
Amazon ↗
14
Fearless Fourteen 2008
Buried loot, a teenage gamer, and a stint bodyguarding an aging country star.
Amazon ↗
15
Finger Lickin' Fifteen 2009
Lula witnesses a celebrity chef's murder, so naturally she enters a barbecue contest to flush out the killers.
Amazon ↗
16
Sizzling Sixteen 2010
Cousin Vinnie is kidnapped over gambling debts, and the bonds office has to buy him back.
Amazon ↗
17
Smokin' Seventeen 2011
Bodies are turning up on the construction site of the burned-down bonds office — one with Stephanie's name attached.
Amazon ↗
18
Explosive Eighteen 2011
Stephanie returns from a disastrous Hawaii trip she refuses to talk about, with a killer on her trail.
Amazon ↗
19
Notorious Nineteen 2012
A hospital vanishing act and a security job for Ranger that turns personal.
Amazon ↗
20
Takedown Twenty 2013
Stephanie hunts a mob boss godfather while a giraffe named Kevin runs loose in Trenton.
Amazon ↗
21
Top Secret Twenty-One 2014
A used-car king turned murder witness disappears, and someone is shooting poisoned darts at Ranger.
Amazon ↗
22
Tricky Twenty-Two 2015
A college campus skip, a killer flu plot, and fraternity mayhem.
Amazon ↗
23
Turbo Twenty-Three 2016
A hijacked ice cream truck delivers a frozen body, sending Stephanie undercover at a dessert factory.
Amazon ↗
24
Hardcore Twenty-Four 2017
Headless bodies around Trenton, a boa constrictor named Ethel, and the return of the mysterious Diesel.
Amazon ↗
25
Look Alive Twenty-Five 2018
Stephanie manages a deli where the last three managers vanished, leaving only a single shoe behind.
Amazon ↗
26
Twisted Twenty-Six 2019
Grandma Mazur marries a mobster who dies 45 minutes later — and the mob wants what he left her.
Amazon ↗
27
Fortune and Glory (Tantalizing Twenty-Seven) 2020
Stephanie and Grandma Mazur hunt mob treasure with clues left by Grandma's late husband.
Amazon ↗
28
Game On (Tempting Twenty-Eight) 2021
A hacker skip draws Stephanie into a cat-and-mouse game alongside old flame Diesel.
Amazon ↗
29
Going Rogue (Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine) 2022
Connie is kidnapped, and the ransom is a mysterious coin Stephanie doesn't have.
Amazon ↗
30
Dirty Thirty 2023
A jewelry store theft, a missing security guard, and Bob the dog along for the ride.
Amazon ↗
31
Now or Never 2024
Stephanie's love-triangle decision collides with a manhunt for a fugitive hacker.
Amazon ↗
32
Hot Mess 2025
Stephanie chases skips through a Trenton heat wave as her newly upended personal life gets messier.
Amazon ↗
Stephanie Plum: Between the Numbers 4 BOOKS · IN ORDER
Four shorter holiday-themed novellas featuring Stephanie and the not-quite-human Diesel, slotting between the numbered books.
01
Visions of Sugar Plums 2002
A mysterious man named Diesel appears in Stephanie's kitchen just before Christmas.
Amazon ↗
02
Plum Lovin' 2007
Stephanie plays matchmaker as a Valentine's Day favor to Diesel.
Amazon ↗
03
Plum Lucky 2008
Grandma Mazur finds a duffel bag of money and heads to Atlantic City for St. Patrick's Day.
Amazon ↗
04
Plum Spooky 2009
A full-length Halloween romp sending Stephanie and Diesel into the Jersey Pine Barrens.
Amazon ↗
Fox and O'Hare 7 BOOKS · IN ORDER
Caper novels (begun with co-author Lee Goldberg) pairing by-the-book FBI agent Kate O'Hare with charming con man Nick Fox.
01
The Heist 2013
FBI agent Kate O'Hare finally catches master con man Nick Fox — then is ordered to partner with him in secret.
Amazon ↗
02
The Chase 2014
Kate and Nick must steal back a priceless Chinese artifact from a corrupt ex-White House insider.
Amazon ↗
03
The Job 2014
The duo chases a ghost — a drug lord the world believes is dead.
Amazon ↗
04
The Scam 2015
A Macau casino takedown targets a money launderer with terrorist ties.
Amazon ↗
05
The Pursuit 2016
Nick is kidnapped, and the rescue spirals into stopping a bioweapon plot in Paris.
Amazon ↗
06
The Big Kahuna 2019
The hunt for a missing tech billionaire takes Kate and Nick to Hawaii, co-written with Peter Evanovich.
Amazon ↗
07
The Bounty 2021
Kate and Nick race a criminal brotherhood to lost Nazi gold, co-written with Steve Hamilton.
Amazon ↗
Lizzy and Diesel 3 BOOKS · IN ORDER
A lighter paranormal spin-off series starring pastry chef Lizzy Tucker and the unmentionable Diesel, hunting cursed objects around Salem.
01
Wicked Appetite 2010
Diesel enlists Salem baker Lizzy Tucker in a hunt for stones tied to the seven deadly sins.
Amazon ↗
02
Wicked Business 2012
The hunt for the Luxuria stone turns Boston's academic world upside down.
Amazon ↗
03
Wicked Charms 2015
Pirate treasure and the Avaritia stone draw Lizzy and Diesel into a greedy free-for-all, co-written with Phoef Sutton.
Amazon ↗
Standalone books by Evanovich 4 BOOKS · BY YEAR
In publication order — read these in any order you like.
01
Metro Girl 2004
Barney Barnaby storms Miami to find her missing brother and collides with NASCAR driver Sam Hooker — first of two Alex Barnaby books.
Amazon ↗
02
Motor Mouth 2006
The Barnaby and Hooker sequel dives into cheating scandals on the stock car circuit.
Amazon ↗
03
Curious Minds 2016
Eccentric billionaire Emerson Knight and junior banker Riley Moon chase missing Federal Reserve gold, first of the Knight and Moon books co-written with Phoef Sutton.
Amazon ↗
04
The Recovery Agent 2022
Gabriela Rose hunts lost treasure in the jungles of Peru — with her ex-husband holding the map.
Amazon ↗
The movies READ IT BEFORE YOU WATCH IT
One for the Money 2012
Based on: One for the Money
Katherine Heigl stars as Stephanie Plum in the series' only film adaptation to date, with Jason O'Mara as Morelli and Daniel Sunjata as Ranger.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Stephanie Plum books in?
Read them by their numbers, which match publication order: One for the Money (1994), Two for the Dough (1996), Three to Get Deadly (1997), and so on through the latest numbered title. The four 'Between the Numbers' novellas — Visions of Sugar Plums, Plum Lovin', Plum Lucky, and Plum Spooky — are optional side stories you can read anytime after the early books.
How many Stephanie Plum books are there?
There are more than 30 numbered Stephanie Plum novels, starting with One for the Money in 1994, plus four 'Between the Numbers' holiday novellas featuring Diesel. Evanovich has continued releasing roughly one numbered Plum book per year.
Do I need to read Janet Evanovich books in order?
For Stephanie Plum, yes — each mystery stands alone, but the love triangle with Morelli and Ranger and the running gags with Lula and Grandma Mazur build across books, so the series is far more fun in order. Her other series (Fox and O'Hare, Lizzy and Diesel) are best in order too, but the series themselves are independent of each other.
Is there a Stephanie Plum movie or TV show?
One for the Money was adapted into a 2012 film starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum. It's the only screen adaptation released so far, though TV adaptations of Evanovich's work, including the Fox and O'Hare books, have been in development at various points.