**Content Warnings at the End**
I have now reached double digits in my quest to read all the Stephanie Plum series. As there are over thirty in the series now, I am a long way off, but progress is progress. Now, I love these books because they are very easy brain-off reads, each one formulaic in a comforting way. However, they are not all going to be winners, and this is probably one of my least favorite ones I have read so far. There was just something missing from this novel. Also, I listened to some of it via audiobook, and I think that impacted my enjoyment of this story.
Ten Big Ones follows Bond Enforcement Agent Stephanie Plum as she attempts to make enough money finding people who skipped out on their bond to pay rent. That is not as big of an issue for Stephanie right now because she is staying with her on-again off-again boyfriend, and Trenton Cop, Joe Morelli. Stephanie also had a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is how she saw the Red Devil’s face when one of his robberies went wrong. Now, his gang has a hit out for her, and Stephanie is finding it hard to find a safe place to lay her head, especially after she has a fight with Joe and is shifted into off-again. With limited options, Stephanie ends up staying somewhere that feels unsafe for completely different reasons, Ranger’s apartment, until the heat is off.
My biggest issue with this novel is that I felt as if I waited the entire time for the plot to actually start. The first chapter started off with a bang, but then there is no hunt, just Stephanie stumbling into seeing the Red Devil and then identifying him by accident. There is always a level of slapstick comedy in these books, and Stephanie has a lot of luck, but in this novel, it seemed more like she was just waiting around for something to happen. Now, it makes sense that Stephanie is not looking for the individuals attempting to kill her, though she has in multiple other novels, but there were no other skips or mysteries to solve. It was a book of Stephanie hiding and being mad that the people in her life were attempting to keep her safe, though she hates it.
As there are another 20+ books in this series, the fact that I am already getting a little bored with the love triangle between Morelli, Ranger, and Stephanie is probably not a good sign. While Stephanie even states that she is being ridiculous when she gets mad at both Ranger and Morelli attempting to keep her safe, it doesn’t stop her from yelling at them. She also makes so many stupid decisions in this novel, above and beyond the other novels, that put her in danger numerous times.
Now to the audiobook. This is nothing against the narrator because she actually did really well with all of the white characters in the novel. However, listening to her read Lula and Ranger’s lines was painful. She is reading them the way that they are written, but as they are POC, it felt uncomfortable. This is a very personal issue, and perhaps I am being too sensitive about this, but I think it impacted my enjoyment of this novel. At least I know not to listen to any of the audiobooks in the future.
Overall, this book was just boring to me, which is not something that I say about Stephanie Plum books. This is a 2.5-star read rounded up to a 3. I gave this four stars the last time I read it, but as I didn’t write a review, I have no idea what I liked so much about it before. Onward to book eleven.
**Content Warnings**
Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Threats of Rape