In writing crime fiction in the first person, Evanovich places herself in a long tradition of American writers, of whom the most famous is probably Raymond Chandler. In Chandler's novels, his protagonist, the private eye Philip Marlowe, is a hard drinker, a loner, cynical about women and love, and very competent at his job. He always moves one step ahead of the police to bring the guilty to justice, and this is especially evident in The Lady in the Lake (1944). Part of the delight in reading Evanovich comes from her self-conscious sending up of this hard-boiled school of writing. When Marlowe is having difficulties, he turns to Old Forester whisky for comfort: when Stephanie finds herself in dire straits, she turns to Boston Creme doughnuts. Marlowe is a loner, a ghostly figure in the background, whose life is never complicated by personal relationships: Stephanie is constantly...