Hot Six is Janet Evanovich's sixth novel about Stephanie Plum,a formerlingerie buyer, forced through redundancy to take on a job as a bail enforcement agent, which is a polite way of saying a bounty hunter. The setting for all six of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels is a part of Trenton, New Jersey, known as the Burg. In Hot Six, the Burg is described thus: The Burg is a residential chunk of Trenton with one side bordering on Chambersburg Street and the other side stretching to Italy. Tastykakes and olive loaf are staples in the Burg. "Sign language" refers to a stiff middle finger jabbed skyward. Houses are modest. Cars are large. Windows are clean.

The Burg is a very close community, based on extended families. As Evanovich writes in High Five: "no one ever really leaves the Burg. You could relocate in Antarctica, but if...