12 Sharp

Stephanie in Twelve Sharp reminded me of the lead in Women’s Murder Club, a Friday night drama on television. I watched a couple of times and liked the show but couldn’t stand the women who insisted on acting like a man in her attire, mannerisms, relationships, etc. Same as in the book, it felt as though the female cop or bounty hunter doesn’t really want to be so masculine but forces it for the sake of the role. The stories in the book and on TV are overshadowed by her presence.

Why can’t a women be portrayed in a role that has traditionally been considered a “man’s role” and do it her own way instead of trying to become just like one of the guys? The more I think about the book, the more I am convinced that if the detective were male, say Alex Cross from James Patterson’s novels, I would have enjoyed the book a great deal more. So, having said that, maybe I am allowing one irritating detail distort my opinion of the entire book.

The clever villain, Scrog, was entertaining. The background research he did that was the basis of the plot of the book was interesting. Transforming himself into another person and trying to turn Stephanie into his idea of what a female bounty hunter should be was a sexy twist. I also enjoyed how she kept getting beaten by Scrog, which was probably the most unexpected part of the book.

The two men were like the two sides of Stephanie. Both Ranger and Morelli embodied different personality traits of her. From additional research I did on the Plum series, it sounds like she goes back and forth about her feelings with each; Morelli always the boyfriend type and Ranger always the lustful escape from real life.