In the sixth volume of the Stephanie Plum series, our heroine finds herself in deep bounty hunter trouble. With 3 FTAs to go after, only one of whom is a homicidal maniac, she has to harden her sensibilities enough to bring in the bad guys, even if it means shooting someone (in the foot) or dragging someone out of the shower. Stephanie finally realizes that she has to rely on her instincts, which are often right. She is still somewhat bumbling, but her diligence in following up on clues that lead her in circles sees her figuring out the truth. 
 The one monkey wrench in this book is that Ranger, Stephanie's mentor in the bounty hunter business, is one of the people that She is asked to bring in. Since she knows she has no hope of bringing Ranger in, Stephanie wisely declines the job and gets to watch her nemesis Joyce flail around as she tries the impossible.