Butterfield Institute
psychological thriller
Series · thriller
Barnaby and Hooker
The Barnaby and Hooker series by Janet Evanovich has 2 known books (2 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Metro Girl (2004). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Motor Mouth.
- Books
- 2 known books (2 novels)
- Published
- 2
- First published
- 2004
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: Metro Girl (2004) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Metro Girl
Metro Girl is the novel that opens Barnaby and Hooker, Janet Evanovich's series, first published in 2004. The series runs to 2 books in this catalogue; from here it continues with Motor Mouth.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Metro Girl - Book 2:
Motor Mouth
Motor Mouth is the 2nd entry in Barnaby and Hooker, by Janet Evanovich, published in 2006 at 276 pages. It follows Metro Girl in this catalogue's reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Motor Mouth
About the Barnaby and Hooker series
Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby is a laid-off Miami auto mechanic turned amateur investigator who ropes hotshot NASCAR driver Sam Hooker into helping her track down her missing, possibly criminal uncle and a fortune in sunken Cuban treasure. Metro Girl and its sequel Motor Mouth are Evanovich's venture into NASCAR-flavored romantic suspense: fast cars, insurance-fraud schemes, and a slow-burn will-they-won't-they between Barney and Hooker that runs on the same comic chemistry as Stephanie Plum and Ranger, transplanted from Trenton bail bonds to the Daytona/Miami racing circuit. Hooker's celebrity-driver ego and Barney's blue-collar practicality generate the same fish-out-of-water banter Evanovich fans expect, wrapped around plots that lean more caper-thriller than straight mystery.
Published in 2004 and 2006, the two novels stand as a complete prose duology; Evanovich continued Barney and Hooker's story afterward in Troublemaker, a graphic novel published by Dark Horse Comics rather than prose fiction, which this site does not track as a book entry. No further prose novels featuring the characters have followed. Readers who enjoy Evanovich's Jersey wisecracking but want a change of setting -- speedway garages and sunbaked Florida instead of Trenton -- are the natural audience here.
Frequently asked questions
How many Barnaby and Hooker books are there?
Two prose novels: Metro Girl (2004) and Motor Mouth (2006), also marketed as the Alexandra Barnaby series.
What order should I read them in?
Publication order: Metro Girl, then Motor Mouth.
Is there a third Barnaby and Hooker novel?
No further prose novel followed Motor Mouth; the story continued only in the graphic novel Troublemaker, published by Dark Horse Comics.
Is Barnaby and Hooker connected to Stephanie Plum?
No, separate characters and setting (NASCAR racing rather than Trenton bail bonds), though it shares Evanovich's comic, banter-driven style.
Who is Sam Hooker?
A NASCAR driver who partners with -- and squabbles and flirts with -- mechanic Alexandra Barnaby across both novels.
If you like the Barnaby and Hooker series
Reading order last verified .