Title: One for the Money
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publishing Date: 1994
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses
One for the Money is the first book in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Stephanie is a 30 year old divorcee who has lost her job as a lingerie buyer for the department store, E.E. Martin. She has been out of work for six months and is down to her last penny. Her car has just been repossessed and she needs a job fast. Her cousin Vinnie owns a bail bonding company and Stephanie takes the Morelli case. If she can land Joe Morelli she will get $10,000. There are a few complications, though. For one thing Joe is a vice-cop wanted for murder. The other is that Joe and Stephanie have quite a history together and none of it favorable. So Stephanie is off on an adventure of a lifetime and hopes that she has what it takes to be a successful bounty hunter. Her livelihood depends on it.
One for the Money is a fast, action packed read. There is lots of humor, plenty of suspense and a hint of romance. Stephanie narrates the book in first person and she is a riot. She is a Jersey girl and it comes across the pages loud and clear. She has big frizzy hair and wears spandex. I got the biggest kick out her. She has so many one-liners and zingers, plus her descriptions of people and things are right on target. I laughed out loud repeatedly while reading this book.
One thing I laughed about is Stephanie’s clothing choices. Now, I don’t know if this was intentional or not by Ms. Evanovich, but Stephanie has terrible outdated taste in clothing. She wears a lot of spandex, Reeboks with big socks and over sized tee shirts that hang off one shoulder. Now, is it just me or does this scream Flashdance? This book was published in 1994, so I wasn’t sure what the reason was for the outdated clothing. Anyway, I just had to mention it.
The mystery was good. I will say this aspect of the book was more gruesome than I was expecting. Stephanie really gets into some trouble and gets hurt more than once. Someone even dies and it surprised me. I wasn’t expecting such heavy material for such a light book. All in all, I really enjoyed the book and read it in one day. I will definitely be sticking with this series.
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10 comments:
Love this book! I'm so glad you did too! I was a very loyal fan until the 10th one. It just got redundant. The best books in my humble opinion are 4, 5 and 6.
I can't even think about this book without starting to smile! The first scene that instantly comes to mind is Grandma and the chicken but there are others! I read this book 4 and a half years ago so I think that that is saying something in itself!
I love this whole series -- it takes a lot for a book to get me to laugh out loud, but every book in this series has done so. I love the characters, and I love the journey that Stephanie is on.
Hehe, I'm LOL'ing so hard right now. I'm thinking of Grandma Mazur shooting the chicken! LOLOLOLOL.
I'm curious, what makes this book a B+ rather than an A for you?
So far I've turned 3 people onto this series at work - and I'm working on more. While her later books aren't quite up to par with her earlier ones, you're at the beginning and they just keep getting funnier and funnier.
Yay, I am glad these books are so good and I can't believe I am just now getting into them.
Seneca, The reason this book was a B+ instead of an A is because there wasn't much romance. Also, I thought Stephanie made some bonehead decisions that boardered on TSTL. But all that aside, I still thought it was excellent and I can't wait to read more.
I've always wanted to read this series. I've heard it is fun and fast paced, yet still has substance. I also heard it takes place in NJ with a lot of humor that New Jerseyians could really relate to... but I'm not so sure I like the fashion reputation of this particular Jersey girl! LOL In the 1980s, yeah... but didn't everyone dress like that then?
Thanks for the review!
Christine, I would defintely recommend it. It was a really quick, entertaining read. I plan to continue on with the series. Hmmmm, I feel a series post coming on...
This series is not a romance. There are romantic elements, but you wont find a happily ever after until the very last book. (Which has not yet been written, and if I have it my way it wont be for a very long time. I love this series too much for it to end. :-)
Holly turned me onto these books, and after I read One for the Money I gobbled up the rest of them in about 2 months, lol. I can't wait for book 15!
I adore this series, too. I can't even think about Grandma Mazer or Stephanie without laughing out loud. So funny.
Glad you enjoyed this one and hope you enjoy the rest of the series just as much.
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