"One for the Money"

[stoutfellow]

One for the Money is the first of a series of detective novels by Janet Evanovich. The protagonist, Stephanie Plum, is a thirty-year-old divorcee who, as the book begins, has recently been laid off from her job as a discount lingerie buyer. Struggling to find a job in economically-depressed Trenton, NJ, she finally (and reluctantly) latches on with her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman. The filing job she came about has been filled, but there's always a need for skip tracers. Her first big task ("assignment" is the wrong word; Vinnie tries to keep her away from it) involves a cop accused of murder. The cop is an old - what? "Friend" doesn't do it; neither does "enemy", nor yet "acquaintance" - named Joe Morelli, and more than a match for her novice bounty-hunting skills. Not, however, for her determination, as she stumbles into the middle of his own investigation, involving - well, I won't say more, so as not to spoil it, except to mention the psychopathic boxer and his pathetic manager...

It looks to be a fun series. Stephanie's growing pains, as she tries to get used to her new profession, provide much of the interest; obviously, that can't continue for too long into the series, but I'll take it while it lasts. She's no Nora Charles, nor a Miss Marple either, coming as she does from a gritty blue-collar ethnic background. She's not an Amazon, though; when she gets in over her head, she panics (as anyone normal would), although not so much as not to get out again. Her relationship with Morelli seems likely to play a major role in future books; it's too complicated to describe in a brief review, but it's more than a little amusing.

I'm definitely going to continue with this series.

Comments

[filkferengi]

A lot of the listies get a big kick out of the Evanovich books; if you post your review over there, you'd probably generate some friendly discussion [don't forget to allow for the weekend slowdown].

The first one didn't click with me either, but that was one try a while back. On a different day, who knows?

Do you know if there're any short stories? That might be a better intro, without the implied commitment of a full novel.

Congruent as we are in some ways, there'll always be differences. For example, hornedhopper & I both enjoy Julia Spencer-Fleming, but I've only read them once, because the first reading was so intense & visceral. Going by the author list, I'd suspect she has a higher tolerance for violence than I do, whereas I have a higher preference for puns. [shrug] It's still a fun discussion.