One for the Money

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Summary: Taut Crime Story Filled with Offbeat Comedy and Romance
Review: This book is simply the best first crime novel I have ever read. The characters, plotting, pacing, and writing all reflect years of experience by Evanovich as a romance writer. I have read three other books in the series, and this one exceeds the others in overall quality. That's most unusual in a series. Usually, they start slow, get better, and then slide downhill as the author overworks the formula. Even if you don't like female detection stories, you will like this one! If you are like me, you will read it in one quick sitting!

Stephanie Plum is an original character in crime fiction, and an appealing one. You'll be rooting for her to get the bad guy (and the good guys, too) every step of the way!

She has a toughness, yet vulnerability, that charm more than repel. She's pursuing the American Dream in her own unique way by doing whatever it takes to succeed, but trying to be a decent person while she does it.

To understand how good the plot is imagine the writer's problem: You take an unemployed former discount lingerie buyer in a crime-ridden department store, and turn her into a successful bounty hunter in one book, without having everyone think the story is ridiculous. Naturally, Stephanie Plum isn't very good at doing something that is hard to do, and that she hasn't done before. Her learning is turned into wonderful comedic episodes. But gradually she gets better, and I was very excited for her.

The story itself works at several levels. There is the surface one of Stephanie becoming a bounty hunter to escape total poverty (her car is repossessed early in the book, she has sold most of her furniture and her apartment is at risk). To get a job, she blackmails her cousin (threatening him with exposure to his wife for his very kinky sex habits) into giving her the task of bringing in Joe Morelli, a cop up on charges of killing an unarmed man. Even this conditional assignment is hers to lose, and she has to keep at it to get other assignments. No one in her life wants her to be a bounty hunter, but her.

The second level is the development of a romance with Morelli. The two have a relationship from their youth. Morelli played choo-choo between her legs at age 6 and did more than that in high school before leaving for the Navy. When Stephanie next saw him, she ran over him with her car because he never called again, and left a note about his second deed in the rest room of a restaurant. Stephanie is able to find Morelli quite often, but cannot subdue him. Pretty soon, he's looking for her. The scenes and by-play will appeal to all who like romance with their crime.

The third level of the story is about Stephanie learning the bounty hunting trade. She gets lots of help, and you'll like the other characters who help her. All of them repeat in important ways in future stories. Ranger (Stephanie's mentor) and Lula (Stephanie's future sidekick) make indelible impressions.

The fourth level of the story is Stephanie's relationship with her family. They want her to be 'normal' and she does just enough of that to get free food at the family dinner table. This is a wonderful story of becoming independent in a traditional family.

The fifth level of the story is a mystery of about who did what to whom, leading up to Morelli's killing of the 'unarmed' man. Morelli claims the man was armed, and that there was a witness. He is avoiding jail to find a way to show his innocence, and tries to persuade Stephanie to help him.

The sixth level of the story is about a sexual sadist who decides he wants to have his way with Stephanie. This side of the story is dark, and takes a valuable look at the problems such people present to women everywhere.

Evanovich brings all the strings together into a tidy package at the end. Her plot resolution is excellent. Yet she leaves lots of areas where you'd like to see and know more. Fortunately, you have five more novels to read right away.

I also recommend that you continue with the series. Although the future books are not as balanced and outstanding as this one, they are fine stores of crime and romance in the comedic vein.

On a personal note, there is a lesson here for us all about the untapped potential we have to do more than we think we can. Taking on a major goal is the starting point. Usually, we wait until we have no choice but to get better. However, we have the choice to decide to get better whenever we choose. We can have more, be more, and have better relationships with others by deciding to do so. When sociologists study those who have accomplished the most in their lives, what they usually find is that these people had written goals that they stayed focused on. You can do that, too! I hope you will find this book inspirational in encouraging you to fulfill your purpose in life...

Rating:
Summary: Undie buyer learns how to shoot
Review: Being laid off in Trenton, NJ, means having to hock your stuff to pay the rent and buy gas, as well as endure family dinners (or starve) over at M&D's house. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so ex-discount lingerie buyer Stephanie Plum goes to work for cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman, as a skip tracer, i.e. a bounty hunter who retrieves those who've skipped bail.

In ONE FOR THE MONEY, author Janet Evanovich kick starts Stephanie's new career. Plum immediately jumps into the proverbial deep end by convincing a skeptical Vinnie to give her a chance at finding Joe Morelli, a local cop accused of murder. The finder's fee is 10 grand, and that'll buy a lot of chow nuggets for Rex, Stephanie's pet hamster.

Plum's considerable appeal lies in her complete ineptitude for her new career. (It doesn't help that she and Morelli have a "past". At six, she'd allowed Joe to play train under her skirt in Old Man Morelli's garage. At sixteen, Stephanie was relieved by Joe of her virginity behind the pastry counter at the bakery where she worked. At nineteen, she intentionally clipped Morelli with the right front fender of her Dad's Buick.) Within the first few days on the job, Plum finds Joe four times, but fails to make the bust, a tough assignment if your quarry leaves you buck naked, dripping wet, and handcuffed to your own shower curtain rod. Or your car keys have been tossed into the putrid muck at the bottom of a dipsy-dumpster.

Another source of amusement for the reader is Stephanie's family: Mom, Dad, and Grandma Mazur. The inspiration for Grandma might well have been Dorothy's mother Sophia on the TV series GOLDEN GIRLS.

ONE FOR THE MONEY was originally published in 1994. This paperback edition was published in 2003. In the intervening nine years, seven additional Stephanie Plum adventures have been added to the series. In the back of this edition, there's a brief synopsis of all eight novels to date, which also defines for each book the "Historic Moment", "New Characters Introduced", and "Automotive Factoid". It's apparent that Evanovich continues with the personalities introduced in ONE FOR THE MONEY, as well as bring in new ones. And Stephanie continues to have car problems.

I'm giving this first book in the series five stars because it's truly amusing and the Plum character is (for me, at this late date) fresh. Books written by formula to create a series sometimes become tiresome. TWO FOR THE DOUGH is on my shelf to be read. Once I hit two 3-stars in a row, I'm done. We'll see.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome! Loved it!
Review: A can't put down book! I've never laughed out loud while reading a book like this before! Stephanie Plum never gives up! I'm on to Two for the Dough next! Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Stephanie Plum is Quite a Character!
Review: This is the first of Janet Evanovich that I have read, and I enjoyed the book very much.

Stephanie Plum is down and out on her luck. She has no more money to pay her rent, and her poor old car is broken down. So who does she turn to when the going gets tough? Meet cousin Vinnie, bail bondsman. Stephanie figures it's nice work if you can get it-shagging bail jumpers for $10,000 a pop. So she joins up.

Her first assignment: apprehend Joe Morelli, who's a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. There's another bad guy, Ramirez, a cranky ex-prize fighter dogging her and a nasty habit she has of leaping first and looking later. If Stephanie doesn't look out, the first dead body in her future could be her own.

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Summary: all the fun of jersey, none of the icky smells
Review: Down-on-her-luck and recently unemployed Trenton girl, Stephanie Plum, blackmails her skeevy cousin Vinnie into giving her a job as a bond enforcement officer (aka bounty hunter) at his bonding agency. Her first case is to find and bring in sexy vice cop Joe Morelli, who she happened to accidentally and purely by chance run down with a Buick as a revenge-seeking teenager. Her case is complicated by Morelli's excellent fugitive skills and her not-so-good fugitive apprehension skills. Stephanie's adventure runs from Stark Street, the baddest of the bad part of Trenton, to her parents' cozy home in "the burg", where her mother spends a lot of time making the sign of the cross and wishing Steph could be more like her perfect sister, Valerie, who never blows up cars or has bad hair days. This book is full of hilarious one-liners, sexual tension, Hiaasen-esque kooky characters, and one heck of a heroine. Stephanie Plum does for bounty hunting what Bridget Jones did for being a functional single woman; she may be hopelessly inept, but she always has a good story.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best.....
Review: I did not know what to expect when I bought this book. I read it, I love it. I just did not want it to end even though I wanted to know how it all turned out. I recommend this book to everyone interested in an exciting read.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Janet Evanovich writes one good book. It is funny and fast paced and an excellant read. be prepared, though- read one, you'll want to read them all!

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Summary: Try not to eat or drink while reading this book!
Review: Mysteries are so popular today, and there seem to be so many different styles. One author writes police drama, and another PI cases. And then there are the many "themed" mysteries including cooking themes, antique themes, Native American themes, etc. And then there is Janet Evanovich with her Stephanie Plum series, which falls into the "hysterical" theme!

In One for the Money, we are introduced to Stephanie Plum. Stephanie lives in Trenton, NJ, was just laid off from her job as a lingerie buyer, and is desperate for work. Through a series of threats and blackmail, she gets her sleazy cousin Vinnie (who owns his own bail bond company) to hire her as a recovery agent. Of course she is clueless about being a bounty agent, and is given an especially tough job right off the bat-bringing in Joe Morelli, a vice-cop accused of murder.

The plot is a scream and it will have you laughing out loud (make sure not to eat or drink while you're reading). But the characters are what make this book, and they're characters that you could only find in Trenton! Grandma Mazur will have you in stitches. Also, while some mysteries showcase cops or PI's who are always on top of their game, Stephanie bumbles through her cases, which is probably more realistic in the long run. You will also enjoy the descriptions of Trenton-the row houses, the nosy neighbors, the stores, the big-haired girls in spandex, and especially, the food.

So, if you want to read one of the funniest mysteries around, start with Evanovich's One for the Money.

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Summary: Hilarious
Review: I'm an author of serious non-fiction, but I enjoy reading light-hearted novels. This is as good as it gets. Stephanie Plum is absolutely hilarious. I started reading this series in the middle (number four) because a friend loaned it to me. After reading numbers four, five, and six, I went back to read the first one. They are all monumentally funny. It's sometimes embarrassing when I crack up and others around me can hear!

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Summary: Smart Talking Bounty Hunter from Jersey! Woo Hoo!
Review: Growing up in New Jersey myself, I was thrilled to read about newly turned Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum, Hungarian-Italian from Trenton who previously worked for a lingerie company.
Hysterical and witty and so much fun you will wonder as I did, where I've been all these years NOT reading this series!
A friend of mine recommended this 11 book series (as of 2004) but I was a little skeptical, being that sometimes as you probably know, some 'comedies' tend to be 'unfunny.' Too much unbelievable action sequences and dialog that it makes you harumph and wonder what the author was thinking. I too thought this was one of this unfortunate group, but no way! This was one of the gems in the long, long line of comedy/action/mysteries. With a little romance thrown in for good measure, I enjoyed myself so much I went out and bought the entire series!
This is the first in the famous 'Plum Series'. Aptly titled 'One for the Money,' we meet Jersey talking Stephanie Plum. Frizzy hair and big bones from her mother's Hungarian side (although her mother and grandmother have dainty gypsy bones is beyond her) she inherited the plow driving peasant build.
Stephanie is a woman on a mission. Recently laid off from a job with a warehouse lingerie company, she is hurting for money. The solution? Her cousin Vinnie has a bail bonding business that does very well in Trenton and is looking for a filing clerk. Just the job she could use, but when she arrives, she is too late. The job's been filled. No worry, the assisant to Vinnie, Connie urges her to try Apprehension Agent...in other words? Bounty Hunter extrondianire.
Vinne is NOT happy and soon tries to discourage her. Stephanie is not having any of it, this could get her an easy $10,000 bucks! All she has to do? Find and bring in Joe Morelli...former vice cop on the run for murder. There's a catch though...Joe and Steph have a past...a very steamy and volatile past.
More problems arise when she confronted by a cranky ex-prze fighter who doesn';t like her snooping around in his 'nieghborhood' and the other Bounty Hunter called 'Ranger' who thinks Stepahnie is WAY out of her league.
Not to mention her mother who thinks all she needs is to check out Macy's and become a makeover girl and everything will be okay, right after she goes home to eat...because God knows she just doesn't eat enough. Her grandmother seems to think bounty hunting is 'neat' and wants to know everything! Her father is just waiting for everything to get quiet so he can read his paper in peace.
Funny funny funny...the mishaps this woman gets herself into and the things she encounters is just too much. Joe is [attractive] and very determined NOT to get caught. But yet, toying with Ms Plum has always been fun...he he he
A great read not to be missed! (...)