January 25, 2016

Book Review || One for the Money

Original 1994 hardcover
One for the Money
Stephanie Plum, Book 1
Janet Evanovich

Originally Published: 1994
Review Edition: 2012

Penguin, Format B paperback, 290p.
ISBN: 978-0-241-95703-5
 


Winner of the Crime Writer’s Association John Creasy Memorial Dagger

Stephanie Plum is down on her luck.  She’s lost her job, her car’s on the brink of repossession, and her apartment is fast becoming furniture-free.

Enter Cousin Vinnie, a low-life who runs a bail-bond company.  If Stephanie can bring in vice cop turned outlaw Joe Morelli, she stands to pick up $10,000.  But tracking down a cop wanted for murder isn’t easy.  And when Benito Ramirez, a prize-fighter with more menace than mentality, wants to be her friend Stephanie soon knows what its like to be pursued.  Unfortunately the best person to protect her just happens to be on the run. . .










First off, I can't believe that it's been over 10 years since I picked up my first Stephanie Plum book, and over 20 since Stephanie Plum first burst onto the scene in One for the Money!  I wanted to re-read One for the Money for the first time in over 8 years, to see what I think of it.  Has it aged well, or is it just a product of it's time?


What I love about this book (and the series) is that Stephanie is a just a woman.  No superpowers, or kickass abilities.  She screws up - a lot! - and makes a complete fool of herself at times, but she's also warm and funny.  Her attempts to snag FTAs, Morelli in this instance, are just laughable.  She has to be the most inept bounty hunter in history.  She doesn't like guns, has no clue as to how to take down an FTA, but she can lie through her teeth without blinking an eyelash - perhaps her most valuable skill.