One for the Money (Janet Evanovich)

Summary:
Stephanie Plum is a woman living in Trenton, NJ, and she's just lost her job. She can barely pay her rent, let alone car payments or anything else. She's dying for any job she can get her hands on. When she goes to her cousin's office to interview for a filing job, and finds the position filled, she is willing to do anything. That's when her cousin's secretary tells her there's an open spot for a bounty hunter. Stephanie jumps at the chance when she hears how much she'll get for the job. The added bonus is that she'll be bringing in the one guy that's humiliated her all her life. Little does she know that she's way over her head in the bounty hunting business, and there's more to her case than meets the eye.

Thoughts:
Oh my God, I loved this. I read it two sittings, because I couldn't put it down. (The only time I did was because it was well past midnight, and my eyes were more closed than open.) It's not only a fast read, but it's funny as hell. I will say that it is very dated, considering it was originally written in 1994, when the eighties were only slightly uncool, and car phones were the new rage (Forget cell phones. Those weren't even thought of yet!) The fashion described for poor Stephanie sounds like a girl getting ready for an 80's party. But if you take all that in stride, and remember a time when cell phones weren't available to call for help from a dark alley, you'll be fine. I will admit that when Stephanie first gets into trouble when she's out and about in the city, and she needs help, my first reaction is "use your cell phone and call someone," but then I checked myself, checked the publishing date, and laughed. But it really is a fun read, and I look forward to getting into the series. As a girl from Jersey, I appreciate and understand a lot of the "New Jersey attitude" that Stephanie and the rest of the characters exude. And even 18 year old jokes about Jersey's lack of gardens make me smile. I highly suggest this book, and probably the series. Besides, although I plan to see it no matter how bad it supposedly is, I hear the book is way better than the movie. I just hope it's set in 90's Jersey, not 2010's Jersey. It would be so much more interesting! Be warned, once I start really getting my hands on these books, you'll be hearing about them endlessly until I'm through, just like the rest of the series I've powered through.

Book 19 of 50

Pages: 352
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Definitely. And it doesn't hurt that it's the first in the series either!