Monday, March 23, 2009

Audiobook Review: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich





The following is a summary of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich from her website:

Watch out, world. Here comes Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.

She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six.

Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. Her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case.

Out of work and out of money, with her Miata repossessed and her refrigerator empty, Stephanie blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, fearless bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook.

Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli is also the irresistible macho pig who took Stephanie's virginity at age sixteen and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. There's still powerful chemistry between these two, so the chase should be interesting.

It could also be extremely dangerous, especially when Stephanie encounters a heavyweight title contender who likes to play rough. Benito Ramirez is known for his brutality to women. At the very least, his obsession with Stephanie complicates her manhunt and brings terror and uncertainty into her life. At the worst, it could lead to murder.

My Review:

Oh my goodness, I just loved this book! I'm sure that there was always something that made me laugh as I was listening to this in my car. Stephanie Plum is down on her luck, out of money and needs a job fast! She goes to see her cousin Vinny intending to get an office job as a file clerk, but somehow ends up starting a new career as a bounty hunter!

As Stephanie is so broke, many of her possesions have been repossessed, so she decides to start off by trying to apprehend a pretty high-profile suspect. Joe Morelli is a former cop and love interest of Stephanie's that she must bring in to earn the handsome fee of $10,000. Morelli is accused of murder, but as Stephanie continues her search for him, new evidence regarding the murder scene becomes revealed.


There are so many twists and turns in this novel that you start to wonder what could possibly happen to Stephanie next. At one point Stephanie decides to 'borrow' Morelli's car to help her finish her job. When Morelli realizes that she has stolen his car he breaks into her apartment while she is taking a shower and handcuffs her to a towel rack. This just had me laughing away on my drive to work. When someone else decides to steal Morelli's car from Stephanie, it is quite a shock when the car explodes right in front of her apartment building. At this point Stephanie has come to realize that there is probably more to the Morelli case than meets the eye.


As I usually do when reading a mystery, I found myself trying to figure out who could have committed the murder if Morelli didn't do it. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I was surprised by who the culprit turned out to be. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books in this series.

In the genre of a comical, mystery, thriller I am going to rate this book:
5/5

12 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I read the book and really enjoyed it too.

Serena said...

I snapped this one out of the library's audio section this week, but we started on Naughty Neighbor first.

Unknown said...

I also listened to this one on audi. And I have to say i enjoyed it much more this way. I tried reading it once and just couldn't get through it. I think that I'll listen to all fourteen of them.

Luanne said...

I've read them all but have never listened to them. Finger Lickin' Fifteen is set to release in June I think. You really can't read just one...

Debbie said...

Stephanie Plumb is my favorite! I want to be her. I've read them all.... you should too.

Anonymous said...

I've listened to the first two in this series on audio - the second one is even funnier than the first!

Anonymous said...

I love Stephanie Plum and remeber listening to this one in the car with my husband. He enjoyed it too.

Blodeuedd said...

I love, I adore Evanovich. I can't stop laughing and smiling when I read her books :)

I really hope they make a movie :D

Laura's Reviews said...

I love Stephanie Plum and this series. I've only made it up to 11 and don't want to read the last few and not have one around to read when I need a laugh. I bet the audio version of this would be great. I'll have to check it out sometime!

Missy B. said...

Thanks for stopping by my page! I am new to this and would welcome any comments/constructive criticism anyone may have. :)

PS....this book is in my To Be Read Pile.

Lisa (Southern Girl Reads) said...

I haven't read any of her books, but your review makes me eant to pick one up. I'm a fan of the Nancy Martin mysteries so i'd probably like this too!

Debbie said...

Gotta love that Stephanie Plumb!