Book Review: One For The Money by Janet Evanovich

One For The Money by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin’s Paperback Edition
320 pages
2003

I see Janet Evanovich books everywhere. Which is understandable given she now has 12 books in the Stepanie Plum series. After reading One For The Money, I can understand her success.

Stephanie Plum is an out-of-work lingerie buyer who, out of desperation and one step ahead of eviction, takes a job with her cousin, Vinnie, as a bounty hunter. Her first case is that of Joseph Morelli, the smooth-talking, sexy, trouble maker from her high school days. The grown up Morelli is a wanted criminal, possibly guilty of cold-blooded murder and a cop too. Along the way, Stepanie is assisted by Ranger, a fellow bounty hunter who reminded me a great deal of Dog, the Bounty Hunter, assorted friends in the burg, which is what she calls the section of Trenton she lives in, and after proving to be an unequaled pain-in-the-ass, Morelli himself. She also encounters a series of bad guys, from the harmless drunk who becomes her first bounty, to the seriously insane champion boxer, Ramirez.

I enjoyed Evanovich’s writing style. But, I’m a fan of first person. She keeps the story moving, doesn’t throw in curves that make no sense, and keeps her characters believable. The ending makes sense, wraps the story up, but leaves you wanting more. I was, however, able to figure out the bad guy of the story but that’s not a problem for me.

Her description of Ramirez gave me a creepy feeling:

There was something about the density of his eyes, black holes where everything gets sucked in, and nothing comes out, that suggested a hiding place for evil. And the smile, a little goofy, a little sick in its sweetness, hinting of insanity.

I find many books funny, but few have actually made me laugh out loud. Evanovich did it several times. The biggest laugh was towards the end, between Stephanie and Morelli, but quoting it would be too big a spoiler. Here’s another example that had me chuckling. It’s between Stephanie and Ranger, after Ranger has had to come to her rescue when Morelli handcuffs her to her shower curtain rod:

"Picked the lock. Didn’t think it prudent to wake up the super." He looked over at my window. Rain was spattering on the dark pane, and a piece of torn screen draped over the sill. "I only do the Spiderman shit in nice weather."

"Morelli wrecked my screen."

"Guess he in a hurry."

"I’ve noticed you only talk ghetto half of the time."

"I’m multilingual," Ranger said.

I followed him out the door, feeling jealous, wishing I knew a second language.

My favorite line has to do with Stephanie’s reaction to a phone call from Ramirez:

Fear is not a logical emotion.

There were two things that were bothersome - Evanovich’s constant references to her "pocketbook". With all that Stephanie carries in said pocketbook, it must be the size of a backpack, and Stephanie’s constant need to turn to men, whether it’s Ranger or Morelli or another male friend, for help. Hopefully in the following books she becomes a little less dependent.

Rating: It’s a keeper and I’ll be adding the others to it.