- Paperback
- Publisher: Penguin Books Australia (Nov 1 1996)
- ISBN-10: 014025983X
- ISBN-13: 978-0140259834
- Shipping Weight: 503 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (371 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Stephanie Plum is so smart, so honest, and so funny that her narrative charm could drive a documentary on termites. But this tough gal from New Jersey, an unemployed discount lingerie buyer, has a much more interesting story to tell: She has to say that her Miata has been repossessed and that she's so poor at the moment that she just drank her last bottle of beer for breakfast. She has to say that her only chance out of her present rut is her repugnant cousin Vinnie and his bail-bond business. She has to say that she blackmailed Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond recovery job worth $10,000 (for a murder suspect), even though she doesn't own a gun and has never apprehended a person in her life. And she has to say that the guy she has to get, Joe Morelli, is the same creep who charmed away her teenage virginity behind the pastry case in the Trenton bakery where she worked after school.
If that hard-luck story doesn't sound compelling enough, Stephanie's several unsuccessful attempts at pulling in Joe make a downright hilarious and suspenseful tale of murder and deceit. Along the way, several more outlandish (but unrelentingly real) characters join the story, including Benito Ramirez, a champion boxer who seems to be following Stephanie Plum wherever she goes.
Janet Evanovich shares an authentic feel for the streets of Trenton in her debut mystery (she developed her talents in a string of romance novels before creating Ms. Plum), and her tough, frank, and funny first-person narrator offers a winning mix of vulgarity and sensitivity. Evanovich is certainly among the best of the new voices to emerge in the mystery field of the 1990s. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
First novels this funny and self-assured come along rarely; dialogue this astute and raunchy is equally unusual. The gutsy heroine introduced here is Stephanie Plum of Trenton, N.J., a recently laid-off lingerie buyer who has no job, no car and no furniture. She does have a hamster, a deranged grandmother, two caring parents and several pairs of biking shorts and sports bras. Finding work with her cousin Vinnie, she becomes a bond hunter and scrounges money enough to buy a gun, a Chevy Nova and some Mace. Her first assignment is to locate a cop accused of murder. Joe Morelli grew up in Stephanie's neighborhood. Possessed of legendary charm, he relieved Stephanie of her virginity when she was 16 (she later ran over him with a car). In her search, Stephanie catches her prey, loses him and grills a psychotic prizefighter, the employer of the man Morelli shot. She steals Morelli's car and then installs an alarm so he can't steal it back. Resourceful and tough, Stephanie has less difficulty finding her man than deciding what she wants to do with him once she's got him. While the link between the fighter and the cop isn't clear until too late in the plot, Evanovich's debut is a delightful romp and Stephanie flaunts a rough-edged appeal. Mystery Guild alternate; author tour; film rights optioned to Tri-Star.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Blast!,
By Jessica Jones (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: One for the Money (Mass Market Paperback)
Stephanie Plum is a modern woman. She's smart and sassy. She finds herself in completely ridiculous yet surprisingly logical situations. She works her butt off to pay the rent. And she manages to resist a sexy, dangerous cop, do her job, and keep her integrity, which means she'll never show up on Ricky Lake or Jerry Springer, but that's fine with me! ONE FOR THE MONEY is a mystery set in New Jersey in a neighborhood referred to as "the burg." Stephanie is poor and desperate for a job as she recently lost her position as a lingerie salesperson. Her mother suggests she contact "Cousin Vinnie," a bond agent who is looking for help. She agrees to become a bounty hunter. She goes from selling underwear to toting guns, pepper spray, and a stun gun to track down hardened criminals. Did I mention that she is desperate? Her first job is to bring in a cop on the run, a man who is dangerous, and who, as an 8-year old boy once talked little Stephanie into letting him play "choo-choo" in her panties. He's a tough-as-nails vice cop who is wanted for murder. She agrees to chase him down because the money is irresistible, but it's a big job for her very first time out. I don't want to give too much away -- it is, after all, a mystery. On to my opinions . . . The book is written in first-person, which I have found to be annoying in other books, but it works great for Evanovich's tales. As I read through the story, which goes REALLY FAST, I found myself feeling like I was Stephanie and whenever she was scared, angry, or amused, I was right there with her. ONE FOR THE MONEY has some of the craziest, most colorful secondary characters that I've ever met. Grandma Mazur is her -- yes, you guessed it! -- grandma, but is like none other on the earth. Her mother could drive anyone to drink, but her concern for Stephanie is apparent to everyone throughout the book. Lula the hooker is an interesting person that makes you think Stephanie is actually quite normal. Ranger, the seasoned bounty hunter who pulls Stephanie's butt out of trouble through the book, is quite a guy. I took a chance and deviated away from my usual reading choices -- usually pure romance. I was blown away by the quality writing and hysterical scenes in Evanovich's debut book. I can't wait to read more about Ms. Plum and the burg from hell. Pick up a copy of ONE FOR THE MONEY. You'll be glad you did. Another book I need to recommend -- very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, an odd, strangely entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frosy from Books Like Fairytales >> [...],
By
This review is from: One for the Money (Mass Market Paperback)
I finally met Stephanie Plum. I had been hearing about these books but never really got around reading them until now. There are 16 books so far and One For The money is the first one.We meet Stephanie Plum when she loses her job as a lingerie buyer, desperate to find a new one. She's behind on her rent and her car has just been taken away. Not knowing where to turn, she goes to her cousin Vinnie who owns a bail-bond business. She bacically blackmails Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond job worth $10.000 even though she doesn't know anything about law enforcement and is afraid to use her new gun. Even if this wasn't enough for Stephanie, now she has to put her emotions in control because the guy she's looking for is a suspect for murder and she knows him very well. She once ran her car over him. I had hard time figuring out what this book is. Is it crime? Mystery? Comedy? I think they it's all of them. The story is a page turner and Stephanie is such a fun person. The chemistry between her and Joe Morelli was fantastic. I definitely want to see more of them.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun book!,
This review is from: One for the Money (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is such a fun book to read. When you need a mental break, it's a good read. I guess the only drawback (since I didn't give it a full 5 stars) was that it drags on a little bit. But, maybe I'm just an impatient person.
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