Customer Reviews

One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel

5 star:		(258)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I love stories with good humor & this is one of them. It's a light-hearted kind of mystery with a main character who is very likable. I'm in the middle of Two For the Dough which is just as good and I definitely plan to read the rest of the series.

Janet Evanovich's "One For The Money" is an exceptional mystery cum romance, with extraordinary humor, (guaranteed to brighten the darkest mood), and originality. Once I began to read this book, the first in a series, I could not put it down.
Stephanie Plum, our heroine, is down on her luck, unemployed, divorced, sans money and car & culturally-challenged, being born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. Hey, I'm originally from NJ, so I am allowed to say that! She does have the option to move back in with her parents, but the very thought of going home again causes her eyes to twitch uncontrollably. Steph's cousin Vinnie, an easily blackmailable sex maniac, owns a bail bonding company. Stephanie "persuades" him to hire her as a bounty hunter, novice that she is. Her first job - Joseph Morelli, who is FTA, Failed To Appear...he's skipped bail!

Now, Joseph Morelli, a sexy hunk and ex-cop, on the run from a murder charge, and our Stephanie have a history that goes way back to childhood. When she was six years old and the precocious Morelli was just a few years older, he taught her to play "choo-choo" in the Morelli garage. When she was 16 she lost her virginity to Morelli on the floor of the Tasty Pastry Bakery, after working hours, and then didn't see him again for 3 years. When she finally did see him, 36 months later, hanging on the corner of Giovichinni's Meat Market, she ran him over with her father's Buick. He lived to tell the tale.

Ms. Evanovich also introduces us to a cast of wonderfully outrageous characters who continue to populate her subsequent books: Ranger, a 2nd generation Cuban American, ex-Special Forces, creative genius of a bounty hunter...and also very hunky, especially when wearing his all black outfit with leather accessories; Ramirez, a psychopathic prize fighter who is too scary to be much fun; Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's maternal grandmother, and a pistol-packin,' roller blading clotheshorse she is! Fortunately, she is probably the majority contributor to Stephanie's gene pool; Lula, a 250 pound-plus hooker, who aspires to be a bounty hunter & is working on her resume; etc.

And of course there's the mystery...because this is a mystery. But I won't spoil that for you. Just run to your local library, bookstore...or Amazon.com, of course, & get this chock-full of great reading gem of a book. Also, beware!! Janet Evanovich has 8 more Stephanie Plum books on the market to date, and you won't want to miss any of them - they're as addictive as Giorgio Kostantinos--"The Quest"!

I've heard people rave about the Stephanie Plum series for several years. The other day at the library I decided to pick up One For the Money to see what the fuss was about. I found the book a light and quick read. It was witty, hilarious, angering, and just plain old fun to read. The characters are well defined and believable. This was my first Plum book but not my last. I already have Two for the Dough in que at the library.

I liked Plum, she is the antihero heroine, funny, different, a Jersey girl just trying to pay the bills. This was read in an afternoon and is a good book for an airplane or the beach but frankly I like Jamie Burke's books better. I will read the next one but probably not more. I am not quite getting the enthusiasm about these books.

i am an avid reader of james patterson's books but i decided to venture off and read a new author when this book landed in my hands. this book was a really quick read....the pages just kept turning. i couldnt put it down. the storyline just kept you guessing and wanting to read more. if you like this book then you should really read a book by james patterson!

I picked up One for the Money and could not put it down! Before I was finished reading it, I ordered the rest of the books in the Plum "number" series.

Not a big mystery fan, I was pleasantly surprised at the light humor, the well-laid out plot and the likable characters. Maybe they weren't deep, and they didn't have the answers to the mysteries of the universe, but they were so much fun. I also loved the sparks that flew between Stephanie and Morelli -- just enough sexual tension to round out this novel. It's one of my favorite books so far this year!

THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTINGLY FUNNY MYSTERY NOVELS I HAVE READ IN A VERY LONG TIME. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED MYSTERIES BUT THIS NOVEL WAS DIFFERENT. IT WAS HILARIOUS TO READ AND HAD MANY TWISTS MAKING THE READER WONDER WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. THIS BOOK WAS SO GREAT I HAVE BOUGHT AND READ ALL OF THE SERIES AND I AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR BOOK 10. I RECOMMEND THESE NOVELS TO FRIEND WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A FUN, EASY READ. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY AS MUCH AS I HAVE!