One for the Money by janet evanovich

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

I read this book after I saw the film adaptation when it came out to theaters which I enjoyed. The movie was what got me into the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich in the first place. It is about a girl named Stephanie Plum who works for her cousin Vinnie as a bail bondsman. She has some love interests, Morelli and the mysterious Batman-like character Ranger as well as bad people who mess with her when she gets in too deep. Cars Explode! What more can you want out of a action-packed romance series like this? Plus I like Grandma Mazur. She is funny. Definitely check it out. There are now 21 books in the series but this one started it all.

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i1d2k3

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Four stars for the entertainment factor, it’s not politically correct (the author is now 80), but my rating is not for that. It’s for the silliness and ease. Thanks to my work mate to get me on to something completely new! And that’s what it’s all about.

Stephanie Plum isn't the smartest tool in the shed, no money, no partner, no job. Stumbling into a bounty hunter position, her job becomes a fantastical idea of bringing in felons in promise of the 10% fee.

The audio made it farcical, silly and a bit all over the place, but I suppose she is just that. The narrator's voice had a good accent, showing her Jersey roots.

Those who want something more serious (and don't wish to talk about inappropriate sex stuff) should steer clear, but this suited me as I am having a busy, all over the place week, and missing chunks doesn't matter.

Refreshing it was to hear about answering machines, car alarms, appliance stores and the more simple times, pay phones, grandmothers in bad clothing. Add to the mayhem the 30 something year old woman that should have a little more in the fridge and in the bank, this makes for very light reading, for the right time. This will be a good filler where missing portions of text won't matter too much.

The sexual build up and chemistry was there in the end, I look forward to seeing her learn more and attain proper skills to solve mysteries and whatever bad stuff comes her way. That's if she does learn more.. I have a feeling this might all be about her fluffing her way through, but I will find out more I'm sure.

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Drakin09

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

10-01-2015 Buddy Re-Read

Just for the joy of it - mindless fun and reminiscing of old times:) Looking foreword to the series:)

This was great fun!!! Thanks to the BRG fro doing this together!!! I love shearing books that bring me joy with others! Every time you read one of the Plum books, the enjoyment is inevitable! Hope we can continue on:)

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RenaissanceOtaku

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

I've been seeing Evanovich books for years and not even once was I compelled to give them another look or find out if they were worth my time. I kind of regret it now.

This 1st book in the series about a female bounty hunter set in New Jersey ethnic neighborhood was quite a pleasure to read. The book was written about 15 years ago and definitely felt dated in many ways, especially in regards to "fashion" - spandex shorts, big hair, hoop earrings and all that. But the humor remained fresh, Plum/Morelli dynamic duo was a lot of fun to follow, and the mystery involving Hispanic and Italian gangsters, prostitutes, a crazy boxer and drugs was an original one.

I am not rushing into reading the 2nd book in the series, mostly because I don't want to overdose on them and there is like a million books in the series, so catching up is impossible. But I will definitely check the next book out whenever I am in a mood for a fast-paced funny mystery.

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Alternn

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this series at this point. I used to absolutely love it. Stephanie Plum is what got me reading again after not picking up a book for several years when my kids where little. I devoured every book in the series that was available and when a new one was released, I would drive to my local Borders to get a copy. I pushed these books on my mom and anyone else that would listen.

Several years ago, I stopped caring about this series. I realized that I could give a summary of just about any book in the series even if I hadn't read it yet.....because they are all the same. Yes there are small differences but the similarities are overwhelming. I bought this audiobook years ago and decided to pull it out because I wanted to feel a little bit of the magic before Stephanie Plum became boring.

I have read this book at least two or three times before listening to the audiobook. I even watched that horrible movie - at a theater. I know the story and I know it well. Unfortunately, I didn't feel any kind of magic this time. The story was okay. It has its moments for sure if you are looking for a little bit of silly fun in book form. It is really a pretty simple story without a whole lot of complexity to the mystery.

I didn't love the narration. C.J. Critt did a good job with Stephanie which was really the bulk of the story. I really didn't care for the voices used for the other characters in the book. I guess that I have a definite idea about what Ranger, Morelli, and the rest the gang should sound like and the reality of this audiobook just didn't measure up. Benito voice was just odd. Some of the voices used seemed so wrong to me that I found myself being pulled out of the story. I don't think that any of my issues were the fault of the narrator. I just went into the book with definite ideas of what I wanted to hear and this was just different. Not wrong...just different. I would listen to another book narrated by C.J. Critt.

I do think that readers looking for a fun silly story will enjoy the Stephanie Plum series. I have a lot of fond memories of reading these books but I don't think that I will be reading this one again. I may try the next book in the series soon to see if it works better for me because I really want to find some of the magic I felt years ago.

Initial Thoughts
I bought this audiobook years ago and decided that I should probably go ahead a listen to it. I have read the book at least twice but this was the first time I listened to any books in the series on audio. I used to love this series but it has lost a its magic for me. I was a bit underwhelmed by this audiobook and really didn't care for a lot of the voices used. It was silly at times but it just didn't feel all that funny this time around.

Full review to be posted soon.

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Zoomingale

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Excellent humorous mystery.

This is the first in a series about a girl who becomes a bounty hunter. She bungles everything but manages some success through it all. Her bungling and not-so-smart choices provide great comedy. I laughed out loud many times. This is not a romance novel. Sexual content: none for the main characters, but one of the "bad guys" is a rapist who uses violence and torture.

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doramaaprncss

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Ah, the '90's. Bike shorts, slouchy socks with high-top Reeboks, scrunchies, day-glow.

Stephanie Plum is a New Jersey '90's girl who is out of work. She finagles her way into working for her cousin who is a bail-bondsman. Her job is to catch this guy who took her virginity and she's known most of her life, and turn him into the police. He was a cop who supposedly shot an unarmed man and he skipped out on his bail. If she catches him, she will get $10,000. And, she is pretty desperate for money. Like, sold-all-of-her-stuff, no-food-to-eat desperate.

But, Stephanie is completely out of her league and has no idea what she is doing. This makes for much hilarity as she bumbles and stumbles her way around. She has no trouble finding the guy - Morelli, it's just that she's not exactly sure how to bring him in.

n "He left."

"Shit," Ranger said. "Didn't anybody tell you that you were supposed to stop him?"

"I asked him to come to the police station with me, but he said he didn't want to."

Another bark of laughter....n

Stupid uncooperative bail-jumper!

Plus, she is kind of conflicted about him:

n Catching Morelli would be difficult. And turning him back in to the court would feel mean.n

Oh, well if it would feel mean then you shouldn't do your job.

This book was just hilarious. I loved Stephanie, Morelli, Stephanie's family, and all of the side characters. Also, Stephanie has a hamster named Rex. I love him the most! Hamsters are like little furry angels that were sent to make us have cute-explosions.

No, no! You're just big-boned. And adorable!

I know I'm about 20 years late for this party, but it works out nicely because I've got over 20 books already out that I can binge-read. And, I can't wait for Stephanie to get a cell phone. It's going to rock her world! (How the hell did we ever live without them?)

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