One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (1996. Simon and Schuster (Audio version). ISBN 978-0-7435-5208-0)
The first Stephanie Plum crime novel brings the young out-of-work Jersey girl into the limelight as a skip tracing bail bondswoman whose first client turns out to be an ex-cop on the lam. I’m an Evanovich virgin so I didn’t know quite what to expect from the author. And, as a spoiler alert, my taste tends to literary novels rather than genre fiction, Still, with the entire width of North Dakota facing my wife, our youngest son, and me on a recent ski trip to Montana, I had my better half pop the discs into the changer of my Pacifica as we roared onto the Great Plains. We weren’t disappointed.
Evanovich uses all the tools of a traditional literary writer, including finely wrought characterizations of Plum, Morelli, and a menacing boxer turned psychopath, to create a believable and palpable sense of urgency and anxiety. We care about Stephanie Plum, want her to succeed, despite her numerous rookie mistakes. There are enough twists and turns to keep the action moving and enough surprises to make the book memorable. All in all, my first foray into Evanovich’s world of crime and criminals was a satisfying visit.
4 stars out of 4.
