One for the Money

The first of the Stephanie Plum Series, 1994.

This is a hilarious first-person narrative. The plot never stops, the pace and rhythm can keep you up all night finishing this book in one setting. Evanovich’s characters are funny, diverse, and well developed, and of particular importance to me, dynamic.

Stephanie is a nearly-broke out-of-work retail lingerie buyer. When she finds out how much money bounty hunters make, she blackmails her shit-head cousin Vinnie for a job. He owns a bonds and bails business, and employs a number of basically free-lance bounty hunters who track down the scumballs who try to skip bail.

Stephanie is skinny, untrained, and if it weren’t for the fact that she was born and raised and still resides in Trenton, NJ., you wouldn’t call her tough. She does have that natural jersey toughness about her, and a quick wit, and good friends, all of which manage to keep her alive.

Of course she is in over her head, of course there is a murder, and of course the bad guys would like to get rid of her. After all, these are the things that compel us to read books like these.

Evanovich nail 100% from me in every way. Everything I look for in a good novel. The characters are rich and believable with unique voices, the dialogue flows like real life, the situations are complicated enough to keep you guessing but not enough to be ridiculous.

The humor is dead-on; derived from the foibles of humanity, Stephanie’s wit, ironic situations and stupid people. Evanovich clearly achieves her goals of writing a funny, well-paced, suspenseful mystery with rich characters.

One for the Money gets 100 from me. I haven't read anything by Evanovich that would get less than a 99.
 
If you've never read any Plum, I highly recomend the 3-book starter set.