One for the Money is the first book in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie, an accidental bounty hunter must find and apprehend her former childhood pal, Joe Morelli. The problem? She has no idea what she is doing.
Summary of Janet Evanovich's One for the Money
Stephanie Plum, former lingerie buyer, is out of work and out of money. Her car has been repossessed and her furniture hocked to pay the rent. Her mother suggests going to work for the tampon factory. Instead, she blackmails her sexual deviant cousin, Vinny, into making her a bounty hunter for his bail bond service. Her first Failure to Appear (FTA) is Joe Morelli, a cop accused of murder. Morelli and Stephanie have history. He took her virginity as a teenager. She ran him over with a Buick. Not only will catching Morelli make her $10,000, it will also be vindication for the molestation she received when they played "train" as children.
The major problem is that Joe Morelli does not want to be found. In searching for Morelli, Stephanie faces the wrath of a psychotic boxer who rapes and brutalizes women just for fun, meets a boisterous hooker named Lula, and tries to be home for dinner promptly at six or face the ire of her mother (who still wants her to apply at the tampon factory). Perhaps the only good thing that comes out of working for Vinny is that she gets to work with Ranger, a mysterious Cuban bounty hunter with aloof charisma and a killer body.
Stephanie uncovers clues that lead her to believe that Morelli may be innocent after all. She becomes Morelli's only ally and together they begin the search for the man who set him up.
Review of Janet Evanovich's One for the Money
Janet Evanovich's debut novel, One for the Money, is a winner. Stephanie Plum is a quirky character, yet never deviates too far from being believable. One of the great qualities about her character is that she is not afraid to speak her mind or remind the reader that she has absolutely no idea what she is doing. The drawback to this novel comes from the first person narration that addresses the personally. She often asks questions like "Do I know how to have a good time, or what?" This kind of question often moves beyond the "fourth wall" that exists between the reader and the story, which allows the readers to fully immerse themselves in the story. In addressing the reader, this fourth wall is broken and the reader is jarred out of Stephanie's world and forced to consider if she, indeed, knows how to have a good time.
But, regardless of the fourth wall issue, readers will love Stephanie Plum and will love One for the Money. It is fast paced and filled to the brim with quirky characters that will stand out among Evanovich's literary peers (Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone comes to mind). Grafton's plain jane, routine loving Millhone falls flat compared to Evanovich's spur of the moment, quick thinking, roll with the punches, quirky Stephanie Plum. The detective story is first-rate and is full of enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned detective fiction readers surprised.
All in all, Evanovich and One for the Money do not disappoint.
Other Books by Janet Evanovich
- Two for the Dough
- Three to Get Ready
- Four to Score
Janet Evanovich. One for the Money. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. 290 pages. ISBN: 0684196395
Jessica Workman - Jessica is 25 year old graduate student in the Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies program at the University of Central Florida. Her ...
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