With my sudden new found (re-found?) love of reading I’m trying to knock through books that I’ve started at one point or another and not finished. Hence, Gabby Giffords earlier this week. Back in September I picked up One for the Money (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich. I read 10% of the book and put it back down. I had a hard time getting into it so it was on the bottom of my books to pick back up list.
I finally decided I wanted my GoodReads to be down to one so I picked this book back up this week. I didn’t expect it to be a quick finish since I wasn’t totally into it at the start but then the book got good, I got hooked and I’m now taking donations to purchase the next 24 books in the series (okay maybe the next 23 because I may have already purchased Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, No. 2).
One for the Money follows Stephanie Plum, recently divorced, recently laid off & broke as can be. Refusing to accept money or criticism from her parents, Stephanie convinces her cousin Vinnie to give her a job as a bounty hunter. Her main target becomes Joe Morelli… former high school all star, turned cop & recently charged for murder. Things get personal as Stephanie and Morelli have a past… he won’t let her forget their past nor will he make it easy for her to get him to the police station.
As Stephanie tracks down Morelli she uncovers more of the truth behind the murder. Is Joe Morelli innocent? Is it really personal? Will she nab her $10,000 for turning him in?
While it took me a few pages to get going into the book, don’t plan on putting it down once you hit the 60% mark. Somewhere around there I got hooked and knew I would be up late finishing the book. Janet Evanovich does an awesome job leading you into multiple directions as you try and figure out the mystery along with Stephanie.
If you live alone, spook easily or will be living alone I would put this book on hold for a bit, especially if you scare easily or don’t normally read mystery books. There were definitely a few chapters that made me want to go check my windows 6 or 7 times. Then again it is not based off of a true story so maybe I’m safe…. plus a bulk of the ‘problems’ happen on a fire escape and it’s safe to say there is not one attached to my house.
One of the minor characters in the book is Stephanie’s grandmother, Grandma Mazur. While she has a small role I loved each and every part of the book that she showed up in. Someone commented on a post on Facebook that she becomes more involved as the book series goes on, even more reason to keep reading.
All in all (at the moment) there are 25 books in the Stephanie Plum series. The most recent one is Top Secret Twenty-One but there are a few “specials” thrown in there. I’m currently trying to figure out a way to tie the rest of the series to the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge, although I don’t think that is going to happen… I may have to stray away for a bit! This book also recently became a movie staring Katherine Heigl. somehow I missed that movie when it came out but it now is at the top of my watch list.
Off to book 2.
Have you read this series? Are you hooked?