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Summary: "Stephanie Plum becomes a nitty gritty bounty hunter"
Review: I've been aware of this series for several years and finally decided to give it a try. My first impression was that it reminded me of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series written by Sue Grafton which started out about ten years before ONE FOR THE MONEY was published. Both series feature a female protagonist who is sometimes out of her league in the rough world of crime and murder. I do have to say that the Sue Grafton series is perhaps a little more realistic than this book by Janet Evanovich. Having said that, I will also have to say that as a person who enjoys mystery series that feature many of the same characters in each book, I know that the author probably has developed her main characters more with each of the books that follow this one and this was a cute story.ONE FOR THE MONEY is the first book about Stephanie Plum, a young woman who lives in New Jersey and who has just lost her job as a lingerie buyer and needs another job quickly so that she won't have to move back home with her parents. Her cousin Vinnie is a bail bondsman and Stephanie blackmails him into letting her work for him and try her hand at being a bounty hunter. Unfortunately, her first case involves the apprehension of Joe Morelli, a vice cop who is accused of murder. Stephanie's known Morelli her whole life and is still angry with him for what happened when they were teenagers. In fact, she can't wait to get even. This is a light hearted and fun caper.
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Summary: A Laugh-Out-Loud Gem of a Mystery - Plus!!
Review: Janet Evanovich's "One For The Money" is an exceptional mystery cum romance, with extraordinary humor, (guaranteed to brighten the darkest mood), and originality. Once I began to read this book, the first in a series, I could not put it down. Stephanie Plum, our heroine, is down on her luck, unemployed, divorced, sans money and car & culturally-challenged, being born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. Hey, I'm originally from NJ, so I am allowed to say that! She does have the option to move back in with her parents, but the very thought of going home again causes her eyes to twitch uncontrollably. Steph's cousin Vinnie, an easily blackmailable sex maniac, owns a bail bonding company. Stephanie "persuades" him to hire her as a bounty hunter, novice that she is. Her first job - Joseph Morelli, who is FTA, Failed To Appear...he's skipped bail! Now, Joseph Morelli, a sexy hunk and ex-cop, on the run from a murder charge, and our Stephanie have a history that goes way back to childhood. When she was six years old and the precocious Morelli was just a few years older, he taught her to play "choo-choo" in the Morelli garage. When she was 16 she lost her virginity to Morelli on the floor of the Tasty Pastry Bakery, after working hours, and then didn't see him again for 3 years. When she finally did see him, 36 months later, hanging on the corner of Giovichinni's Meat Market, she ran him over with her father's Buick. He lived to tell the tale. Ms. Evanovich also introduces us to a cast of wonderfully outrageous characters who continue to populate her subsequent books: Ranger, a 2nd generation Cuban American, ex-Special Forces, creative genius of a bounty hunter...and also very hunky, especially when wearing his all black outfit with leather accessories; Ramirez, a psychopathic prize fighter who is too scary to be much fun; Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's maternal grandmother, and a pistol-packin,' roller blading clotheshorse she is! Fortunately, she is probably the majority contributor to Stephanie's gene pool; Lula, a 250 pound-plus hooker, who aspires to be a bounty hunter & is working on her resume; etc. And of course there's the mystery...because this is a mystery. But I won't spoil that for you. Just run to your local library, bookstore...or Amazon.com, of course, & get this chock-full of great reading gem of a book. Also, beware!! Janet Evanovich has 8 more Stephanie Plum books on the market to date, and you won't want to miss any of them - they're as addictive as a great belly-laugh!
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Summary: Hilarious action mystery--what more do you want? Read it
Review: Stephanie Plum is the most hilariously witty bounty hunter ever created. Evanovich combines Stephanie's wit, with a fast paced adventure in which Stephanie is initiated as a bounty hunter by trying to bring in a vetern cops charged with murder--who happens to also be a childhood friend. Along the way, we meet two smart mouthed hookers with hearts of gold, a rapist/mysoginist boxer, and a mysterious superhero bounty hunter. After being shot, almost blown up, rooting in garbage dumpsters, and roundly humiliated by almost everyone she comes in contact with, Stephanie gets her man, and justice prevails all around. And she has fun doing it. The "sleeper" character is Stephanie's grandmother--the soul of a smart mouthed teenager trapped in the body of a traditional Italian grandmother. the first family diner scene is worth the price of admission all by itself! My only question is--why isn't this book a movie yet?
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Summary: Mufasa's Kickin' reveiw
Review: One for the Money takes place in the suburbian parts of New Jersey . The Main character is Stephanie Plum. She is in big trouble with paying the bills because she just got laid-off her job as a lingere dealer. Then she has to get a job fast because if she doesn't then she will lose her apartment and will have to move into her parent's house. In her parent's house, her grandma lives there. They have dinner at exactly 6:00. But after Stephanie takes a job from her cousin, she won't be on time as often as she would hope. Once she pursues the man shes after for the money then she will have to worry about a boxer/ rapist that will be after her what will happen to this newbie Bounty Hunter?
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Summary: One for the Money
Review: One for the Money takes place in the "burg" located n New Jersey. The main character, Stephanie Plum, is in trouble with debt when her car gets impounded because she has been lacking on her payments. She starts to get cut off from the world when she doesn't pay her bills and she loses her phone and she almost loses her electricity. She ends up buying a car with a microwave and some other appliances. It is a truly fun book to read. She takes a jog from her cousin and becomes a bounty hunter. She will get $10,000 if she catches someone but that someone is an ex-cop and the book has some weird twists. Read it NOW!!!
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Summary: So funny, for a mystery novel.
Review: Introducing Stephanie Plum: divorced at 30, laid off ... lingerie buyer ("not exactly Victoria's Secret"), drives a...Chevy Nova she traded for her TV, VCR and small kitchen appliances after her Miata Roadster was repossessed. In a brutal New Jersey August, she's struggling to keep food and shelter for herself and her pet hamster, Rex. Desperate, she turns to her least favorite relative, Cousin Vinnie, and blackmails him into giving her a bail-bond recovery job paying [dollar amount]. The job: bring in Joseph Morelli, a cop accused of [a crime]. Coincidentally, the same guy who took her virginity at 16. Oh, revenge is sweet. With no experience and no gun, Stephanie is determined to bring in Morelli, not realizing how dangerous it could be. Benito Ramirez, a sleazy heavyweight title contender, is now following and threatening her. He's also been charged with [physical crimes] three times. Stephanie gets some advice (and some rescuing) from Ranger, the "Dirty Harry" of bond enforcement who also works for Vinnie. Stephanie is most definitely a tough cookie. Let's hope she doesn't get herself killed in the process of getting Morelli. This is the 1st book of the Stephanie Plum series. Although it's a mystery series, it's very funny. I must've chuckled at something on almost every page. The characters are so vivid, from Stephanie's nagging mother, her practically senile and wacky grandmother, and somewhat charming Joeseph Morelli. There may still be some chemistry there. Who knows? This is Janet Evanovich's first mystery novel. She began her career writing romance and is now working on the 9th book of the series. She's definitely got something here. Her writing is so witty and real. Great detail to describing each action and scene. Really great characters you want to see again.
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Summary: A fun book
Review: This is a fun story - simple to read and fast paced. You will enjoy it until the very end. Great twists and turns with a hint of passion and lust. It is great clean fun.
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Summary: What's A Girl To Do?
Review: Well, if you're Stephanie Plum it's time to take charge of your life. After her career as a lingerie buyer (for a supplier cheesier than Fredrick's of Hollywood), Stephanie finds herself without any more possessions to hawk off. Her mother suggests she go work for her cousin, Vinnie, at his bail bonds company. Of course, Stephanie doesn't want the filing job...she wants to be a Bounty Hunter. The cast includes lots of quirky characters that keep you entertained. Stephanie hooks up with a seasoned BH named Ranger to learn the ropes. He takes her under his wing but your left wanting him to take her other places... Stephanie also comes back into the life of Joe Morelli. He is a vice cop and they have a history that stared when she was six and he was eight. (Not to mention the fact that she lost her virginity to him)Between these two men of honor, she gets the assistance she needs to apprehend the bad guys. To get her daughter over more often, Stephanie's mom bribes her with desserts. The dialogues at these dinners are snappy and laugh out loud funny. Janet Evanovich has created a suspense-ridden romp that grabs you by the shirt and drags you in for a wild ride.
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Summary: A quick, enjoyable and implausible read
Review: I started reading this series at the very beginning, and since I got a kick out of the pacing and dialog and thought the mystery was compelling, I shall be back to read more. BUT, unlike Spenser or Kinsey Milhone, detectives who went private because life in law enforcement wasn't for them, the way Stephanie Plum got into bounty hunting just didn't ring true. I've worked for a big-time national retailer and know how sleazy some (okay, many but not all) buyers can be. But there is nothing in that line of work to prepare a woman for bounty hunting. Especially a woman who has never fired a gun or seen a dead body before. I believe in my heart that if Stephanie Plum were indeed a real woman, at one crucial point in the story she would have taken Morelli's advice and become a shampoo girl at a local salon. Still, there is much in this book that was fun, and I look forward to future installments.
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Summary: Entertaining, hilarious, and suspenseful!
Review: After reading this book, I bought the entire Stephanie Plum series. Now this is a character I can relate to! She is a horrible bounty hunter and has real problems! She has problems with men, family, cars you name it. It is nice to read a book that is realistic for a change. I highly recommend this book and all of the rest in this series.
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