An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars, #1)

by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

From Rob Thomas, the creator of the television series and movie phenomenon Veronica Mars, comes the first book in a thrilling mystery series that picks up where the feature film left off. 
 
Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She’s traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.
 
Now it’s spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is no simple missing person’s case; the house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica’s past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined.
 
In Veronica Mars, Rob Thomas has created a groundbreaking female detective who’s part Phillip Marlowe, part Nancy Drew, and all snark. With its sharp plot and clever twists, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line will keep you guessing until the very last page.

• ISBN10: 0804170703
• ISBN13: 9780804170703
• Publish Date: 25 March 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 22 January 2025
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Vintage Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780804170703

Reviews

If you liked the show, you'll like the book. It takes place shortly after the events of the Veronica Mars movie, which was a cool piece of continuity. And all of your favorite characters are represented. The audiobook is even narrated by Kristen Bell. On top of the everything, the underlying mystery was well staged and consistently paced. It could have driven an entire season of the show or another movie. No matter how you look at it, it was entertaining and fun.

[melanchalina]

Я люблю сериал «Вероника Марс». Я ненавидела весь мир, когда он закончился после трех великолепных сезонов. Я ждала фильм-продолжение, наверное, как ни один другой фильм. И да, я не могла пройти мимо книги.

Для всех кому интересно: эта книга является продолжением фильма. Она позволяет нам лучше понять, что произошло с Нептуном за 9 лет отсутствия Вероники. Это история – шанс взглянуть на то что происходит в жизни Вероники, после того как она решила бросить работу в элитной юридической фирме и вернуться в свой родной город. В книге множество камео и отсылок к сериалу, которые безусловно порадуют всех поклонников. Авторы также с великолепной точностью сохранили атмосферу, юмор сериала и характеры героев.

Книга в эмоциональном плане показывает больше, чем фильм. Давайте будет честными, фильм – был создан для фанатов. Было слишком много открытых вопросов после третьего сезона. Но что самое важное, были разбиты сердца обожателей пары Логан+Вероника (в их числе и я). Фильм стал своего рода отдушиной и лекарством. В книге же, наоборот, нет ориентира на любовную линию (Но Логан есть), зато тут великолепно показаны взаимоотношения Вароники с друзьями. Роб Томас и Дженнифер Грэм показали нам, почему друзья так важны для героини. Как они повлияли на ее характер, жизнь.

Эту книгу должны прочитать все фанаты сериала. Это классическая серия: детективная линия + личные проблемы Вероники. Плавное, интересное развитие событий, чудесный юмор героини.

Возможно то, что меня смутило в книге – это повествование. Сериал рассказывался с точки зрения Вероники. Там есть закадровый голос, комментарии. Таким образом, ты словно слушаешь рассказ от лица самой героини. В книге идет повествование от третьего лица. Это не делает книгу хуже, но такой ход смутил лично меня.

За подаренное удовольствие, ностальгию и дикое желание пересмотреть сериал 8/10

[Sam@WLABB]

I was a fan of this show, and I am a fan of the audiobooks.

I couldn't believe my ears, when I heard Kristin Bell narrating. It was just so perfect!

The story was typical V Mars, which means it was great. The snark, the sass, the wit, the humor -- it was all there. I liked that the book picked up after the movie, so we catch up with Veronica, Dad, Logan, and the rest of the gang. We also get Veronica interacting with her mom!!!

Very enjoyable story!

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



I suppose I picked up Veronica Mars because at one point it seemed like my entire Twitter feed was going nuts over it. I still haven't watched the TV show but after reading Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, I think I have a new show to watch.

I won't be able to reference the show at all so this review is strictly for the book. Veronica Mars was truly a lot of fun. I loved that she was driven to help find the two missing girls even when others wanted her to leave it.

The setting for The Thousand Dollar Tan Line is Veronica's home town of Neptune. During spring break it is just one long party full of debauchery. Personally it sounds like it sucks for the locals.

The secondary characters really added to the story. I didn't love them the way that I normally seem to do but I enjoyed them all the same. I think my favorite was probably Wallace. He reminded me a lot of the dependable guy you know you can count on and he won't have an ulterior motive. He's just a good guy.

The mystery was pretty great. I loved riding along with Veronica while she put the clues together. A mystery will particularly score will if I don't have the game figured out. The Thousand Dollar Tan Line certainly surprised me. I look forward to the second book and I hope there will be more to come!

[Amanda]

There's no doubt in my mind The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line---and its following books, since it promises to be a series---is written for Veronica Mars fans, and only for Veronica Mars fans. It's so reminiscent of the TV show (and movie) that you can't help wanting to start all over again, first day back at Neptune High with Veronica.

But as a long-time mystery reader and regular dissembler of stories, I found that to be the drawback, too: it's not necessarily written like I expect a mystery to be. With weird quirks like always mentioning the day and time when a new chapter begins (something you could do with the scene in a show) or having characters constantly start their sentences with "So" (not as obvious when it's spoken, since we forget those).

And some oddly predictable moments within the mystery itself where I'd drawn the right conclusion before Veronica Mars. I'm good at guessing, I'll admit. But a few pieces seemed so obvious to me that to be ahead of Veronica made me blink. The ending more than made up for it though, because dude, definitely didn't see that coming.

If you're a Veronica Mars fan and you like to read, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line is kinda a no brainer. It's so, so true to character (and, frankly, the show) that you can see and hear all the gang (no audiobook for me) as you read. It's a delight. And now I want to binge on Veronica Mars again.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Veronica Mars is quite possibly one of the most interesting characters on TV. She’s intelligent, witty and snarky; think Philip Marlowe meets Nancy Drew. First of all, if you haven’t seen the TV show, I highly recommend you do so first. Watch the show then the movie and then you’ll be ready to read this novel. This new series takes place after the events of the movie, which means not only do I have to avoid spoiling the novel, but I must also try and avoid any major spoilers of the movie. I’m sure there will be spoilers from the TV show (mild spoilers from the movie as well) but that really can’t be helped.

Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, rich entitled kids, crime and corruption otherwise known as Neptune, California. A town that has no middle class, you are either rich or you are considered low class, and the Sheriff, he comes down hard but only on those below the poverty line. When a girl goes missing at spring break, a media frenzy follows but the Sheriff’s department are not being helpful. Veronica is hired to find the girl but this leads her into a dangerous underground of drug and organised crime.

All your characters are back, with one surprise. I’m pleased to report that everyone and everything in Neptune felt authentic and I’m so happy to see that Mac had a bigger role as Veronica’s sidekick. There is one major flaw in this movie, it changed perspectives; the TV show and movie are all told in a first person narrative but the book is in third person. Which is strange, Veronica Mars’ first person narration is iconic to the brand and also a vital part of the neo-noir style. While that noir style is still evident in the novel it just didn’t feel the same.

Another major flaw in the novel is the missing ‘bigger’ mystery. It was what made the TV show so great; ‘who killed Lilly Kane’ is what got me addicted to the show and each season had a new mystery to solve. I would have liked to see this return in the new book series but much to my disappointment it didn’t. These books are marketed to fans of the Veronica Mars brand and taking away pieces that make the show/movie great really does not do this novel or the others any justice.

I am a marshmallow (if you don’t know what that is then maybe this book isn’t for you) so I obviously loved this novel and enjoyed being back in Neptune. I will be reading any Veronica Mars novel that gets released and backing any kickstarters for any more possible movies. It was fun to stay in Veronica Mars’ world but I would like to know what happened in the ten years between the TV show ending and the movie. I’m hoping this series will tell me more about Veronica’s university and FBI years.

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/05/02/the-thousand-dollar-tan-line-by-rob-thomas-jennifer-graham/

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Full review coming soon.