One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)

by Janet Evanovich

ONE FINE MESS. Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash-fast-but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family. ONE FALSE MOVE. Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. As does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water-wanted for murder. ONE FOR THE MONEY. Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight-and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man.

• ISBN10: 0312990456
• ISBN13: 9780312990459
• Publish Date: 14 April 2003 (first published 31 July 1994)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Edition: Revised ed.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5★⎮I know I must be the last person on earth to get to the Stephanie Plum series, but here I am! I've actually tried listening to One for the Money on a couple of different occasions, but it just never hit me right, for whatever reason. This time, I was in the perfect mood for Stephanie Plum, having already been primed by a recent paranormal mystery kick. To be clear, this series is not paranormal, but it seemed like a natural progression from the Charley Davidson series.

I've come to like Stephanie Plum a lot. I definitely like her more than Charley Davidson. I find Plum to be much more relatable and I vastly prefer Evanovich's writing style. I also LOL'd more while listening to One for the Money than I did and all of the Charley Davidson series. Evanovich's humor seems to come much more naturally and it doesn't feel forced. Stephanie isn't necessarily trying to be funny, although she does have a dry, sarcastic humor that I appreciate. Most of her funny moments happen incidentally.

It didn't take me long to realize how much I was enjoying One for the Money. Once that realization hit, I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't realized it before that point, but I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to enjoy this audiobook, simply because of its mass popularity. I also got this thrill of excitement, knowing that I had just found a new series to love and one that has 25 installments. This series has practically guaranteed the completion of my 2019 Goodreads challenge and it's only February! But mostly, I was just excited to know that I won't have to search for another great listen for several months while I enjoy this series.

One for the Money is really well written. Janet Evanovich's writing style takes a little bit to get used to, but after that's accomplished, this is actually a pretty easy listen. That is a huge testament to Evanovich as a writer because a lot of mystery novels require a great deal more mental energy to process what's going on, something that's usually harder for an audiobook listener, since multitasking is often involved. I was genuinely surprised at, not only how much I enjoyed One for the Money, but how easy the plot was to follow. I honestly don't remember a single time when I was confused about who was talking or what was going on.

The plot itself was highly engaging. It wasn't overly complex, but I still didn't entirely figure it out before the big reveal. I had a somewhat of an idea of who was behind the "whodunit", but I was never certain. The "big baddie" in this installment was pretty chilling and I could see how the theme of rape and violence against women could be disturbing to listeners particularly sensitive to those triggers. For me, it was definitely unsettling, but not unbearable. Evanovich toed that line very tightly. It was just creepy enough without being psychologically disturbing.

I've just started the second installment, Two for the Dough, and I'm glad to see Stephanie and Morelli team up again. I was worried that Stephanie would have a new male counterpart in this installment, so I'm happy to see Morelli reappear. He and Stephanie have a great dynamic together (I'm a sucker for the "enemies to lovers" trope!). My enjoyment of One for the Money was further amplified by viewing the movie trailer on Goodreads just after beginning the book. I liked being able to visualize the movie characters while listening to the audiobook. I plan on watching the movie sometime soon and continuing on with the Stephanie Plum series immediately.

Narration review: CJ Critt is a new-to-me narrator. Her characterization was excellent in this audiobook and it definitely aided in my processing of the story, especially when it came to knowing who was talking. I wouldn't hesitate to hear something narrated by her again. I know that she narrates the next couple of installments in this series. After that, it seems like Lorelei King takes over the series. Critt did an admirable job in this installment, but I am excited to hear Lorelei King again. She's one of my favorite narrators and I can't wait to get to the point in the series where she takes over, just because of my familiarity with her other work.

If you're one of the few who have yet to try this series, I highly recommend listening to it on audiobook. Not only is the narration superb, the listening experience is smooth and breezy, as well. ♣︎

[Artemis]

Very quick read, only read it because I watched the movie recently. Enjoyable but I doubt I'll read the entire series.

[Quirky Cat]

This was a re-read, and I have to admit, I totally forgot how graphic is was. So fair warning to anybody that wanted to read it after seeing the movie, the movie really tones down some parts. Otherwise, wonderfully written!

[violetpeanut]

A solid three stars. The characters were the saving grace in this book. Characters were likeable and honest and the dialogue was top-notch. The downfall of this book was its plot. I thought it was slow-moving and a little weak in general. The last 50 pages saved it for me. That's where all the action happened. I'm most of this book is a set-up for the rest of this series - introducing characters and settings that will play a role as the series continues.

I'll check out the next book in the series at some point but it won't be the next thing I read.

I have read all of the Stephanie Plum novels so far and I just love these books. They are a very easy read and are something to read when you just wanna relax after a long day. They are just so humorous and I love all the characters, especially Grandma Mazur. It has a little bit of everything thrown in, while still being lighthearted.

I would recommend these books to anybody.

[mbtc]

Cute, light book. Clever plot. However I did not like the main character at all. Not sure how many times you can catch a guy and not take him in. If she was someone I was around in real life I'd want to shake her til she came to her senses.

[Leah]

Stephanie Plum is down on her luck. She's lost her job, her car's on the brink of repossession, and her apartment is fast becoming furniture-free. Enter Cousin Vinnie, a low-life who runs a bail-bond company. If Stephanie can bring in vice cop turned outlaw Joe Morelli, she stands to pick up $10,000. But tracking down a cop wanted for murder isn't easy . . . And when Benito Ramirez, a prize-fighter with more menace than mentality, wants to be her friend Stephanie soon knows what it's like to be pursued. Unfortunately the best person to protect her just happens to be on the run . . .

The Stephanie Plum novels are books I've obviously heard of; you'll be hard pushed to find someone who hasn't heard of them. They're hugely popular and the seventeenth in the series is out in June. They've made Janet a ton of money - she was asking for $50 million for four books when her contract was up for renewal before she moved publishers. And I must admit, when I saw that I did say to myself that I probably wasn't going to read her novels. There's greedy and then there's greedy and nobody should get $50 million for four books, it's insane. However, I finally succumbed. I wanted something a bit different to read so I downloaded One for the Money onto my Kindle and God I loved it!

I find it hard to define the novels - they're not Chick Lit but they're not necessarily crime either. They're sorta romantic suspense. Heavy on the suspense. Going by the first book, I'm going to be in for one heck of a ride. Stephanie Plum is seriously my new favourite heroine. I adore her. Sure she's a crap bounty hunter (well she is at the beginning anyway), but she's just so funny! The book had me giggling like a good'un! The plot is incredibly fast paced, something's always happening, and I was sucked in really quickly. The banter between Stephanie and the man she's hunting Joe Morelli is lightning quick and I can totally see them together in the near future. I also reckon Ranger, a fellow bounty hunter, will be in the mix somewhere. Total love triangle alert I'm sure. I'm determined to read the books without reading reviews or spoilers of the later books. I want to be surprised, despite how desperate I am to know if Stephanie and Morelli get together.

So, yeah, I adored the book, I thought it was amazing and I'm dying to dip into Two for the Dough ASAP! I also can't wait for the movie, and I'm looking forward to seeing Katherine Heigl's version of Stephanie. It's not out til 2012 though which is disappointing. I'm pleased I decided to read the book, 'cos Janet knows how to hook a reader into her books. Who knows if she can keep it up for 16 novels, my guess is she can, and I'm looking forward to taking the journey (with any luck I'll manage it right in time for the release of book 17)! BTW I also can't believe the book came out in the early 90s, it's aged REALLY well!

[ibeforem]

I was turned on to these books by my mother-in-law, who really enjoys them. This is the first I’ve read, and I’m happy to add them to my “detective” story collection. Quite entertaining. Stephanie is a fun character.