An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas by Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham

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.

Reviewed by Amanda on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 10 September, 2014: Reviewed