I've always been a Veronica Mars fan. The TV channels I had access to didn't air the show so I followed it on DVD boxed sets, caught up in the performances and the alien world of Neptune High and a female lead that I believed in. Later, watched the movie and was relieved that they'd let Veronica grow up and that they hadn't made a mess of it. When I heard that the series reboots this year, I decided to give the novels a try.

 

I've never read of novel-of-the-show before. I was surprised at how well it worked. Of course, that might be because I'm filling in all the blanks in the text with memories of the show but mostly I think it's because the writing is smooth and fast and carried me along.

 

The most surprising thing was the impact of Veronica being all grown up. In this story, she's investigating the disappearance of a young girl spending Spring Break at Neptune. The start of the story is high-grade neo-noir. Then it gets personal.

 

Veronica goes to the party house the girl's disappeared at and it's very clear she's a generation older than them and sees the party differently. I didn't understand this kind of partying even when I was the right age for it and it's a mystery to me now. Veronica understands it, makes no judgement on it, but stands outside of it the way she stands outside most things.

 

The main difference with grown-up Veronica (and perhaps with the novel format) is how clearly Veronica sees the girl who has gone missing and the effect of her disappearance on others. It snapped me out of slick, witty, neo-noir and into something much more human. at this rate, I'll be moving on to the second book in the series.

 

 

Fun Veronica Mars mystery that will appeal to fans of the show and the movie.  This book picks up three months after the action covered in the film (which I promptly checked out from the library and watched upon realizing the book was making references to it, and I still hadn't seen it).  The book, like the film, is set in 2014, ten years after Veronica graduated from high school.  In the interim, she has completed undergrad and a law degree from Stanford.  Although she's had a lucrative job offer with a Manhattan law firm, she's found herself drawn to her father's PI business, Mars Investigations.  And now there is a juicy case to investigate:  two girls have disappeared from a mysteriously bankrolled spring-break "party" house, and the Neptune Chamber of Commerce is eager to stop a "Nancy Grace"-style cable-TV commentator from continuing to warn parents away from allowing their college-aged children from spring-breaking in Neptune, CA.  And of course, the incompetent but politically expedient Sheriff Lamb can't be relied upon to solve the case.  So enter Veronica.

 

As a fan of the show, I of course pictured the actors who played Veronica, her father Keith, hacker friend/colleague Mac, love interest Logan Eccles, and others.  The mystery is just twisty enough to keep things interesting, and Veronica's wit and humor makes the story fun.  I suspect that even readers who didn't follow the show can enjoy this, but they might decide they want to catch up on DVD or Netflix.  It's just three seasons (sob), so go for it!  (Watch the movie, too.)

 

I am using this book to fulfill the week-five theme of my library's summer-reading program:  Genre fiction (mystery, of course).  There is a book two to this series, but the library doesn't own it (hint, hint).

This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews

 

Veronica's back with another difficult case. The Neptune Grand has always been a touch on the shady side. Though it is an upscale hotel, it's obvious illicit deeds go down there. When a woman who is brutally raped and beaten claims that the Grand was the last place she could remember being, the hotel knows that this could turn out disastrous. Veronica is hired to prove or disprove the story. But something isn't adding up. The victim had severe head injuries and can't remember all the details, the other witnesses won't talk, and it's clear someone, somewhere, is hiding something. Can Veronica figure out the mystery? Or is the perp going to continue to go free?

 

Okay, I think I got most of the fangirl gushing out of my system in my last VMars review and hopefully this one will be a bit more coherent. Veronica is the same character she's always been. She's smart, resourceful, resilient, and snarky as hell. Veronica's snark is what initially drew me to her in the show and her character has stayed true to that. It's not all positives for VMars though, because she has some negative qualities as well. We get to see the best of her here and she's dogged in figuring this thing out. It's not long before she disproves the victim's initial statement, but she can tell there is more to this. This girl was raped and beaten nearly to death and someone needs to pay for that crime.

 

Logan is actually home (for most of this, anyway) and I couldn't be happier about his presence in the story. He's relationship with Veronica is proof that just because something is right doesn't mean it's easy. Life with her is always going to be a give and take. She has a tendency to hide her feelings when she knows they aren't what he wants to hear. She would rather bury it and enjoy their time together. He understands her fears and worries, but there are just some things that he must do. Regardless, his appearance makes things better. I'm a big Logan fan (as if you didn't get that from my last review) and I'm always happy when he's in the picture.

 

The rest of the family all make an appearance. Once again, I feel like we don't get quite as much Wallace as we should. He was a big part of the crime solving team in the show and I miss his help. I was also a bit disappointed in Weevil. I won't say more than that, but it wasn't cool man. I can see his reasoning, but still not cool. As for everyone else important, we get just the right amount. I must admit I'm a sucker for Cliff McCormack and I love seeing him. Him and Keith have their own side project going on, suing the Balboa County Sheriff's department for damages to Eli Navaro during their criminal investigation after planting evidence on him. That added to the race for Sheriff election with a brand new candidate and things get just a bit heated. We all wanna see Dan Lamb out of office, regardless of what that takes.

 

This novel has that big mystery feel. The plot has so many twists and turns that it's impossible to know who the bad guy is from the very beginning. There is no way you can tell how this will turn out. One thing I loved about reading this one as opposed to listening to the audiobook as I did with book one, is that I could hear each character in my head. Don't get me wrong, Kristen Bell does an amazing job narrating the first one and there is no one better for the task, but there is a slight difference between hearing her do it, mimicking everyone else's voices and actually hearing the proper voice in your head. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone other than my fellow marshmallows, but trust me, it was awesome.

 

What you really need to know is that: it's Veronica Mars! You need no other incentive to pick this novel up and read away. Beyond that, it is a well written story with a nail-biting plot. I think it's written in a way that it could be read as a stand-alone. Previous knowledge of this world is not required, but I think it enhances the experience. Now, Rob, Jennifer, are we gonna get another? 'Cuz, you know, I really want one!

 

****Thank you to Vintage for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

 

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line was an enjoyable but not spectacular continuation of Veronica Mars. I really liked that Kristen Bell was the narrator. It made listening to the audio book kind of feel like watching the TV show. This was set after the TV movie which took place 9 years after the TV show ended. I honestly miss the teenage Veronica and am not crazy about reading about her as an adult. I would like to know what would have happened next if the TV show had continued. Some fill in books for that time period would be great. I just wish that after 9 years there had been more character growth for Veronica and her friends. Why is Wallace working as a teacher/coach? What happened to Wallace's dreams of becoming an engineer? He gave up basketball for it after all. With the exception of Weevil they are 28 years old and none of them are married or even engaged. Dick Casablancas is still acting like a teenage idiot at 28. Weevil went back to the motorcycle gang for some reason that isn't explained. Keith is still not remarried. And I know I am definitely in the minority here, and will probably have people coming after me with pitchforks for saying this, but I wish that Veronica had moved on from Logan and not gone back to him. I was never a huge fan of that relationship. Multiple viewpoints like the TV show would have been nice too, especially since the book is written in third person. Overall it wasn't a bad read, just a little lack luster.