About the book (from Amazon): 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.
My take: I pre-ordered this book with a little apprehension—could it possibly be as good as the series and the film? The answer is: almost. The case is interesting; Veronica does her thing with the help of Mac, Wallace, and Keith; several secondary characters from the TV show pop in; and there are a few genuinely shocking twists, along with several laugh out loud moments. All those factors work together to form a satisfying journey back to Neptune.
The novel is very good, but it isn't spectacular—too much profanity, a tendency to over explain Veronica's connection to places and characters (necessary for those who didn't watch the series, but a bit annoying, nonetheless), and one very obvious bad guy kept me from falling completely in love with this book. There's also too little Logan for my taste, which is understandable considering he's on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, but I still wanted more. Fortunately, Rob Thomas has promised more Logan in the next book!
Overall, I'd recommend this book to fans of Veronica Mars—and they're the ones who will be interested in it, anyway. I hope that this is just the beginning in a long series of novels—I'll take Veronica Mars however I can get it!
My rating: 4 stars
Buy the book.
Read my other posts about Veronica Mars.
About the author: Rob Thomas is an American author, producer, and screenwriter, best known as the author of the 1996 novel Rats Saw God, creator of the critically acclaimed television series Veronica Mars and co-creator of 90210 and Party Down.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book and reviewed it of my own free will. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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