CW: mentions of rape, assault, violence, stalking, mentions of weight that may be triggering for some readers, some others

Stephanie Plum is out of work and out of money. So when she hears about a job skip tracing (read: bounty hunting) for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds business, she decides to give it a go. Except, her first big job is a cop who reportedly shot an unarmed suspect, and he’s proving harder to deal with than she expected.

This book had some pretty significant pros and cons to it, so let’s discuss. Pro: Our MC’s attitude is just the right level of snarky; she comes across and tough and sarcastic without feeling constantly mean for no reason. She’s level-headed enough to know that she doesn’t know what she’s doing and that she needs help, but stubborn enough that she’s willing to keep pursuing it. Cons: How the author chooses to illustrate both the life-long span of this attitude and the MC’s history with her target is to explain that he basically took advantage of her as a child (she was 6, he was 8) and a teen, and to explain it in a very black and white, ‘oh well’ sort of manner. The child part didn’t sit well with me, and I almost didn’t keep reading. It was majorly ick-inducing, and easily my least favorite part of the book. To be honest, it was entirely unnecessary and could have been left out completely.

Pro: a colorful and well-developed cast of characters, combined with a vivid description of the New Jersey backdrop, made the story come to life. Everyone was entertaining, everyone elicited emotions (both good and bad) from the reader, and I could swear I could feel the summer heat wave radiating off the pages. Con: At times it felt like a caricature of the mid-90s, New Jersey stereotypes, and Italian-American stereotypes. To be fair, it appears that the author did consult with New Jersey PD on the book, it was actually published in 1994, and the accuracy of the Italian-American thing is probably best left to the interpretation of those with real world experience.

Pros: The story is incredibly entertaining, The MC is hilarious and relatable, and I read the whole thing in about a day. I absolutely loved the story, and I’m ready to jump into book 2 immediately. Cons: The only other major con I had about the book is some minor references to the victim’s weight and appearance. They’re cringy and outdated, but times have changed since the book was published and for that I’m thankful. Those references were relatively few and far between, so they didn’t detract too much from the story.

Overall, a really fun read and a refreshing take on the detective/thriller genre. I’m already trying to plan when I can fit book 2 into my schedule.

One For The Money - Likewise Book Reviews

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