*Have You Heard? * Audiobooks For Your Listening Pleasure* One For The Money by Janet Evanovich

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) by Janet Evanovich
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on August 26, 1994
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0312362080
ASIN: B00574QKL2
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You've lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car's been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month's rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do?

If you're Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man who took Stephanie's virginity at age 16 and then wrote details on a bathroom wall. With pride and rent money on the line, Plum plunges headlong into her first case, one that pits her against ruthless adversaries - people who'd rather kill than lose.

The New York Times Book Review calls Stephanie Plum "a Jersey girl with Bette Middler's mouth and Cher's fashion sense." In Stephanie Plum, Evanovich has created a resourceful and humorous character who stands apart from the pack of gritty female detectives.

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This week, I’m going all the way back to 1994 to talk about another of those book categories I love to review – the book that introduced me to a series. In this case, One for the Money by Janet Evanovich happens to be the first in the Stephanie Plum series which will soon include 23 books with the publication of Turbo Twenty-Three in November of 2016. In One for the Money, readers are introduced to Ms. Plum and a cast of colorful and hilarious characters some of whom will reappear in later books. Stephanie is at a low point in her life when she must resort to working for her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman, in order to survive. She soon finds herself cast in the role of a female bounty hunter and the fun begins. I laughed so much while I was listening to this book . . . I hope no one was watching! That is always a concern when listening to audiobooks that are humorous or sad. It looks a bit strange to casual observers to see a lone person laughing or crying.

In doing research on the narrator, C. J. Critt, I found a very interesting article which will go a long way toward helping listeners understand why a series that begins with a narrator you love might change to a different narrator in mid-series. I found Ms. Critt to be really good with voice inflection and accents, so I will be interested to see how the other narrators – there have been five in all – compare as I listen through the series.

I’m thankful to Lover Karen (whose late mother, Paula, was a fan of the series) and Lover Debbie for encouraging me to make Stephanie Plum’s acquaintance. Otherwise, I might never have met this feisty woman or the super hot Joe Morelli – the man she has spent practically her whole life trying to resist. Or her mentor Ranger. Or those charming “ladies of the evening” Jackie and Lula. Or the smarmy and scary Benito Ramirez and his oily manager Johnny Alpha, who seems almost normal. And most of all, I would have missed out on Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur who can come live with me anytime! In 2012, a feature film was made of One for the Money featuring Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur . . . I can’t even imagine! ? If you are looking for mystery and suspense with a side dish of light comedy, then I recommend this series to you.