Since my first review was my last read at the time, now I have to go back up the list. Q&A, go !
So going back, title please ?
Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. Yeah, it’s a long title.
Actually it’s by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham.
Did you like it ?
Yes. (Didn’t you hear me ? It’s a VERONICA MARS novel. What kind of a question is that ? If I could, I’d put glitter and little stars all over the name !)
What’s it about ?
2 months after the events of the movie, Keith is slowly recovering and Veronica has taken over the PI agency for the time being. It’s Spring Break and one young woman goes missing. Veronica is hired to help the investigation, since so far, the corrupted and inefficient Neptune Sherif’s office hasn’t made much progress. Then a second young woman disappears and it becomes personal for Veronica, when she discovers that the step-mother of this one is none other than her mother Lianne Mars.
Ok, so obviously, the MOST important question for a lot of prospective readers: is there any Logan in this one ?
There is. There isn’t. He makes an appearance, or two. But not the way you’d think.
Thanks for that mostly unsatisfactory answer. Any particular thing you liked about the book ?
I think that for a fan of the series it’s one of the best way to get your V Mars fix. I have now read the second Veronica Mars book, so by comparison, I’d say that the first novel is still finding it’s marks as it follows the usual “get a case, research case, case gets complicated, find some clue, get threatened, resolve the case” with a side of character development we are used to in the series and in the movie. Even if this is a collaboration between Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, the right tone is there (it’s definitely a Rob Thomas book, if you’ve ever read any of his other ones, which I have), and I had no trouble plunging back into the atmosphere of Neptune. It’s very comfortable in that way and the new characters that are introduced seem perfectly integrated in this whole universe. It’s also great to have a lot of secondary characters from the series make an appearance as more fully realized persons. I would absolutely recommend it to people who miss Veronica Mars and are hesitant to take on the books. It also helps that the continuity with the series and the movie is maintained.
On the other hand, I have literally no idea how the book would read to someone who isn’t familiar with the series.
So, how many stars ?
A solid four.
(This review is cross-posted on my fledgling blog, Minted-Menthe.)