Name: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series, Book 1)
ISBN: 9780312362089

Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is down her luck. She’s lost her job, her car’s on the brink of repossession and her apartment is fast becoming furniture-free.

Enter Cousin Vinnie, a low-life who runs a bail-bond company. If Stephanie can bring in vice cop turned outlaw Joe Morelli, she stands to pick up $10,000. But tracking down a cop wanted for murder isn’t easy…

And when Benito Ramirez, a prize-fighter with more menace than mentality, wants to be her friend Stephanie soon knows what it’s like to be pursed. Unfortunately the best person to protect her just happens to be on the run…

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series, Book 1)

Bria

It took me way too long to realize this is the plot of a movie I watched 12 years ago....

Anyway, I love this, but I don't think I want to keep going with this series. 24 novels makes it easy to fall out of love with a character.

Lacee Pogue

Reread and I remember why I love this series!!

Colleen

4.5 Stars

One for the Money is the riotous debut of the bungling bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. I remember when this series first started, and everyone was talking about it. The Mystery scene had gotten fairly repetitive and ho-hum, and the Stephanie Plum series was a breath of fresh air. Here was a heroine who did not have her life together. Sure, she had some things going for her; but overall, her life was a mess. But it wasn't overdone to the point of whining or pity-mongering. Stephanie is a fun character to route for or at times to laugh at when she gets herself into odd situations.

There were plenty of laugh out loud moments. The characters are fun. The book cooky while still remaining well within the bounds of reality. Evanovich struck a good balance of humor and tension at the suspenseful moments. And writing in first person really worked for this book. Some of the "steamy" moments felt a bit awkward though which I remember thinking the first time I read the series as well.

The only other thing I will add is that having come back and reread the first book, I can definitely see that the later books in the series have suffered a serious decline in quality and content. Don't let that stop you from starting the series though! There are a lot of good books in the series before you get to the duds.

The dynamite blockbuster from Janet Evanovich that started it all—now a major motion picture starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum! ONE FINE MESS Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash—fast—but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family... ONE FALSE MOVE Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water—wanted for murder... ONE FOR THE MONEY Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight—and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man...

One for the Money

Jeff James

Another entertaining read, disposable but well-written. The ending wrapped things up just a little bit too perfectly, with the villain explaining his nefarious plan in detail while a recording device was present, but... nobody's perfect, y'know?

Discover where it all began—#1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich’s first “snappily written, fast-paced, and witty” (USA TODAY) novel in the beloved Stephanie Plum series featuring a feisty and funny heroine who “comes roaring in like a blast of very fresh air” (The Washington Post). Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie’s opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six. Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, el-primo bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli’s the inamorato who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There’s still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase should be interesting…and could also be extremely dangerous.

i couldn’t find the edition of this book i was reading but it’s all good. honestly i thought this was going to be one of those books that send me into a slump and just either never finish reading or taking a while to read but that was not the case. i was only able to read the first chapter yesterday but today i sat down and couldn’t stop reading it. i read it in less than two hours! in my opinion, it’s a really good book and an easy read.

katerina

Christine Bruce

This book was amazing! I could hardly put it down, and the only time it wasn't cracked open was when I was in class or asleep. The characters jump to life within seconds of meeting them and the mystery was complex and involved, it kept me guessing until the very end. Even guessing Morelli was the guy at one point! The sexual tension between Morelli and Stephanie is something that's got me coming back for more, book two is sitting next to me getting ready to be read. Sure there was much that dated it (car phones, using answering machines to get messages to each other, spandex shorts) but that was also kind of fun to read in that it added to the drama (NO CELL PHONES when Stephanie's home line got disconnected and she could have really used it). Overall a really great book that I will be recommending to my friends.

Sonja H

This one is a fun read although the story is somehow plain. Stephanie has more luck than knowledge und even the bad guys are treating her nicely...
Don't expect too much, but it's an entertaining book.

Fellowes Cynthia

I read this a long time ago. I enjoyed it and eventually will continue with this series.

Milo Jean

I’m not sure how I feel about Stephanie’s character yet. She’s a little all over the place, and I’m not sure if she’s the most believable in how she reacts to everything. She annoyed me multiple times throughout reading. But the overall plot was entertaining and the scenes with Morelli were always fun so I’ll probably try the next book and see if she grows on me.

Caitlin Snyder

Something like my 5th re-read. Love this series! Always helps me get out of a reading slump

Vanessa Rae

Read the whole series and the 4 novellas can't wait to read the 17th book 
There's like 174 people waiting for the book at the library

Kayla Smith

Evanovich does a great job with the tone of this novel. I found the twists and turns Stephanie experienced quite humorous and even when they were not the most believable, they were still enjoyable to read about. The characterization of everyone within this novel is well done. Each character felt real though they did follow New Jersey archetypes. Some of which seemed to be overexaggerated at points though I’ve never been to New Jersey so that may not be the case.
The plot did seem to drag near the middle so the pacing of this novel wasn’t my favorite. I think this could have benefited with some edits because I did find myself annoyed that our main character was finding herself in yet another ridiculous situation yet again. I also felt this book is definitely showing its age at this point. There were many instances of fatphobia and sexism that just rubbed me the wrong way as a 2021 reader of this novel. Of course, these things were the norm back in the 90’s so I can’t entirely fault Evanovich for including them. I’d like to see what her most recent releases are like to see where the character has developed and to see if some of the issues I had with the novel have been fixed.

Now available in a special 25th anniversary edition! Discover where it all began—#1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich’s first “snappily written, fast-paced, and witty” (USA TODAY) novel in the beloved Stephanie Plum series featuring a feisty and funny heroine who “comes roaring in like a blast of very fresh air” (The Washington Post). Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie’s opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six. Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, el-primo bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli’s the inamorato who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There’s still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase should be interesting…and could also be extremely dangerous.

The First Stephanie Plum Novel

Megan White

Good story, obviously written in a different time.
Trigger warnings for micro aggressions and sexual assault

The Goodreads community lied to me. This was in several "cozy mystery" lists and was talked about as a cozy mystery. It is nowhere near a cozy mystery. If anyone is wondering what that is, it's a mystery with little violence (murders happen off stage) and next to no sexual content. Everyone is supposed to know each other in a small town type of situation with a novice crime solver who is usually an outsider. Now, the actual definition differs from person to person, but the amount of sexual content in this book, particularly violent sexual content, is very high.

We start out with Plum telling us that she was basically molested by Morelli when she was six, then he popped back up in High School to have consensual sex with her, but never called back. Then she decided to vent her rage later by running him over with a car. Flash forward many years, and she's a woman scraping by with little to no cash or belongings. Out of desperation, she latches onto the bounty hunter gig to track Morelli down, when she has no clue what she's doing. She doesn't even attempt to learn, but gets other male characters to waltz in and save her, before they themselves get injured.

When she meets the rapist, who apparently rapes and abuses any woman he meets (sorry, only skinny women, unless he's trying to make a point) Morelli of course saves her and tries to convince her to stop for her own good. He turns into her savior as she careens through this horrible plot with no guidance and random side characters with no development. People only pop up for plot devices before disappearing again. Rapist continues to stalk, call, and threaten her and she continues to be scared but then dresses up "like a slut" to "entice" him to action, which is just foolish. This doesn't follow anything about rapist typology, or even sexual sadists. It's just horrible representation that makes you feel sick, but at the same time go "that's not how any of this works."

I'm not even going to touch how disturbing her attraction to Morelli is, especially in the end when he makes her admit him sleeping with her was partly her fault. I get that she regrets the encounter in high school, but she holds onto it for so long that something else must be going on, or Evanovich has no idea how to write a confused reaction to first encounters.

The "mystery" itself wasn't really a mystery. There were little to no clues for the reader, and while I see the murderer's overall motivation, it was really sloppy and loose ended for the case. If it wasn't for the grand speech before the fall it wouldn't have made any sense. (bonus points of laziness for "just happening" to tape the confession)

I felt gross after reading this book, like I have to go shower the filth off of me. It's so crass and just not what I was expecting. If it were a police procedural, or written better then it would be akin to J.D. Robb's "In Death" series, but that is like comparing Twilight to Ann Rice vampires, it just doesn't work. I won't be reading any more of these. I'd rather read J.D. Robb for decent relationships over this dribble.