Book Review: Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line

Title: Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line Series: Veronica Mars #1 Author: Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham Published: March 2014 by Random House Amazon Goodreads Synopsis:  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.

So before I go any further, a confession. I'm a huge fan of Veronica Mars, and I mean HUGE! I started watching the show when I was in college and it was on season 2, after a few episodes I was completely hooked. I've seen every episode more than once and list Veronica Mars as one of my top TV shows of all time, if not my absolute favorite. Anything and everything to do with Veronica Mars I totally love, so I may be a little biased, but this book was no exception. This book made me feel like a junkie, I needed my next fix on Veronica Mars and that's just what I got. Throughout most of the book I was flailing and fangirling more than even the movie. Maybe that's because the movie rekindled my love for the series and reopened up those old wounds that never completely healed.

Maybe I loved the book so much because I got more of my favorite characters. There were a few

obscure secondary characters who came back in the book including one person from Veronica's past that she hasn't had contact with in a long time and things did not end well for them. But there were also some characters that I would have thought would have bigger parts and didn't. Be warned Logan is barely in the book and so is Dick and Weevil. I kept waiting for those two to come back into the story, it seemed so perfect for them to help with this particular mystery. But what we did get in the book was more time with people like Kieth, Mac, Wallace, and Sherriff Lam.

Of course we also get more of our illustrious heroine. This book felt like the return of the classic Veronica that we know and love. She's brash, she's reckless, she's stubborn, and she acts before she thinks. All of this causes Veronica to find herself in a lot of trouble. But she's also sassy, smart, dedicated, and damn good at solving mysteries. There were so many instances during the book that I couldn't help smiling thinking about all the times Veronica found herself in such similar situations during the TV show and movie.

Or maybe it was the mystery that made me love this book so much. It was all very noir and harkened back to similar mysteries from the show including the very first one that got Veronica into this racket in the first place. This book was definitely full of action and intrigue that keeps you guessing till the last minute. I learned a long time ago with these mysteries that I was probably never going to solve them completely but that never kept me from trying. In the case of this book I did solve about half of the big reveal, and I was really proud of myself. There are some weird plot points that seemed unimportant and left me very confused when the book was over, but I will let them slide. Maybe because I'm biased or maybe because they were red herrings or setups for later books (yes friends there will be two more books). Either way the mystery of the book was fantastic and definitely one of my favorite parts. 

Or maybe I loved it so much because I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars herself. Few people understand this world and these characters better than Kristen Bell. Her voice seemed to ground the book and give it more credibility, as weird as that sounds. Just like the movie it felt like catching up with old friends. Not to mention that Kristen's voices were fantastic. They were hilarious and often scary accurate. The audiobook was an excellent choice.

All of these things combined made for a truly fantastic book. This is definitely a book for fans of the series. It is a return to classic Veronica and I personally couldn't be happier about it. The book does have spoilers for the movie so if you have not seen that yet definitely do that first. And if you haven't experienced Veronica Mars at all, WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS! Kidding! But seriously go do that! Watch the show, the movie, read the book, and then come back here and fangirl with me!

I give Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham a 9 out 10

If you have read the book leave me a comment with your thoughts. Did you love it as much as I did? Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!