I loved having kirsten bell read this audio book.. It was such a cool story! ( )

I loved having kirsten bell read this audio book.. It was such a cool story! ( )

I came in touch with the world of Veronica Mars way late in the game, but I soon came to love this amazing young woman. Veronica is smart, sassy and brave, and this is fully respected in the book. In true Mars fashion, the mystery was intricate enough to keep me guessing until the very end and there were sufficient tension and humour to keep me turning pages well into the wee hours.

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Of course, the best thing for me was getting to see all of my favourite characters again! Veronica's best friends Mac and Wallace definitely play a good role in the story, as does her father Keith. I always liked the relationship between Veronica and her dad, and I loved seeing them come to terms with their new living order once Veronica moves back home and Keith has to face a very long recovery.

My biggest disappointment was that some of my favourite characters definitely did not get enough action time. Weevil only made a cameo appearance, and Logan was present only in a handful of long-distance calls. What is this? I NEED an epic love story!

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You said it! And there is nothing epic about phone calls... I hold very high hopes for the second book though.

This book will definitely appeal more to Veronica Mars fans, but it could be a great mystery read for everyone. Knowing the characters definitely is an added value, but is not a prerequisite for liking the book or understanding the story. Filled with snarky comments and wit, this is a great read if you're looking for a good mystery with likable characters.

Originally published on Book For Thought. ( )

I really wanted to like this book, but with the lack of Veronica as first person narrator and then the rudimentary writing, I couldn't get through more than four chapters.

I couldn't get past the prose like this:

"regal brick and sandstone entrance"
"The lobby glinted with brass and brocade"
"glass-sided elevator looking down over the luxurious gardens below"
"lobby looked the same as it ever had, with cream-colored walls and marble surfaces"
"A few girls with silk caftans . . . and a bored-looking boy wearing Gucci shades and a UCLA sweatshirt"
"only the trust-funded would be able to afford a room"
"Veronica . . . followed the red-and-gold chevron-print carpet"
all on the same page.

Every noun has an adjective attached to it, but nothing's specific to a place. Veronica could be describing any hotel, but this is one she practically lived in at a formative period of her life. It also seems as if half of the adjectives have hyphens. ( )

I love Veronica Mars more than probably any other TV show in the history of TV. It's certainly the only show I ever donated to the kickstarter of. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line reads exactly like a Veronica Mars episode -- the pacing's the same, the visuals are the same, the mandatory cameos of the season regulars are the same -- to the point that I could imagine the commercial breaks. And it's fun. It has Rob Thomas' characteristic wit and depending on how fast you read you might, like me, find that it's in fact less of a time commitment than watching an episode.

Downsides? Maybe I just don't have Veronica momentum any more. This just didn't really stick with me. It didn't have the context that a VM episode did, so it mostly felt like a filler one-off episode. I want wry class commentary, anti-hero feminism and friendly camaraderie. Oh, Veronica, we used to be friends, a long time ago, but I have yet to see a high school show that makes the transition to post-high school and retains its je ne sais quoi. ( )