Book 1: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

[Lisin]

Here's your place to discuss the book. No need to tag spoilers, I'm just going to say that if you haven't read the book yet probably wait to finish it before posting unless you want to be spoiled.

A few notes, Rob Thomas has said that the book is cannon but not necessarily the plot of any possible sequel. He has also said that the book was originally going to be the plot of the first movie but he changed it to the reunion so as to be able to have more past characters be there without feeling like no one ever left Neptune. 

[Chip]

I started this earlier today. I'm not too far in since I had to go to work, but it picks up about two months after the movie. I downloaded the audio book since Kristen Bell was reading it and I thought I would get that TV show narration feel. 

[Lisin]

We're about at the same pace then because that's almost exactly what I did. I can't get the stupid audiobook to download to my stupid phone at the moment because my stupid office doesn't have wifi (I know, it's literally the worst thing that's ever happened to me) but I've read a bit and I'm excited to read more and ALSO listen on my crazy ass 3 hour commute! I'll be finished by Friday either way I'm sure. I read really fast but also being in the car for 3+ hours since the recording says it's only 8 hours I'll be done in no time :) Then I'll probably re-read it because I am a freak. 

[halgia]

I just grabbed the Kindle edition. Did you guys actually pay the full $25 audiobook price (or are you Audible subscribers)? I was hoping for the cheap-audiobook-after-buying-the-Kindle-copy thing but they don't seem to have that option here.

(I also just got my email from Amazon this morning saying I get 74 cents of antitrust money to use on this book – so exciting! :|)

[Lisin]

I subscribed to Audible for the $14 price and I'm going to cancel after I finish listening, you still keep the books you bought when you do that, it's what I do every time I want an audio book. I don't listen to them enough to benefit from the monthly subscription price but it's works out this way for me. I've listened to about 2 hours of it so far and it is AMAZING Kristen Bell does VOICES, it's so much fun!

[Chip]

My wife subscribes to audible so we had a credit already. I went ahead and bought the kindle edition also, but it doesn't have whispersync. My commute to work is about 5 mins, so I will probably use this as incentive to go to the gym and listen.

Lisin is way ahead of me, so I'll jump back in the thread when I have finished!

[halgia]

Did the trial subscription to Audible. It's totally better to actually hear it in Kristen Bell's voice instead of my in-my-head version of her voice, but good lord is her Enrico Colantoni impression terrible.

[Lisin]

Her Mac is pretty good though! I was thinking about her Enrico Colantoni this morning on my way in wondering "did he listen to this? Did he then call her and say 'THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK I SOUND LIKE?!'" but I imagine she decided she was doing voices for everyone and just couldn't NOT do one for him and couldn't nail it so I at least give her credit for making it easy to discern who is speaking. The impression is bad though. 

[Carrie Ann]

I started reading at about 9:00 last night, and didn't stop until it was done. I didn't want to look at a clock, but I am wiped out today. So obviously I was engaged by the story! It, like the movie, felt like a multi-episode arc of the show and I thought, for the most part, it captured the feel of the show and the characters really well. (Spoilers below!)

The case was a little far-fetched, but not much farther-fetched than a lot of the show's mysteries. The one thing that was kinda hard to believe is that Lianne's stepdaughter's BF from Arizona would happen to go to Hearst, and then they would happen to have a murder there that led to planning this con. And the con in general doesn't stand up to a lot of scrutiny. There are about a million ways this doesn't work out for them--primarily, if the other girl had been found earlier, before they'd had time to set up the ransom thing.

It's interesting to think of Veronica no longer being an only child, but I still hate Lianne, so I don't relish the idea of her/Hunter becoming a larger part of V's life going forward.

I loved having so much more time with Mac and Wallace, and it was great to have Norris pop up again. I did miss Logan. The movie, for as much as it centered on the murder trial, really didn't have a lot of real Logan in it either, so I was hoping for a little more here (and to have him a little less somber now that he's been cleared of murder).

[gik910]

I also did the Audible trial to get it.  I loved it.  Norris was a great surprise.  Not sure how I feel about Lianne, but I am really curious about how Hunter being in her life will effect Veronica.  I actually think Logan not being center to the story was a smart decision because there is a decent contingent of the fan population that are not crazy about all the LoVe stuff and it is nice to see her settle back into Neptune a bit off kilter.

Her relationship with Keith is still the most important thing about the story for me (despite Kristen's terrible impression, props for trying though)

If we can't get anymore screen time, I am content with KB narrated books from now on.

[halgia]

I just finished this; stuck with the audiobook. (Also, no whispersync means it's way more annoying to go back and forth between the audiobook / kindle...come on, Amazon.)

I agree that the con maybe doesn't super stand-up, but it feels plausible enough to not interrupt my enjoyment of the story, which is all that most of the original show mysteries ever really stood up to anyway. I do like that Mac and Wallace get to still be a part of this without really feeling like they're just filling space. Also agree that the Veronica/Keith relationship has been at the core of the character from the beginning: it works here, but I do think that's the thing that suffers the most from having KB narrate it, that his voice is sooo far from the real thing that it's a little hard for me to really feel like it's the same thing. Her Mac is decent and though her Wallace is obviously not a great impression either, that didn't really bug me as much as her Keith.

I was like 80% sure this would include the return of Lianne and was not particularly interested in that. Given that that was going to happen, though, I think this is about the best way for it to do so. I like the idea of a little half-Veronica running around in the future, as long as Lianne isn't a strong presence (e.g. if she's in jail...not that she did anything, but also not that that stops Lamb from putting people in jail). Maybe in another ten years we'll get a CW series with him running around Neptune High. :)

I thought it was a good move to have Logan mostly out of the picture.

So if this is set in March and is two months after the movie, Neptune High has their reunions in January? ...okay.

The one thing that I thought was really weird about the plot: that the whole Weevil/Celeste storyline barely gets mentioned. Is he out on bail and just waiting for the trial or whatever? It didn't seem like she was doing any investigation or anything in the background before all this happened, and it's the kind of thing that should be kind of a big deal to her and was completely unresolved in the movie. I guess that's for the next book or whatever.

Also: you'd think the natural choice would be to do it in first person, in the voiceover style of the show. I wonder if they tried that and thought it didn't work, or what.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Dougal

[gik910]

For some reason I thought for sure it was going to be Duncan & Little Lilly...which could have pulled in more of the Weevil/Celeste stuff.  That may be the focus of the next book.

I really liked her Mac.

[halgia]

Yeah, I'm sure Duncan will show up before too long. Maybe Hunter and Little Lilly will be friends.

Her Mac was good, but sounded kind of overly annoyingly nasally to me at points. Still, clearly a good impression and definitely served its purpose of letting you know who was talking.

[Aliconehead]

Little Lily is at least 10 if not older by now.  Hunter was 6, so I don't think they will be friends.  I am looking forward to more books, hopefully.  If I can't get a movie and least I will have the books.

I enjoyed it, not a great mystery but fun.

[Moviesnob]

It was a quick read for me, I enjoyed it. I am very skeptical of the second missing girl just happening to be related to Veronica's mother, but that's how it goes. I felt like the characters were written well - I could see them saying all the dialogue, and I appreciated the extra peek into Veronica's mind that the written medium gives. I did want more Logan, but I'm totally cool with it being addressed later, and understand that not everyone is all about the LoVe.

[Lisin]

So if this is set in March and is two months after the movie, Neptune High has their reunions in January? ...okay.

Well... I mean not that the movie indicated this in anyway so this is a full on fanwank BUT my high school reunion was around Christmas because they figured everyone would be home for the holidays? 

I just finished it and I really loved it. I liked all the decisions they made and I was genuinely surprised that it had stupid Lianne involved somehow. Hunter is adorable and really I'm just sad that there's no new Veronica Mars for me to consume for a while. 

[bybrandy]

I've never been all that interested in attending any of my reunions, however, it seems to me like the invitations I've seen are for events in Nov/December.  I always assumed it was because people would be more likely to be in town visiting family for the holiday.   

I thought Veronica and Logan not quite connecting throughout the book was good.

I think it's a pretty big coincidence that Lianne's stepdaughter was one of those involved, and I think they could have gotten around this pretty easily since when Veronica and Aurora finally meet she has some resentment about perfect Veronica.  It would have worked for me if she planned a con in Neptune entirely to show up the perfect step-sibling she's never met.   

I liked noisy, serious Hunter.  I think that could be interesting for Veronica.    


 

[Chip]

I just finished this; stuck with the audiobook. (Also, no whispersync means it's way more annoying to go back and forth between the audiobook / kindle...come on, Amazon.

Whispersync started working halfway through! I've never had it do that before.

[Whimsy]

I also got the book free with a trial of audible. I also bought it, but it worked perfectly for me as I had to drive to Myrtle Beach, an 18 hour drive. I loved listening to the different voices (some good and some hilariously bad). I thought Veronica's own voice was off sometimes. It's hard to explain, but she just sounded different.

Overall, I liked it. It wasn't mind blowingly awesome, but the characters all seemed true to themselves and I enjoyed it. I also didn't like the contrived connection to Lianne, but I liked the conflict it brought to Veronica. If we don't get more movies or a Netflix series, I hope we get more books and Kristen Bell narrates them all!

[Athena]

Did the trial subscription to Audible. It's totally better to actually hear it in Kristen Bell's voice instead of my in-my-head version of her voice, but good lord is her Enrico Colantoni impression terrible.

When I heard it, I went "Really?!" I thought she was doing it as a joke, but no, that was her version of Keith.

Her version of Mac and Wallace are pretty good actually. I only listened to the first few chapters on audiobook then switched to the ebook. I quite enjoyed it. The mystery was fine and I could picture it all. I enjoyed all the moments between the main cast, Norris and the mystery had a lot going on. I really like Logan, but I like that he was not around that much after the events of the movie. It showed that even without angst, these two can have an interesting relationship. I love how realistic it was that they couldn't sync up their schedules. I prefer this over their trust issues.

The Lianne bit was contrived, but interesting to see how that plays out. Like Veronica, I really would like Keith to have someone in his life. I think it'll be likely that Duncan would return at some point.

I'm looking forward to more books as well and more Kristen Bell narration too.

[Chip]

Do we know how often these are going to come out? I know a series is planned. Because the threat of Eduardo and Rico is still out there. Just because they weren't involved in the murder, Veronica is totally on his radar now.

[Athena]

The second book is more or less written and will be out November I think which is a great thing to look forward to in the fall.

[Lisin]

Woo Hoo! November! I can hold out until then. Is it awful that I'm super annoyed at a friend of mine who is FREAKING OUT wanting more and she just finished watching the show for the first time the week before the movie came out! I mean I'm not actually mad but at the same time I'm like "LADY I have waited SEVEN YEARS!" sorry, I just had to vent! I am super excited to keep reading these. I'd love another movie or Netflix series or what have you but if the books are all we get I think I'm ok with that. 

[no1skittishkitten]

I love that Mac and Veronica are working together.

I'm wondering if maybe Veronica is going to wind up in a guardianship position over Hunter? At least temporarily? I think that would be an interesting challenge for grown-up Veronica. Imagine having to leave a stakeout because Hunter's school is calling (you know a kid being raised by Veronica is going to get in all kinds of trouble...maybe he was snooping in someone's cubby), or Logan coming home and having to contend with the rugrat running around with his instruments while LoVe are trying to -- ahem -- reconnect.

[Carrie Ann]

I would not enjoy that, personally. I find the "add a kid" trope annoying in my shows/series (DAWN, looking at you). But I do hope that he shows up again and Veronica can spend some time with him. It's good for drama for her to have more people to be concerned about--Keith can't keep having near-death experiences!

[Kel Varnsen]

I read it last week and I pretty much liked it up until the end which kind of bugged me a bit. The possibility of tacking on a kid to Veronica's life seems like of annoying. Then again the idea that Lianne might go to jail as an accessory makes me laugh as well. I mean the woman has no criminal record, is primary care giver to a 6 year old (especially after her husband does go to jail). Plus the fact that there was only one plane ticket out of town (in her husband's name) would be pretty good evidence that she wasn't involved. No way any prosecutor would want to take that to trial and risk having the sobbing testimony of a now single mom whose husband screwed her over happen in a court room. Especially since she could potentially be a witness against her husband or step-daughter.

 

Then again it also kind of bugged me that there was no real mention of how the last time Veronica saw Lianne, she skipped town with a crapload of money that was her's and Keith's.

 

It also kind of bugged me that there was little or no mention of trying to figure out who killed Sacks and almost killed Keith. As determined as Veronica is, you would think she would be spending all her free time trying to figure out who almost killed her dad.

[halgia]

It also kind of bugged me that there was little or no mention of trying to figure out who killed Sacks and almost killed Keith. As determined as Veronica is, you would think she would be spending all her free time trying to figure out who almost killed her dad.

Yeah, definitely. The almost complete dropping of that, and the Weevil/Celeste thing, which are probably the same thing, is really weird. I'd assume it's because they want to use that for the next thing (maybe save it for a movie sequel if they're getting that, though if that happens they'd have to do an awkward "previously on" explaining the whole Lianne/Hunter situation).

[Carrie Ann]

Lianne wasn't nearly conciliatory enough for my taste. Like, I get that she was preoccupied with the disappearance of her replacement daughter, but holy crap, lady. You abandoned your actual daughter after stealing thousands of dollars from her, twice (if you count running away from rehab stealing her money, which I do because I hate Lianne). Didn't you go through some sort of program? Shouldn't you make some amends to her and then let it go if that's what she wants? UGH I just can't stand her.

[GrapeEarth]

I downloaded the audio version because I feel like Kristen Bell should narrate everything, seriously has she done audio books for any other series cause I'm interested!

 

I really didn't know if I would like this because I'm not big on fan fiction or show related book series, but I actually loved it and it was nice to hear KB as Veronica, although I agree with someone above who said at times Veronica didn't sound like Veronica. I thought KB's Mac voice was spot on and it impressed the hell out of me. I love that Mac and Veronica are still working together and I have always been a fan of their friendship and it's nice that she was a larger part in the story, as with Wallace.

 

I read a lot and mysteries are my thing, but I have to admit that this book puzzled me at times and I couldn't figure out who did what, though I called early on that Haley would be dead. I didn't even consider Lianne being a part of the book and when she was introduced without actually naming her, I kept thinking who are they talking about, who could be this shocking? Then duh, Lianne.

 

I'm thrilled that this is going to be a series and I sincerely hope KB comes back to narrate the next one. If we can't get another movie or series, then this is the next best thing.

[Bec]

Such wasted potential that Logan hardly ever does anything to help with cases that have no personal ties to him. V's friends help her with cases all the time, why is Logan relegated to love interest limbo land? It's like they don't know what to do with him so they have to put him away in a corner somewhere until the allotted "V's love interest" time.

 

Now that he has military training and (relatively speaking) more impulse control, I can see him working as a team with Veronica, Keith, and Mac. With a whole corrupt town to deal with, Mars Investigations can use all the help they can get.

 

I find the "add a kid" trope annoying in my shows/series (DAWN, looking at you).

Amen sister! I find it so weird that Veronica now has a half-brother young enough to be her kid. She just had her 10 year high school reunion so she's, what, 28 years old now? And her brother is 6? I know it's not impossible, but it just feels so very strange. Not to mention unnecessary.

 

What purpose did it serve to give her a kid brother? Was it to have V feel like Lianne replaced her? The stepdaughter filled that role. To have V feel tied to Lianne? Hello, this is her mother. To bring out V's softer side? Being a marshmallow and all, V's a softy anyway, it doesn't require a blood related child to get that out of her. Maybe it's to make Veronica feel invested in the case? Lianne being involved and the step-daughter reminding her of her teenage self already did that just fine.

 

And clearly, V's smarts come from Keith, so this kid can't even remotely be expected to be half as sharp as V. So I don't see future potential as a recurring character.

 

The story would have been pretty much the same without the half-brother. I wouldn't complain at all if he is never mentioned again.

 

I still haven't forgotten how V treated her baby-think-it-over - please please please, never ever give her any kids!

[Whimsy]

Such wasted potential that Logan hardly ever does anything to help with cases that have no personal ties to him. V's friends help her with cases all the time, why is Logan relegated to love interest limbo land? It's like they don't know what to do with him so they have to put him away in a corner somewhere until the allotted "V's love interest" time.

 

Now that he has military training and (relatively speaking) more impulse control, I can see him working as a team with Veronica, Keith, and Mac. With a whole corrupt town to deal with, Mars Investigations can use all the help they can get.

 

 

I have pretty much always felt this way.  Once Logan and Veronica started as a couple I got excited and thought that Logan was going to help out and be another person who had her back when needed like Mac and Wallace but that never happened.  I feel that they really could've done so much with him in that type of role and maybe the writers wouldn't have had to make them break up all the time.  I hope they finally do this in the book series.  It could be so much fun! 

[halgia]

Once Logan and Veronica started as a couple I got excited and thought that Logan was going to help out and be another person who had her back when needed like Mac and Wallace but that never happened.

He did come save her when she was in a dangerous spot several times (the Fitzpatrick bar, the roof with Cassidy, a few other times), and tried to some other times when she didn't need it (S3 when he hired the bodyguard). But yeah, he almost never just helped out on a regular case. I don't think Veronica thought of him as a person she could turn to for that the way she did her other friends; I don't know if there was a real character reason for that or if the writers just never thought of using him that way. Agree that it would be fun to see that in the next book.

[Bec]

V asked Wallace for favors so many times it's been a running gag since the show. I'm surprised Mac would quit a lucrative software company job to work for Veronica. Mac always struck me as more pragmatic. But then again, working for a big company often means some loss of freedom and having to deal with office politics bs. I can buy Mac, ever the entrepreneur, seeing Mars Investigations as a sort of startup that have great potential for growth with the help of her skillz.

 

the whole Weevil/Celeste storyline barely gets mentioned

Maybe this isn't meant to be a mystery? Clearly Celeste framed Weevil for something he didn't do after she was the one who fired a gun all willy nilly. Maybe this is more of a general "look how much more corrupt Neptune got in the last decade" establishing the noir setting kind of thing.

 

Having Weevil only show up to be the exposition fairy shows they don't know what to do with him either. But at least he got to be more involved with the case than Logan. Logan's car got more involved in the story than either of them. It does strike me as ridiculous that V keeps doing incredibly risky things with little to no backup when we've got all these characters who would make great backup doing next to nothing. I get that things can't be too easy for her or we lose the suspense and excitement, and she's a capable, independent woman. But teamwork can be suspensful and exciting, too, and working with a team wouldn't necesscarily make her a damsel in distress.

 

(Besides, I would like to see Weevil and Logan work together again. That's always a good time.)

 

little or no mention of trying to figure out who killed Sacks and almost killed Keith

I guess the "Keith's on the road to recovery" scenes were the mentions? If this was still a TV show, that would probably be the big mystery that gets solved at the very end of the season. Now that we're in book format, I wonder how many books count as a season. Hee. This missing girls case is at least like a multi-episode arc, and I can see why V didn't get around to anything else considering this is a "clock is ticking, people might die" kind of scenario. The premise of the next book sounds like a one episode case with not so much urgency, so maybe it would be like one of those episodes where the case of the week didn't fill the entire hour and we got some progress with the big mystery.

 

It sounds like I'm complaining, but I mostly enjoyed the book. Some of the jokes made me chuckle out loud. That business woman character is a good addition. Liked the callback to Amelia Delongpre. The way the mystery was solved worked for me. The cartel people have potential as recurring characters. I liked Aurora, too. She's like an alternate version of Veronica with the Tazer and everything. And I like that Keith is starting to accept his daughter's choices and now they've got a "partnership of equals" thing going at the old Mars family business.

 

Maybe later V will learn about teamwork? Hee.

[Hanahope]

Finally read the first book!

 

 

Having Weevil only show up to be the exposition fairy shows they don't know what to do with him either. But at least he got to be more involved with the case than Logan. Logan's car got more involved in the story than either of them. It does strike me as ridiculous that V keeps doing incredibly risky things with little to no backup when we've got all these characters who would make great backup doing next to nothing.

 

 

I was a bit surprised that Weevil got so little play time and V didn't use him for more back up.  The whole bit with her confronting Aurora and BF because they were 'getting away' was a bit of an exaggeration, since the guy wasn't even dressed.  I could see if she saw him coming out of the dorm with suitcases to put in a car and went back up, but she had no way of knowing they were really "escaping" imminently, and not wait for her dad.

 

I still get a bit annoyed with the timeline.  Even with the movie.  I mean it took her 10 years for V to get through college and law school when the average person only takes 7 or maybe 8 years?  Really?  She really should have been practicing law for a couple of years before going out to her reunion, not just interviewing for her first job.

 

But overall, I liked the mystery, how V was able to solve it, and a real explanation as to why Neptune will never let Keith Mars be sheriff again.