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    One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel
    One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel
    One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel

    Written by Janet Evanovich

    Narrated by Lori Petty

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Discover where it all began—the 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), from Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dirty Thirty.

    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.

    Editor's Note

    Smart & sassy…

    Meet Evanovich’s smart & sassy bounty hunter heroine in the first of the bestselling series that’s captivated readers for decades.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJan 1, 1996
    ISBN9780743545556
    Author

    Janet Evanovich

    Bestselling author Janet Evanovich is the winner of the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award and multiple Romantic Times awards, including Lifetime Achievement. She is also a long-standing member of RWA.

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    Reviews for One for the Money

    4/5

    4,090 ratings241 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Cute old school story that'll keep you entertained with the lead character. She's feisty and relatable and the guy sounds like a good crush lol.
    • 5/5
      The humor is believable and enjoyable. Exciting characters and great story. This was a re-read for me and it was just as much fun the second time around.
    • 3/5
      I wasn't sure about this book to start with.
      Stephanie Plum's character is a mixture of Bridget Jones meets Sookie Stackhouse - or something of that ilk!
      Sometimes a bit pathetic and girly and other times suitable stubborn and kick ass!
      Towards the end of the book I'd warmed to the characters.
      The light hearted narrative from Stephanie's point of view didn't really sit well when the risks and dangers she encountered became more serious - it was hard to believe she took anything seriously.

      I still enjoyed it though - essentially light hearted, easy reading and held my interest.
    • 5/5
      Lori Petty makes this audio book! Now go watch the movie after you read it.
    • 5/5
      Love the Stephanie Plum books. Grandma is the absolute best!
    • 4/5
      Total guilty pleasures, this stuff is the kind of book that I read when I desperately need fluff with which I can clear out my brain.

      However, I cannot cannot cannot stand Stephanie Plum if I read more than one of the books consecutively. She never changes, and there are times I would assuredly beat her to death with the latest Evanovich tome.
    • 5/5
      It was perfect having Lori Petty read it! Go tank girl!
    • 3/5
      Not bad. Still not sure if I want to keep reading them or not. No hurry.
    • 5/5
      I have read this series before so the book was already five stars in my book but I love this reader. I was concerned I wouldn't like hearing the words in anyone's voice but the one I gave to the characters if that makes sense. This was not the case, she came pretty close to what I had imagined. Impressive.
    • 5/5
      Loooooved it! This series always makes me laugh out loud!
    • 4/5
      The novel begins a long series with a bang. Out of work, Stephanie Plum cadges a job as a bounty hunter and receives as her first assignment the hot vice cop who seduced her when they were teens. Hijinks ensue, with a satisfying plot, a great climax, and a clear set-up for a long running series. The tone of the narration is sassy, funny, and spot on middle New Jersey (Trenton, where it is set). One sour note for me was the extraordinarily graphic violence against several of the female characters - I'm told that fades from the series after the second book.
    • 3/5
      This book really wasn't that great but I wasn't even halfway done before I wanted to know how it ended. It's always a relief to pick up a book that keeps you holding on to the very last page regardless of how great the journey.
    • 5/5
      I am on a "cozy" mystery kick right now and have been buying lots of mysteries when I run across them. I found some of the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich at a garage sale and thought I would give them a try, even though they are more contemporary. I literally started reading One for the Money 3 or 4 different times - I would read a few pages and unable to get into it, I would pick up another cozy on my TBR pile. I finally decided to MAKE myself stick with it to decide if I wanted to keep those books around or not. It was so worth it! Once I got into the second chapter or so I was completely hooked by Stephanie Plum's charm and wit. She is SOOOOO funny. I like the fact that she is just a normal girl like the rest of us and I enjoy learning how to be a bounty hunter with her. Evanovich's turn of phrase is hilarious. From the curse word spray-painted on her car to her grandmother accidently shooting the chicken at the dinner table to Stephanie being handcuffed naked in her bathroom by Morelli, I was constantly laughing out loud. While there is no blood and gore, there are definitely some moments in the book that made me gasp with fear/shock(Stephanie's car exploding, her VERY scary stalker leaving her "presents"). There are a few sexual references that are disturbing.Technically, there is no romance in the story, but Stephanie and Morelli definitely have a sweet relationship with a lot of sexual tension.I highly recommend this book/series to anyone who enjoys strong female characters. I immediately picked up Two for the Dough - I'm afraid it's going to be hard to read anything else as long as I have the next in this series on my TBR pile! :)
    • 3/5
      I probably would have given this two stars because I really didn't like the atmosphere of the book, but it was pretty entertaining, and it had me laughing occasionally, so I bumped it up to three. The plot wasn't anything awesome or interesting. It was following along on a completely amateur bounty hunter's adventures that was fun. It was believable in that Stephanie was really stupid and clumsy for most of the book. Actually she wasn't stupid. She had a lot of good ideas. The problem was always carrying them out. I appreciated that she didn't just go from a career as a lingerie buyer to someone who really knew what she was doing right away. She had to learn all the basics, including how to fire a gun. I definitely didn't want to rate this over three stars because there were quite a few crude and gross parts. I'm still undecided whether I will want to read anymore of these books. Probably if I want something completely brainless to read.
    • 3/5
      This is two firsts for me .. the first book by Janet Evanovich and the first audiobook. I think I need to learn to focus when listening (it is a talent I will have to cultivate), yet I was still able to follow the story.
    • 5/5
      This book is absolutely amazing. Its easy to imagine how everything in the book takes place. I can visibly see everyone and every action they take. Stephanie Plum is an amazing character to follow. Cant wait to continue with the series.
    • 4/5
      I have loved Janet Evanovich's work for 12 years now, not disappointed with the audiobook as I "re-read" Stephanie Plum's journey.
    • 2/5
      So disappointed.. I wanted something with a bit of funny but this wasn’t and all the foul language … So I guess I won’t be going onto read the rest of the series.
    • 1/5
      This is the lowest I have ever rated a book to date on here because I normally find something redeeming about the books that I read and I don't like being overly critical, but I did not enjoy this book at all. I found the plot to be a bit contrived and didn't seem to be a lot in the way of connecting the mystery parts of the story together in a cohesive fashion. Also there was just something about the way that the characters interacted with each other that didn't sit well with me. Everyone come into a book with their own "stuff" and I think my "stuff" got in the way of enjoying this book. I can't fathom spending all that amount of time on trying to learn to be a bounty hunter just to pay the bills. It feels like it isn't very realistic. Also the characters simply did not resonate with me. The only scenes that I did enjoy were when she was with her family. Those were good scenes in my opinion and ones that I had wished were more focused in on during the book. I recognize however that these moments would have taken away from the main plot of the book, but hopefully in subsequent novels Evanovich has found a better balance between the two. I feel that I must give a second novel a try because it is possible that I didn't enjoy all the build up to Stephanie Plum becoming a bounty hunter and would feel better in a subsequent novel where she has already learned some of the skills that were necessary to teach her in this first novel. I do not feel that I will read the entire 18 book series though based on my perceptions of this first novel.
    • 4/5
      Stephanie is a dimwit, but most of the situations she manages to get herself into are funny. Overall I enjoyed the book. Good storyline and plot development.
    • 1/5
      Read the book, don't listen to this audiobook. This abridged edition not only omits parts of the book, it completely rewrites them. I hated that. I know that from the seventh book on, the audiobooks are unabridged. I couldn't even get through the first chapter. I want to hear the book read the way it was published.
    • 5/5
      Oh my. I remember when I read this book and books 2 - 4. I had a very bad cold at the time. I laughed so hard that I almost choked myself from coughing.Did I stop reading? Heck no!This is pure enjoyable fluff!
    • 4/5
      Great characters, decent plotting, good pacing, and humor that works (which is so hard to do). A terrific start to the series.
    • 5/5
      I love Stephanie Plum. Take me back to old New Jersey.
    • 3/5
      I was turned on to these books by my mother-in-law, who really enjoys them. This is the first I've read, and I'm happy to add them to my "detective" story collection. Quite entertaining. Stephanie is a fun character.
    • 5/5
       I truly enjoyed this funny, witty, murder mystery. Stephanie Plum is out of a job and her mother suggests going to do filing for her cousin Vinnie, when Stephanie arrives the job is taken already. However there are always openings for Bounty Hunters. Not nowing anything Stephanie takes the job and has quite a rough go of it. With no money for supplies and not having a clue how to do anything. She finds herself in quite a few pickles. Joe Morrelli the highest paying bond and her goal for the monent is a guy she knew in high school that she has well quite a few mixed feelings about. Joe was a cop and accused of cold blooded murder of a man who was supposedly unarmed. During this enjoyable book, Stephanie has to deal with Joe the accused murderer, Ranger another bail bondsmen who is quite good but a little cocky, Ramierez a boxer who is also a rapist and murder as well as several other characters that make this story interesting.
    • 3/5
      Terrible narration. Could of been better. Not a good voice.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I have definitely been seeing Janet Evanovich’s books in bookstores, etc. for years and always passed despite hearing good things. I finally figured I’d give the author a try. Anytime I start a new series, I have to start at the very beginning. In One for the Money, I like the character Stephanie Plum well enough. She has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she takes on the job as a Recovery Agent, aka Bounty Hunter. She’s pretty naive as she takes on the biggest case for the most reward. It was nice to see Stephanie increase her confidence and have a willingness to learn the tools of the trade and seek out guidance from professionals. Her character kept reminding me of Sue Grafton’s work and the New Jersey personality reminded me of Lisa Scottoline’s Italian attorney in the Rosato & Associates series. I’m not hooked on the Stephanie Plum series just yet, but I am willing to read the next to see the potential of this author.
    • 5/5
      Currently rereading this series. Love Stephanie, Grandma Mazur, and the other characters. Love the humor and that Stephanie can learn from her mistakes, though she does find new ones to make through the series.Definitely keepers for me.
    • 4/5
      I think I'd go with 3 1/2 stars. Loved the humor but there were a few places where I had to call BS, even taking lack of technology into consideration.