Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

Authors:Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
Publisher: Vintage
Date of publication:  March 2014

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 not a 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. 
 
I am a huge fan of Veronica Mars.  I loved the TV show and was sad when it was canceled.  I also loved the movie.  So, I was excited to read the first in a new series by the show's creator, Rob Thomas and author Jennifer Graham.  The book picks up right after the events of the movie, so if you haven't seen that yet, watch it first.  In fact if you haven't seen the show at all, I would get caught up first.  This book kind of assumes you know all about Veronica and her past.

For the most part, I liked the mystery  There was a lot of the humor from the show.  There was also a couple of twists that surprised me.  I liked the older and wiser Veronica as much as the high school student.  She is still her usual snoopy sarcastic self.  What I was surprised at was the change in the way the story was presented. The book was in third person and not narrated by Veronica as it is in the show.  That was a bit strange.  I had to wonder why the author chose to write the story this way.  I think what threw me even more for a loop was the audiobook was narrated by Kristen Bell who plays Veronica Mars.  It was just weird to hear her read a book and not "talk" to me like she does in the show.  Fans of the show will know what I mean.

Anyway Mr. Thomas has said that these books will be written within the continuous world of Veronica Mars.  I assume that means any more potential movies will take place after the books.  The next one, Mr. Kiss and Tell comes out next year.  I look forward to reading it!