One for the Money (novel)
 1994 Paperback cover | |
| Author | Janet Evanovich |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Stephanie Plum |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | August 26, 1994 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp. |
| ISBN | 0-684-19639-5 |
| OCLC | 29634364 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3555.V2126 O5 1994 |
| Followed by | Two for the Dough |
One for the Money is the first novel by Janet Evanovich featuring the bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. It was published in 1994 in the United States and in 1995 in Great Britain. Like its successors, Two for the Dough and Three To Get Deadly, One for the Money is a long-time best-seller, appearing for 75 consecutive weeks on the USA Today list of 150 best-selling novels, peaking at number 13.[1]
Before this novel, Evanovich wrote 11 category romance novels. She then "ran out of sexual positions and decided to move into the mystery genre."[2] Before writing One For the Money, her first mystery novel, Evanovich spent two years investigating the world of law enforcement, shadowing both bail enforcement agents and the Trenton police, observing their actions and the equipment they carried. She also learned how to shoot a gun.[3]
One For the Money was named a New York Times Notable Book, a Publishers Weekly "Best Book of 1994," and a USA Today "Best Bet." For this book, Evanovich also won the 1995 Dilys Award, one of only three authors to do so for their first mystery (the others being Julia Spencer-Fleming and Louise Penney).
This novel introduced characters that would frequent the subsequent novels. As of November 2011, there have been 18 published numbered novels, four novellas, and one short story in the Stephanie Plum series.
Plot summary
Stephanie Plum, laid off from her job as a lingerie buyer for a Newark department store, applies for a filing job with her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman. Vinnie's assistant, Connie, tells her the job is taken, but suggests she work as a bounty hunter, apprehending clients who have failed to appear for their court dates. Stephanie is excited to learn that Joe Morelli, a Trenton vice cop and onetime sexual acquaintance of hers, is FTA and facing charges for murder one. Vinnie initially refuses to give her a job, but Morelli's bounty is $10,000, which Stephanie desperately needs, so she blackmails Vinnie into employing her, by threatening to expose his "addiction to kinky sex" to his unsuspecting wife.
Staking out Morelli's apartment, Stephanie follows his cousin, Mooch, to Morelli's hideout and finds him quickly, but is humiliated when he laughs off her demand that she come with him, pointing out (correctly) that she has neither the equipment nor the training to an unwilling fugitive. Connie puts her in touch with Vinnie's "star" bounty hunter, Ricardo Manoso, a.ka. "Ranger", who gives her a crash-course in bounty hunting. He also buys Stephanie her first gun, a compact Smith & Wesson revolver, and fills her in on Morelli's alleged crime: shooting an unarmed man, Ziggy Kuleska, at the apartment of a prostitute, Carmen Sanchez. Morelli claims that Ziggy was armed and Morelli shot him in self-defense, but no gun was recovered at the crime scene.
Film adaptation
A film adaptation was produced by Tom Rosenberg for Lakeshore Entertainment, with Katherine Heigl playing the role of Stephanie Plum. Additional cast members included Jason O'Mara as Morelli, Sherri Shepherd as Lula, Daniel Sunjata as Ranger, Patrick Fischler as Vinnie Plum, John Leguizamo as Jimmy Alpha, and Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur. The film was released on January 27, 2012 to negative reviews from critics and was a box office disappointment.
Awards and nominations
One for the Money won the 1995 Dilys Award presented by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.[4]
Notes
- ^ "One for the Money in Best-selling Books Database", USA Today, retrieved 2012-04-25
- ^ Hayward, Mike (2006), Janet Evanovich discusses Twelve Sharp and much else, retrieved 2007-07-16
- ^ White, Claire E., A Conversation With Janet Evanovich, retrieved 2007-07-16
- ^ The Dilys Award, archived from the original on 2008-08-26, retrieved 2008-08-26