Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line Review

Are you a fan of Veronica Mars? Did you know that the saga didn't end with the movie?  I didn't know that! I knew a book was coming out, but I kind of shrugged it off as not quite the real deal. As it turns out, I was wonderfully wrong.  Veronica Mars hasn't ended yet!

My rationale for ignoring the book was that a lot of television series producers hire writers to write shitty paperbacks in order to make more money.  The exception to the the shitty part of the trend is when the show creators and writers are behind the books.  As it happens, the creator and writer of Veronica Mars, Rob Thomas, co-wrote The Thousand Dollar Tan Line.

Rob Thomas is no stranger to YA lit.  He published a YA novel in 1996 with the intriguing title Rats Saw God. It won a prize from the American Library Association (kind of a big deal) and has been on my to-read list for about six years.  So, once I realized that an award-winning YA author and the creator of the show was writing the Veronica Mars book,  I knew it was going to be a true part of the Veronica Mars saga and well-written to boot.


To sweeten the pot beyond our wildest dreams, Kristen Bell narrates the audiobook.  If you happen to be a fan of Veronica Mars, there's no other way to consume this book than by listening to Bell read it to you.  She's a fantastic narrator.  The authors write some complex sentences with dense language, but Bell navigates the tough wording with aplomb.  Moreover, she imbues her own performance into the book in a way that makes the story utterly come to life.

The book takes up right where the movie left off.  Veronica has ditched NYC and law practice to hunt down philandering spouses in Neptune.  Keith Mars is disappointed, thinking that Veronica can do better with her life, but Veronica is called to investigative work.  She immediately lands a case that has attracted nation-wide news coverage.  In Neptune, a college-aged girl has gone missing during spring break festivities.  Worried about the detrimental effects on her business, a wealthy hotelier hires Veronica to "assist" Sherrif Lamb's investigation to find the missing girl.

The mystery is not overly complex, nor is it overly simple.  I found it to be unpredictable but also eminently understandable.  There is a huge red herring in the plot that I fell for, utterly.  All of this is to say that I enjoyed the mystery.  Usually, in a series, I can't abide the mysteries that go along with each installment, providing filler while the characters make microscopic steps towards development. Mysteries in serial novels are convoluted and lazily written, but the mystery in The Thousand Dollar Tan Line is earnest, readable, and refreshing.

As for the language, I found it to be very erudite and impressive.  As I mentioned before, the authors wrote a book for adults, with sophisticated sentences and vocabulary.  The descriptions were a highlight for me.  They were extremely thorough and cinematic.  I was able to picture everything in my mind's eye clearly.

One thing I will mention, that isn't necessarily a negative thing, is that this book borrows the gloomier tone of the movie.  There are not so many moments that illicit laughter in this book.  This grown-up Veronica is more sombre and less sassy.  She does have moments of levity in the book, but her character is a bit disconnected from high-school-Veronica.

Basically, if you're a fan of Veronica Mars, the only reason you haven't read this book is because you didn't know how legit and awesome it is.  I'm here to tell you, it is both things, reader.  Go get yourself an audiobook of The Thousand Dollar Tan Line now!