One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Book 1) - Janet Evanovich - Romantic Suspense Novel - Perfect for Book Clubs & Vacation Reading

This was a very entertaining and funny read. Janet Evanovich has a wonderfully witty writing style that gives Stephanie Plum a sassy but also honest voice. Divorcee and jobless Stephanie has been selling off her furniture and appliances to keep from having to move back in with her parents. She is stubborn to the core and a little naïve, which is in part how she ends up as a bounty hunter chasing down her ex-fling Joe Morelli.The whole book is filled with colorful and engaging characters. Grandma Mazur in particular was an awesome character, she was so funny. Everything she said had me laughing. I loved that every character had their own voice. From the hookers, to the boxer Ramirez, to good cop gone `bad' Morelli, they were all well developed and interesting. This is an adult book with some adult themes, including sex and murder, but I enjoyed that. I was glad that Janet didn't water down any of the issues she deals with.Stephanie has a lot of great stories to tell, particularly those that involve Joe Morelli, and she also falls into some rather hilarious situations. Anyone who's ever been down on their luck will completely relate with her. She starts out naive, but her character grew as the story went on. By the end of the book she's a much stronger character. I was also glad to see that as she progressed so did the feel of the book. Stephanie's situation may be funny but there is also seriousness and some scary parts that come from her working as a bounty hunter. She's dealing with dangerous people and falls into some dangerous situations.Over all I found this first book in the Stephanie Plum series a great read, however I did have a few pet peeves. Some of the technology in it is a little dated, which makes the story feel dated (It was written in the mid 90's), but that was easy to look over. What really bothered me was that I loved the interaction between Stephanie and Morelli, however I felt like there wasn't enough of it. I enjoyed reading about Stephanie apprehending various FTA's, but sometimes I wished that Janet had spent a little less time telling me about them and given me more time with Morelli. I was 70% thru the book before he and Steph started working together. At that point I was like `this is what I've been reading for' but the book was nearly over. Morelli is a bad boy and a player, but underneath that he has a soft spot for Stephanie. I wish their partnership had had time to build and be grow stronger. Though I will say, where Janet ended the story left me wanting to read the next one, and I think this is a series I will continue with.