We Used to Be Friends (and still are)

Since the original series was noir fiction transported to the UPN—complete with voiceover (by Kristen Bell) and a sunny California town with a seedy underbelly—it makes perfect sense to create a book series based on Veronica’s world.  Actually, when I googled VM to see which network it originally aired on (I thought UPN but wasn’t sure), I read that Rob Thomas had originally conceived of the show as a young adult book series with a male protagonist but decided that a female POV would be much more interesting.  Thank God he did.

So, this book picks up shortly after the movie ends with (SPOILER ALERT-IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE STOP NOW) Veronica running the family PI business while her dad, Keith, recovers from the car accident that claimed the life of a Neptune police officer and almost killed Keith.  However, the Mars Investigation agency is not pulling in a lot of business and Veronica not only can’t pay her friend, Mac, for her computer skills but may not be able to keep the lights on much longer.  Luckily, a visit from the head of Neptune’s Chamber of Commerce brings Veronica and the gang a case.  Spring Break lasts for months in Neptune and brings in tons of money to area businesses.  However, two girls have disappeared during the bacchanalian festivities and that’s hurting Neptune’s bottom line as concerned parents cancel hotel reservations.  Veronica is charged with trying to locate the girls and bring an end to the hysteria.

 I’m not sure how somebody not already immersed in the television series and/or the movie would read this but for fans of both, this is a fun and tasty read.  We get both snark and angst from Veronica, a lot of witty repartee, many familiar faces, and the usual twisty ending.  The only downside is that Logan doesn’t get a lot of page time, but I’m sure he’ll make more of an appearance in the next book.  I’m such a fan of Veronica, her dad, and her friends, that I will seek them out in whatever format Rob Thomas thinks of next; however, a young adult series works well and I hope he and Jennifer Graham are hard at work on book #2.