Nov. 2023 - Mystery Book Club - Past Titles - LibGuides at Westwood Public Library

"One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
Call Number: MYSTERY Evanovich
Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six. Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. Her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case.

How does the author develop the main character, Stephanie Plum, throughout the story? What traits make her a relatable and interesting protagonist?
"One for the Money" blends elements of mystery and comedy. How effectively does the author balance these two genres in the novel? Did you find the humor and suspense well-integrated?
Discuss the importance of the book's setting in Trenton, New Jersey. How does it contribute to the overall atmosphere and tone of the story?
What were the main driving forces of the plot, and how did the author keep you engaged? Were there any surprising twists or turns that caught you off guard?
Explore the dynamics between Stephanie Plum and other characters in the book, such as Joe Morelli and Ranger. How do these relationships evolve, and what do they reveal about Stephanie's character?
Stephanie Plum is essentially a bounty hunter, and her sense of justice is a key theme in the book. How does she navigate the ethical and moral challenges of her job?
Stephanie Plum challenges some traditional gender roles. How does the book address gender stereotypes, and what commentary, if any, does it offer on this topic?
Stephanie Plum comes from a quirky, close-knit family. How do her relationships with her family members influence her actions and decisions in the story?
Discuss the humor in the book. What comedic elements or scenes stood out to you, and how did they enhance the story?
"One for the Money" is the first book in a long-running series. Did the ending of this book leave you interested in reading more about Stephanie Plum's adventures? Why or why not?
If you've watched the movie adaptation of the book, how does it compare to the source material? What changes were made, and did they enhance or detract from the story?
In what ways does "One for the Money" adhere to or subvert typical crime and mystery novel conventions? How does the author keep you engaged in the investigation?

Janet Evanovich is a bestselling American author known for her popular series of novels, primarily in the mystery and romance genres. She was born on April 22, 1943, in South River, New Jersey, USA. Janet Evanovich's career as a writer began in the early 1980s, but she gained widespread recognition with her series of novels featuring the character Stephanie Plum, a sassy and unconventional bounty hunter.
Early Life: Evanovich grew up in South River, New Jersey. She attended Douglass College, part of Rutgers University, and graduated with a degree in art. She later moved to New York City, where she worked as a secretary and, eventually, a romance writer.
Career: Janet Evanovich initially wrote romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall. In 1994, she released her first Stephanie Plum novel, "One for the Money," which was a huge success and led to the creation of a long-running series.
- Stephanie Plum Series: The Stephanie Plum series, which includes titles like "Two for the Dough," "Three to Get Deadly," and so on, is characterized by humor, crime, and a dose of romance. Stephanie Plum, the main character, is known for her distinctive personality and knack for getting herself into humorous and dangerous situations.
- Literary Success: Janet Evanovich's books have consistently appeared on bestseller lists and have been translated into numerous languages. She has published over 25 novels in the Stephanie Plum series and has also authored other series and standalone novels.
- Awards: Throughout her career, Janet Evanovich has received several awards and honors for her work. She has been a recipient of the John Creasy Award and the Silver Dagger Award.
- Collaborations: Janet Evanovich has also co-authored books with other writers, such as Charlotte Hughes. Together, they wrote the "Full" series, which includes titles like "Full House" and "Full Tilt."
Personal Life: Janet Evanovich is married to Peter Evanovich, and they have children together. She is known for her humorous and down-to-earth writing style, which has endeared her to a wide audience of readers.
Janet Evanovich's novels are popular for their witty humor, memorable characters, and page-turning plots. Her ability to blend romance and mystery with a touch of comedy has made her a beloved figure in the world of contemporary fiction.

On Discipline: "I never have writer's block, but if I'm tired or the kids need something, I can't write. I get up early and work seven days a week, even if I don't feel like it."
On Finding Inspiration: "I'm never really blocked. I can always think of something to write. It's just a matter of writing the wrong thing and then discarding it and starting over."
On Writing Method: "I start each morning with a 3-mile jog and then come home and try to write three pages every day. If I'm feeling writer's block, I just force myself to write. I'll write about the night before and what I'm going to do the next day."
On Perseverance: "I wasn't trying to write a book that would sell. I was just trying to finish the book. I didn't think I'd ever get published. I wrote the book because I wanted to read it."
On Honing Your Craft: "The most important thing is to be true to yourself and follow your instincts. Never write for anyone else. Never try to be popular. I write the book I want to read."

Stephanie Plum Series (in order written)
Gabriela Rose
- The Recovery Agent
Co-Authored Fox and O’Hare Adventure Series – Lee Goldberg (in order written)
- Pros and Cons (E-Short)
- The Heist
- The Chase
- The Shell Game (E-Short)
- The Job
- The Scam
- The Pursuit
- The Big Kahuna (co-author Peter Evanovich)
- The Bounty (co-author Steve Hamilton)
Lizzy and Diesel Series (in order written)
- Wicked Appetite
- Wicked Business
- Wicked Charms (co-author Phoef Sutton)
Knight and Moon Adventure Series (in order written)
- Curious Minds (co-author Phoef Sutton)
- Dangerous Minds
Barnaby and Hooker Series (in order written)
- Metro Girl
- Motor Mouth
- Troublemaker (graphic novel/comic book)
Co-Authored Full Series – Charlotte Hughes (in order written)
- Full House (originally a pre-Plum)
- Full Tilt
- Full Speed
- Full Blast
- Full Bloom
- Full Scoop
Re-Released Romance Novels (in order written)
Co-Authored Romance Novels – Leanne Banks
- Hot Stuff
Co-Authored Romance Novels – Dorien Kelly (in order written)
- Love in a Nutshell
- The Husband List

"One for the Money" (2012): Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2012. The film starred Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum and was directed by Julie Anne Robinson.
Television Adaptation: There have been discussions and plans to adapt Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for television.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie; Bob Mayer
Call Number: FICTION Crusie
Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love... Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on. Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window. His name is Shane, no last name, just Shane, and he has his own problems: he's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes. When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes's house, and his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either. Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hit men show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with intent to throw more than rice. Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and - most dangerous of all - each other. Agnes and the Hitman is the perfect combination of sugar and spice, sweet and salty - a novel of delicious proportions.
The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks
Call Number: Fiction Parks
Reading his own newspaper's obituaries, veteran reporter Carter Ross comes across that of a woman named Nancy Marino, who was the victim of a hit-and-run while she was on the job delivering copies of that very paper, the Eagle-Examiner . Struck by the opportunity to write a heroic piece about an everyday woman killed too young, he heads to her wake to gather tributes and anecdotes. It's the last place Ross expects to find controversy--which is exactly what happens when one of Nancy's sisters convinces him that the accident might not have been accidental at all. It turns out that the kind and generous Nancy may have made a few enemies, starting with her boss at the diner where she was a part-time waitress, and even including the publisher of the Eagle-Examiner . Carter's investigation of this seemingly simple story soon has him in big trouble with his full-time editor and sometime girlfriend, Tina Thompson, not to mention the rest of his bosses at the paper, but he can't let it go--the story is just too good, and it keeps getting better. But will his nose for trouble finally take him too far?
Deadly Habit by Andrea Sisco
Call Number: FICTION Sisco
Penelope Santucci, a probation officer who becomes the prime suspect when her big shot lawyer ex-husband is murdered, decides to take charge and prove her innocence with the help of a nun and a priest.
Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Call Number: MYSTERY CABOT
Heather Wells Rocks! Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Call Number: MYSTERY Cosimano
Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she's really not. She's a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay's life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn't written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she's mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.
Swift Justice by Laura DiSilverio
Call Number: MYSTERY DiSilverio
Charlotte "Charlie" Swift prefers working alone. That's why after eight years as an Air Force investigator she became a PI rather than a cop. She lives alone, she works alone, and aside for the occasional flirtation with sexy cop Connor Montgomery or her hunky neighbor Father Dan, she likes it that way. Then her silent partner flees the country, leaving his wife, Gigi, with nothing but the house, the Hummer, and a half interest in Swift Investigations. Charlie ends up with a heap of debt andGigi, who has decided to be a not-so-silent partner. This change comes about while Charlie is trying to find the mother of a baby abandoned on a client's doorstep. While following leads, she sends Gigi out on crazy assignments, hoping that the pampered socialite will be driven to quit. However, when the baby's mother turns up dead, there's a murderer on the loose, and Charlie will need all the help she can get.
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Call Number: MYSTERY Jones
First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. This is a thrilling debut novel from Darynda Jones, an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
Call Number: MYSTERY Jones
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o' joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose. Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: it's fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, it's strong cups of coffee--and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff--an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in--and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it's reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter's new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full. Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it's up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free.
What's a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie
Call Number: MYSTERY Laurie
M.J., her partner Gilley, and their client, the wealthy, de-lish Dr. Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof-although Sable says it was foul play. But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around. The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests. Now M.J. will have to to quell the clamor-and listen for a voice with the answers...

Mystery Book Club - Past Titles: Nov. 2023

"One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich

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