Review: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line
Author: Rob Thomas and  Jennifer Graham
Publication Date: June 30th 2014         
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From Rob Thomas, the creator of groundbreaking television series and movie Veronica Mars, comes the first book in a thrilling new mystery series.

Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She's traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.
Now it's spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is not a simple missing person's case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica's past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined

Veronicas Mars was one of the best shows on TV when I was in high school, and as we all know where the best shows go: TV Gold Heaven.  And then there was the movie. Finally. And we got everything we didn't get in the non-ending of season three. And now we have book versions! Book. Versions. Okay, I was a little apprehensive because Veronicas one of those characters you either get...or don't. And would that still show? Her voice still sound like her voice? It's all how it translates on the page, despite Rob Thomas. I don't know what I was worried about really.

Starting where the movie left off,  everything's a little...less stellar than the happy tone the movie left with, Mars Investigations isn't getting many cases, Keith's still healing from the fallout, and Logan's still gone. And then a girl goes missing. Veronicas has a case that of course, leads her into a missing persons case that isn't what it seems.

Like I mentioned, my main worry was that the characters we know and love would sound nothing like their TV counterparts. But they do, and they act the way you expect them to, okay they're older, so they're more mature, but underneath it,, you can still find them. There's a lot of snark involved, which was a must, it wouldn't be Veronica Mars without a heavy dose of snark, right? What I loved about reading The Thousand Dollar Tan Line though, was how you could see it all play out in your head, you know the characters, it was fun to see it all play out, and I didn't know who done it, so that's a plus, there were so many ways it could go and so many suspects that had a lot of motive, that I honestly no idea where it was actually going to go.

 The thing that made it less than perfect, and maybe this is really unfair of me not to give it a 5 because of it, but...the lack of Logan. We only get to hear from him for little titbits in a few scenes were Veronica skypes him, and even then, it's barely a conversation. You cannot have Veronicas Mars without a heavy dose of Logan Echolls. It just isn't right. It shouldn't exist.

If you're missing Veronica Mars and want some more, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line is full of witty comments, snark, familiarity and a case that'll have you second guessing every person involved, and all in all, a good Veronica fix. Just don't expect a Logan fix.

Rating: 4/5