In the summer of 2004, I found myself at home on maternity leave with a newborn baby and a lot of sleepless nights. After I went through my entire Tivo’d cache of The Issac Mizrahi Show (seriously, the best talk show ever. I mourn it every day.), I was dying for new TV to watch. And I was rescued by my friend Amy, a tv critic, who had a pile of DVD screeners for the upcoming fall TV season that she was finished with. I can’t remember most of them, but I definitely remember my two favorites: House MD and Veronica Mars.
I was a huge fan of Hugh Laurie, so it was no surprise that House would become a favorite. But Veronica Mars? I had no idea and wasn’t all that excited about it. It was on UPN, for god’s sake. Wasn’t that the annoying girl who had been on Deadwood for a minute? And her dad was the guy from Just Shoot Me? Eh, no thanks. I kept putting the DVD at the bottom of the pile.
And then one day I watched the whole thing. And then I watched it again. And that was that.
Yes, I own all three seasons on DVD. And yes, I gave money to the Kickstart campaign. I have my T shirt, and my movie script. I watched the movie on iTunes as soon as it came out. And while I thought it was a bit Logan-heavy and a bit Keith-light, I still loved it.
So really, was there any doubt that I would be reading and loving this book?
Do I even need to write up a complete review?
I do? OK. Well.
The book picks up a few weeks after the ending of the movie. Veronica is back in Neptune, running her dad’s office while he recuperates from the big car crash in the movie. It’s spring break in Neptune, and all hell breaks loose when a young girl goes missing. Veronica is hired to investigate by the Neptune Chamber of Commerce, and gets her friends Mac and Wallace to help her out. So far, so good.
And then things get interesting. Another girl goes missing, and this one has a connection to Veronica that she didn’t expect. I won’t spoil it for you, but it creates the necessary conflict, and it moves the story along nicely.
The book completely worked for me: it has plenty of Veronica’s trademark wit, lots of cameos from our favorite Neptune residents, and builds on the loving relationship between Veronica and Keith that I adore. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, and hope this one comes with a lot more Vinnie Van Lowe than we’ve been given. You really can’t have too much.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d6mZKDUZT0&w=420&h=315]