One For The Money

Sometimes, as a reader you slip into wondering what it takes for a book to become a bestseller. Is there a secret? People in the publishing industry say that if a book possesses the three b’s, it becomes potential must-read material. The three b’s are perhaps simpler than you might initially expect: bedroom, bathroom, beach.

Having this in mind, it becomes perfectly clear why ‘One For The Money’ was not only devoured by the public upon being released, but had continued to enjoy its bestselling status for eighteen months after its original publication. It’s the first book in a trilogy, followed by ‘Two For The Dough’ and ‘Three To Get Deadly’. Janet Evanovich, the writer, had already published a few books, without any major success, before writing about Stephanie Plum…

I read the book long before I knew that it was going to be adapted into a movie. A friend had persuaded me to give it a go, by convincing me that I’d find myself laughing out loud throughout. Though I didn’t laugh as much was promised, the author definitely had her moments. At the same time, it was fun and easy to read, getting me through a rainy afternoon effectively.

One For The Money Stephanie Plum is in her early thirties, jobless and totally broke. In order to achieve a fresh start, she finds herself checking out her cousin’s bail-bond business, in hope to apply for a job. There, Stephanie finds out that if you get hold of the clients who have skipped their bond, you get a percentage of their bail. The money is really good, exactly what she needs, so she decides to blackmail her cousin to get her the most difficult one: Joe Morelli’s case. Joe is a policeman wanted for murder and not a total stranger to Stephanie. In order to catch Joe, Stephanie gets into some serious trouble.

The plot is fine and easy to follow and the characters are quite solid and well-developed, but the novel does not immediately call out ‘adaptation!’ and it never occurred to me that they would actually go through with it. It’s a mystery/crime novel with little action and a distinct lack of mystery. The rhythm of the book was adequate, but for a film I was almost certain that it would be too slow, and it was remarkably so. Everything was crawling and by the end viewers all around me were falling off their chairs in obvious boredom. Katherine Heigl was cast for the role of Stephanie Plum and she wasn’t bad – but she wasn’t good either. She isn’t exactly what you have in mind when you read the book. I think that she was missing the nerve and the attitude that Stephanie has in the book. The rest of the casting was fine, directed by Julie Anne Robinson and adapted into a screenplay by Stacy Sherman and Karen Ray.

As an adaption ‘One For the Money’ wasn’t bad, there weren’t too many alternations – only the ones I already expected, in order to get the movie flowing. On the other hand, as a movie I’m afraid that it wasn’t particularly good and although two more movies are expected to follow, it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t.