The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars #1)

I love Veronica Mars more than probably any other TV show in the history of TV. It's certainly the only show I ever donated to the kickstarter of. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line reads exactly like a Veronica Mars episode -- the pacing's the same, the visuals are the same, the mandatory cameos of the season regulars are the same -- to the point that I could imagine the commercial breaks. And it's fun. It has Rob Thomas' characteristic wit and depending on how fast you read you might, like me, find that it's in fact less of a time commitment than watching an episode.

Downsides? Maybe I just don't have Veronica momentum any more. This just didn't really stick with me. It didn't have the context that a VM episode did, so it mostly felt like a filler one-off episode. I want wry class commentary, anti-hero feminism and friendly camaraderie. Oh, Veronica, we used to be friends, a long time ago, but I have yet to see a high school show that makes the transition to post-high school and retains its je ne sais quoi.

Veronica Mars is quite possibly one of the most interesting characters on TV. She’s intelligent, witty and snarky; think Philip Marlowe meets Nancy Drew. First of all, if you haven’t seen the TV show, I highly recommend you do so first. Watch the show then the movie and then you’ll be ready to read this novel. This new series takes place after the events of the movie, which means not only do I have to avoid spoiling the novel, but I must also try and avoid any major spoilers of the movie. I’m sure there will be spoilers from the TV show (mild spoilers from the movie as well) but that really can’t be helped.

Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, rich entitled kids, crime and corruption otherwise known as Neptune, California. A town that has no middle class, you are either rich or you are considered low class, and the Sheriff, he comes down hard but only on those below the poverty line. When a girl goes missing at spring break, a media frenzy follows but the Sheriff’s department are not being helpful. Veronica is hired to find the girl but this leads her into a dangerous underground of drug and organised crime.

All your characters are back, with one surprise. I’m pleased to report that everyone and everything in Neptune felt authentic and I’m so happy to see that Mac had a bigger role as Veronica’s sidekick. There is one major flaw in this movie, it changed perspectives; the TV show and movie are all told in a first person narrative but the book is in third person. Which is strange, Veronica Mars’ first person narration is iconic to the brand and also a vital part of the neo-noir style. While that noir style is still evident in the novel it just didn’t feel the same.

Another major flaw in the novel is the missing ‘bigger’ mystery. It was what made the TV show so great; ‘who killed Lilly Kane’ is what got me addicted to the show and each season had a new mystery to solve. I would have liked to see this return in the new book series but much to my disappointment it didn’t. These books are marketed to fans of the Veronica Mars brand and taking away pieces that make the show/movie great really does not do this novel or the others any justice.

I am a marshmallow (if you don’t know what that is then maybe this book isn’t for you) so I obviously loved this novel and enjoyed being back in Neptune. I will be reading any Veronica Mars novel that gets released and backing any kickstarters for any more possible movies. It was fun to stay in Veronica Mars’ world but I would like to know what happened in the ten years between the TV show ending and the movie. I’m hoping this series will tell me more about Veronica’s university and FBI years.

This review originally appeared on my blog: literary-exploration.com/2014/05/02/the-thousand-dollar-tan-line-by-rob-thomas-jennifer-graham/

What is the best thing about Rob Thomas writing a Veronica Mars book? He gets the voices right! You can hear Keith, Veronica, Mac and Wallace in your mind while reading. I'm not kidding, it's amazing. Maybe another good author would be able to recreate the way these people are supposed to do their lines, but Rob Thomas knows best.

Also: The book is cannon, meaning: In any future Veronica Mars program, be it on TV, in theaters, on a book or an mp3, the events of this book matter.

"The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line" feels like a good Veronica Mars double episode. The mystery is exiting, entertaining and stays mostly ahead of the reader (or as I like to think of myself in this case: the TV viewer with a TV in my head). The characters we know and love make an appearance (and some characters one does not expect show up as well) and the story of the small beach town of Neptune, we all had to leave so many years ago, continues beyond the new (brilliant) movie.

Now, this isn't the best thing, the best thing would have been a fourth, fifth, sixth... season of Veronica Mars back when that was an option. But those times have passed. Now we have a movie (and might get another one...) and a book (there will be another one of those for sure) and that's better than nothing I guess.

If reading is'n your thing there is also an audio book version read by Kristen Bell. It's a lot of fun but to me, the book allowed me to imagine it better than the audio ever could.

In some ways I think this book was actually better than the Veronica Mars movie. That was more of a fan-pleasing cameo-fest than anything else, whereas this seemed like a more substantial and focused story, in line with what you might expect from the show in its heyday. Apparently the plot which became the basis for this book was originally going to be the basis for the movie? I wonder how that would have turned out. In any case, it was quite an enjoyable book all around. The quality of the prose was a bit unspectacular, and Logan Echolls ended up getting shoehored into the book despite having nothing to do with the plot, just because fans like him I guess. One thing I think the book would have benefitted from is a first-person perspective. The TV show and Movie feature Veronica's narration as a key stylistic flourish so it's odd that a third person perspective was used here. It didn't really detract though.

One thing worth noting about this book: unlike many tie-in books, it doesn't feel throwaway or unimportant. Without spoiling anything, it has a weight and importance to it that make it feel like a vital part of Veronica's ongoing life story, with major personal stakes in the same way you might expect from an arc in the TV series. but at the same time, it's also something that doesn't really restrict future Veronica Mars film or television projects--it's something future Veronica Mars film or TV projects can reference vaguely or just not discuss at all, without it seeming odd or contradictory.

Any Veronica Mars fan who is hungry for more after the movie should read this book. Or even better, pick up the audiobook. Kristen Bell reads it, and she's quite good. Some of her character voices are a bit strange, especially for the male characters, but her Veronica is naturally quite spot on, and her Mac is scarily accurate as well.