After waiting seven long years since the series finale, one Veronica Mars movie seems like a teasing treat to the average Veronica Mars fan. However, the creator of the series released The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, a original novel featuring the entire Veronica Mars crew.
Thousand-Dollar Tan Line starts directly after the film ends. Veronica is back in Neptune and running the PI game again. Logan is away at War. Wallace is a teacher. Mac has quit her job at Kane Software and is working with Veronica. Keith is recovering from the car accident that left him severely injured and killed Deputy Saks.
The book follows the story of two girls who are missing on their spring break. Veronica is hired to help solve the mystery because her father is not working any cases due to his injuries. In usual Veronica fashion, she works the case herself with the help of Mac. Wallace, unlike in the TV series, doesn’t really help much.
Both of the girls have a tie to Veronica. They each have someone in their lives that are somehow connected in Veronica’s past. It makes things complicated and, because Logan is away at war and her father is recovering, leaves Veronica dealing with the repercussions in her own way.
The book is not told in first person and does not have any Veronica “voiceovers” like in the TV series and movie. However, being told in third person did actually help understand the plot and what was going on in all of the character’s minds.
When the mystery is solved, you’ll feel cheated as a reader. The conclusion is incredibly lame and hard to follow. However, the book was fun enough to forgive the bad conclusion. It was a great start to a Veronica Mars book series.
Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. The Veronica Mars Movie is available digitally or on dvd and bluray