Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line

By: Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham

Narrated by: Kristen Bell

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

From Rob Thomas, the creator of the television series and movie phenomenon Veronica Mars, comes the first audiobook in a thrilling mystery series that picks up where the feature film left off.

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 weeklong rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is no simple missing person 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.

In Veronica Mars, Rob Thomas has created a groundbreaking female detective who’s part Phillip Marlowe, part Nancy Drew, and all snark. With its sharp plot and clever twists, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line will keep you guessing until the very last moment.

©2014 Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Praise for the television series Veronica Mars

A Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Salon Best Show of the Year

"Nancy Drew meets Philip Marlowe, and the result is pure nitro." (Stephen King)

"Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I've never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn't making, and maybe even more than those.... These guys know what they're doing on a level that intimidates me. It's the Harry Potter of shows." (Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy and writer/director of Marvel's The Avengers)

A Very Nice Surprise

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but I seem to be very happily surprised with this story. You think it's about to wrap up then it goes into another episode and then it happens again and again. I really enjoyed the story and Kristen Bell did a very good job with the narration.

love bell

love the veronica Mars series. happy it will return on hulu. bell is a favorite and it was great hearing the book in "Veronica's"own words

It was like watching the show!

Would you listen to Veronica Mars again? Why?

I absolutely love that Kristen Bell narrated this. It made it feel as though I were watching the movie or the series.

Which character – as performed by Kristen Bell – was your favorite?

Well Veronica Mars, naturally. Having her narrate the book was a perfect way to pull the listener in.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, I would have listened to it from beginning to end all at once. But sadly my schedule didn't allow me to. But I found myself excited to return to continue listening.

She's Back!

Great story. Great performance by Bell. Took me a little while to become accustomed to her character voice changes, but overall, very good. I cringed at the mispronunciation of "mischievous", but that is common, and the only error that stood out. I found the story and the prose intelligent and interesting, just like the series. Definitely recommend this audiobook, and will look forward to subsequent "Veronica Mars" adventures with great anticipation.

Great story

any VM fan will look like this book. it was great to hear Kristen Bell read the story. Added a more real feal to the story. recommend it to any VM fan

Mars Investigations: Back in Business

If you could sum up Veronica Mars in three words, what would they be?

Wounded but healing.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot line picks up almost immediately where the movie left off. It's as if there's no lapse in time. Like we had to wait for the holidays to finish before we got to watch the next new episode of the show. The hard part will be waiting for the next novel, (if there is one, which I hope there is.)

Which character – as performed by Kristen Bell – was your favorite?

Kristen narrated the the entire cast in entertaining fashion. Her voice is always adorably raspy when doing 'guy voice', and it put me in the mind of the exchange between Veronica and Duncan in season 2, when she was doing quotes from 'The Big Lebowski', where Duncan was teasing her for her lips jutting out when mimicking Jeff Bridges lines. In particular, characters well known to Kristen were particularly well done, even if she lacked the bass/baritone to give them the same gravitas. She could perform Wallace's slight 'street' accent every bit as well as Keith's measured, even cadence in speaking, with a particularly nice surprise in her portrayal of Weevil.

Her mimicry of the female characters is almost always completely spot on, particularly when voicing Mac and Lianne. At times, you can hardly tell that it's Kristen narrating, and the listener can be forgiven for thinking that Tina Majorino or Corinne Bohrer put in a cameo to voice their own respective characters. Complete with the voicing of newly introduced characters, Kristen proves once again why she's got one of the best 'Noir' voices around.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, although time didn't permit. I certainly would have tried, if pesky things like 'work' and that 'life' stuff didn't keep demanding constant attention.

Any additional comments?

The only thing I have to say that might be negative, is that the story itself isn't written from the first person standpoint like one might expect. Kristen Bell's narration overcomes this hurdle quite handily, and despite the fact that one might expect the entirety of the story to be from Veronica's viewpoint, Kristen's familiar voice lets the listener forget that she's speaking in the third person, converting Jennifer and Rob's prose into lines that we could think came from Veronica herself.

People reading the actual novel, may find this a bit jarring, which is why I decided I wanted to listen to the audiobook first, even though I could have torn through the novel in a matter of three or four hours.Marshmallows should find this book every bit as engaging as the show. New readers/listeners/prospective Marshmallows should hopefully find a fun new world waiting for them.

She's back!

As a long time fan of Veronica Mars I was thrilled to find this book. It being narrated by Miss Mars herself, Kristen Bell, was an absolute treat. I loved the classic humorous banter between our favorite returning characters and was instantly pulled into the mystery, which has a satisfying resolution. I can't wait to dive into the next book and really hope they continue the series! If you are a fan of Veronica Mars, you'll love this book!

Just what I needed

I was looking for Veronica Mars and that’s what I got. I loved that Kristen bell was the narrator and the story wasn’t predictable.

Excellent!

Just like I was watching another top notch episode of VM! If you are a fan of the show this won’t disappoint! Have fun fellow marshmallows!

Read because Veronica Mars is a great character

What made the experience of listening to Veronica Mars the most enjoyable?

Kristen Bell's performance of Veronica Mars and simply Veronica Mars herself. Veronica is smart, strong woman with witty comebacks and amusing insights. The things she thinks as well as says made me laugh many times and it is because of her character that the book is so good. Kristen does an excellent job narrating this book and I would definitely look for other books narrated by her.

Any additional comments?

My only problem with the story of this book is the repetitive use of certain odd words that catch your attention every time they're used again. There are times where it was too descriptive.