Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line – Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

When Rob Thomas first started hashing out the Veronica Mars movie, he had a story that he wanted to tell. Before he got too far along in the writing process, though, he decided he needed to tell a different story first, one which reintroduced the characters and set them in place going forward. That is what we got last month as the Veronica Mars movie. That original story, though, now comes to us in novel form, thanks to Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham.

Before we go any further, a spoiler warning. There is no way to discuss the book without revealing where the film left the characters. If you haven’t seen the film, and assuming anybody happens to be reading this, you have been forewarned. Turn back now while you still can.

The book picks up a few months after the end of the film. Veronica is back in Neptune and running her father’s business while he recupperates from the accident that killed Deputy Sachs. Business is slow until she is hired by the town’s chamber of commerce to help the inept sheriff solve the case of a missing coed, which threatens the town’s spring break business. While the sheriff butts heads with the Nancy Grace stand-in, Veronica investigates the original missing girl, a second one is reported, one which brings back some unresolved issues from Veronica’s past.

As a backer of the Kickstarter campaign that enabled the film, I guess it is safe to say that I am a Veronica Mars fan and this novel should be right up my alley. Well, it certainly was. Graham, working from Thomas’ story, managed to capture the essence of these characters that, for some reason, have managed to endure for all these years. The future of Veronica Mars as a live action franchise still remains to be seen at this point. If it were to live on in novel form only, this first installment gives one hope for that future.