The Book Club

Book Review: Janet Evanovich's One for the Money

Title: One for the Money

Series: Stephanie Plum (Book 1, series ongoing)

Author: Janet Evanovich

Publisher: Scribner (1994)

Genre: Mystery

Sub-Genres: Bounty Hunters, Female Detectives, New Jersey, Romance

Plot Summary: Stephanie Plum is out of a job and down on her luck. Running out of appliances and furniture to pawn for breakfast money, Plum blackmails her cousin into giving her a job as a bounty hunter. Her first collar? The guy who took her virginity in high school and never called back, a cop named Morelli who allegededly shot an unarmed man. But there's something wrong in Trenton, New Jersey, and Morelli may not be as guilty as people think he is.

What I Liked: This book was such a quick read. And I mean that in a good way. It literally took only about three hours total to read, and for the most part, it was quite a joyful experience.

Plum is a great protagonist: she's engaging enough to be fun and make you want to follow her but enough of a cipher that the reader can project their emotions onto her. Combine that with a variety of local New Jersey characters, stellar descriptions of suburban hell, and Plum's grandmother rocking some hot pants, and you've got a fun adventure.

Evanovich's main mystery, and Plum's obvious attraction to Morelli, are also engaging. While the ending is much expected, there are still enough twists to be satisfying.

What I Didn't Like: At times, Evanovich comes off fairly racist and classist. It's not intentional, but rather that Evanovich was trying to protray Jersey as it is, or at least how Evanovich sees it. But with all the poor, downtrodden characters being minorities and our heroes all white, it becomes a bit much.

And this is nowhere more true than with Evanovich's horrible dialogue styling. The characters all have different voices, which is great, but they also come with these dialect inflections that are distracting and not done well. None of the writing in this book is pretty, but beyond the dialogue, it's forgivable because it still gets the job done, if done plainly.

Similar Works: More Stephanie Plum: Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, No. 2), Smokin' Seventeen, and Visions of Sugar Plums: A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel.

More Janet Evanovich: Metro Girl (Alex Barnaby Series #1), Back to the Bedroom, and Full Bloom.

More Female Sleuths: Deja Dead: 10th Anniversary Edition (Temperance Brennan Novels), The Scarpetta Collection Volume I: Postmortem and Body of Evidence (Kay Scarpetta), and A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries, No. 1).

Buy It Here!: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1)

Last Thought: A quick, fun mystery and good enough that I might read the second book.

Book Review: Jim Butcher's Ghost Story, Book 13 of The Dresden Files

Title: Ghost Story

Series: The Dresden Files (Book 13, series ongoing)

Author: Jim Butcher

Publisher: Roc (2011)

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery

Sub-Genres: Adventure, Chicago, Detective Story, Magic, Noir, Urban Fantasy, Witches & Wizards

Plot Summary: Harry Dresden, wizard for hire, has destroyed the Red Court of vampires. And then someone shot and killed him. Apparently resurrected, Dresden, as a ghost, no less, must work to try to save his friends against new foes, his murderer, and his fairy godmother. Blinded by love and trapped by his inability to do magic in his current form, Dresden must be creative, calling upon all his past help to figure out just how his body ended up in the cold waters of Lake Michigan before his killer comes for his friends.

What I Liked: I was so excited by the previous installment in this series, Changes, because Butcher did such a good job of changing the game. Dresden had grown so powerful over the course of twelve books that there had to be a way for Butcher to make Harry human again. And he did it, by killing him.

This story's central mystery is fun and different, giving us a new view not so much on Harry but on Harry's friends. The majority of Dresden's minor characters show up, and each has been altered by the events in Changes, and for the most part, the changes are engaging, make sense with what came before, and (even better) are actually surprising. Lea, Butters, and Molly in particular have great character moments.

Basically, I couldn't stop reading this book. It has a great premise that makes it different from any other Dresden book, and it still forces character development into its star and supporting cast. The plot moves along at a great clip, and the ending is filled with surprises. It's a well-constructed and fun addition to The Dresden Files.

What I Didn't Like: To be honest, not much. Harry, since he's a ghost, is actually more a platform through which the reader watches the minor characters. We get to learn more about Harry's childhood, but the detour doesn't fit as well as it should. The central mystery gets answered, and the clues are almost too obvious - the surprise in the end isn't "who" but "why", which might be the point but still kind of deluted the whole thing for me. But overall, those are minor quibbles.

Similar Books: PFS Review of Harry Dresden Short Stories: Side Jobs

PFS Review of Jim Butcher's Other Series Codex Alera: First Lord's Fury

My Other Favorite Urban Fantasy: Laurell K. Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Buy It Here!: Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13)

Last Thought: A study in how to refresh a series and make it new (and still fun!).

Literary Terms: Red Herring

The red herring is a term that used to deal mostly with mystery stories and thrillers. Thanks to the cross-genre-ization pollination that happens in today's publishing, red herrings now actually show up in pretty much every type of story.

A red herring is a deliberately misleading plot device that is designed by the writer to distract the reader from the actual clues for the book's narrative.

In the broader sense, a red herring is any plot device that purposely tricks the reader into thinking the book or narrative is going one way, when it is  actually going another. A red herring in mystery stories is generally a clue found by the protagonist that is either wrongly interrupted by the reader or character or has nothing to do with solving the crime at all. In  a romantic plot, the red herring could be an overheard conversation wherein the love interest describes his love for another woman that our protagonist overhears, not realizing he's talking about how much he loves hanging out with his sister (and not in an incest way).

In essence, the red herring is a tool of the writer's craft in which the reader is deliberately misled. This comes from the narrative tool of the willing suspension of disbelief. We allow the narrative to mislead us with red herrings because we have been programmed to believe that in stories, characters speak truly and act with some sort of recognizable motivation, unless told otherwise by the text. Writers exploit that belief to trick the reader in believing something false.

In more literary settings, the red herring could therefore be related to both more Modern ideas (like the tearing down of the artificial narrative to get closer to human experience) and the unreliable narrator, wherein the narrative's storyteller cannot be trusted at their word. These narrative tools all rely on using what the reader normally does when reading against them.

Top 10 Books to Start a New Genre

Whenever I tell people what I do for a living, I always get asked the same question: what book do I recommend for them to read? Instead of just a straight Top 10 list of the books I most frequently recommend, I thought I'd split them up by genre - picking one each for the most popular genres on the market right now.

 
10. High Literature/Classics: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I recommend The Great Gatsby to any reader who is ready for a challenge. I do this mostly because it is pretty easy to read and has a plot that clips along at a decent pace. The Great Gatsby's brilliance, though, is based on how layered it is - the more you think about the book, the more questions you ask (like Is Nick a reliable narrator?), and the better the book becomes. It's a great place, therefore, to begin a journey into highbrow literature and the classics.

 
9. Horror: Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesby Jane Austen and Seth Grahme-Smith

If you're going to start in on horror, I say start simply. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a perfect mixture of romance, satire, and humor, along with some great horror scenes. Sure, it's not the scariest book on the market (go read It for that), but it is a nice stepping stone to see if you like the genre at all. And, to be completely honest, I'm in the middle of it right now, so I might be a bit biased, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

 
8. Thriller: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

If you're starting in on a new genre, it's best to go with a book that you can ask others about if you get lost or if you simply need encouragement to finish it. Millions of people think the Millennium series is one of the best series out there right now, so I'm sure you can find a friend who will read it with you.

Also, it's not James Patterson, so it does have that going for it.

 
7. Urban Fantasy/Detective Stories - The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

One of the most popular genres on TV, in movies, and in books right now, urban fantasy basically covers anything fantastical set in the modern day. And The Dresden Files is my favorite series of them all. Forget Anita Blake and Sookie Stackhouse; it's all about Harry Dresden. It might be because I'm a guy, but this series (12 books and counting) combines the best aspects of both genres with a solid detective story and it's quality never wavers (unlike Anita and Sookie). Start with Storm Front and I promise, you won't be disappointed.

 
6. Superhero Comics: Avengers Academy by Christos Gage and Mike McKone

It's hard for me to suggest a comic book to new readers of the superhero genre, because part of what I love about comics is their long history. Many of the DC and Marvel characters have been in continual publication for forty or more years. But for me, the place to go to right now is Avengers Academy, which focuses on some of the lesser known Avengers and their newest trainees, eliminating the need for knowing all that backstory.

It's got teenage drama alongside real issues and one major secret: these kids aren't the next superheroes - they're the superpowered kids most likely to end up as supervillains. It's a great premise and with the way Gage handles the characters, it's easy to jump in on. Plus, the older Avengers gives the reader a taste of the rest of the Marvel Universe, if they want to explore other titles.

 
5. Mystery: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Why Evanovich? Mostly because I love her interviews. The author knows exactly what kind of books she writes, knows her market better than her publisher, and nails it 9 times out of 10. And she's got a great sense of humor. Now, I admit, this isn't a book I've read. I just don't read mystery books that often. But this is the mystery book that my friends recommend to me. So, we'll just have to trust them for now. I'll let you know what I think in a few months, as the book is currently sitting on my own desk, in the To Read Pile. (See, I take my own advice!)

4. Romance: Birthright by Nora Roberts

Romance is one of the largest and most popular genres out there. In fact, Harlequin, the world's largest romance publisher, has at times managed to be quite lucrative when other publishers flail. But sadly, I don't read romance, either. So this one is coming straight to you from my mother and the internet.

You can't really go wrong with Nora Roberts, as she's written over a hundred romance books. Yes, you heard that right. You can't write that many books and get them published, if you aren't doing something right. And looking over several Top 10 romance lists and lists of the best of Nora Roberts, I've got to go with Birthright, which even has some action, murder, and violence! Sadly, no, I still won't be giving this one a shot. (I just can't do romance. I'm sorry.)

 
3. Beach Reads: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

By saying Beach Reads, I am definitely not insinuating that Nineteen Minutes is not a work of quality. Instead, this is one of those books that you can find everywhere - Target, the airport, I've even seen it at the grocery store! Basically, it's one of those books that you pick up when you've got a chance and want to relax into the book. That's a beach read, and nobody has done that genre better than Picoult in recent years. She's basically the smart and talented version of Nicolas Sparks, though that's not saying much.

 
2. High Fantasy: Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad Book 1) by David Eddings

When you talk about high fantasy, most people instantly think Lord of the Rings. And while those are great books, if you're not a high fantasy fan, Lord of the Rings is not going to make you one, as they're really hard to read. Pawn of the Prophecy is fun and breezy by comparison, and manages not to have those misogynist overtones. Frankly, if you're thinking about Lord of the Rings, bypass it and go here instead.

 
1. Non-Superhero Comics: Fables by Bill Willingham

Seriously, I get asked more about non-superhero comic recommendations than anything else, and I simply can't stress this enough - Fables is the place to go. If you think comic books are all about tights, then let this comic dissuade you of that fact. If you think comic books are for kids, this is also the place to go. Fables is one of the smartest and most creative things I've ever read, and if you're looking to branch out of your comfort zone, this is the place to do it.

Literary Definitions: Deus Ex Machina

Deus ex machinamight be one of the world's oldest plot devices. The ancient Greek playwright Euripides used this device in nearly half of his plays that still exist - and based on the writings of Aristotle and others, we know that Euripides was considered one of the foremost writers of his day.  If that's the case, then we can probably safely assume that a deus ex machina was used in a lot of Greek plays - the same source that most of our modern narrative techniques come from.

Deus ex machina (pronounced day-oos x mach-ee-na) means "god out of the machine" or "god from the machine" in Latin. As a literary device, it is where, at the conclusion of the narrative, a climax and ending simply presents itself. In Euripides' play, it would have been a god causing something to occur, which triggers the ending - this is where we get the name.

Essentially, the deus ex machina is when, at the end of a story, an extraneous element appears, having nothing to do with the main characters or the central plot, that solves all the problems in the narrative and effectively ends the story.

So why is this bad for modern readers?

In modern narratives, readers expect that the writer will solve the narrative (the story-wide tension building leading from the instigating incident to the climax) by building a set of clues into the main characters' actions and personalities. If you have a murder mystery, you want your main character to solve the problem - not a random cop you've never seen before show up to explain what really happened.

Even Sherlock Holmes can sometimes be considered a deus ex machina, because some of the lesser stories don't have enough clues in place for Holmes to really be able to solve the case, so his explanations just sound like a justification for the ending. "Miracle" endings - where things suddenly change for the better, like incurable cancer suddenly goes into remission despite no effort on anyone's doing, are also deus ex machina.

Basically, when deus ex machina happens, it breaks the readers' trust in the writer, because the writer wasn't able to solve the narrative organically and from within the story. We go to stories to escape from reality, but not to the point where reality doesn't hold.

In essence, the deus ex machina breaks the reader's willing suspension of disbelief - the act of believing in a story's truth, even when the reader knows it's just a story. Since this break happens only in the final moments of a story, the deus ex machina generally ruins the entire narrative for the reader. It is the considered one of the weakest narrative endings.

Review: Fables Fantastic: Legends in Exile

Title: Fables: Legends in Exile

Collected from: Fables Issues 1-5

Author: Bill Willingham

Artist: Lan Medina

Inkers: Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton

Colorist: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover by: James Jean

Publisher:  Vertigo, imprint of DC Comics (2002)

Genres: Comic Book/Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Mystery

Sub-Genres: Fairy Tales/Myths, Adventure, Murder Mystery, Urban Fantasy

Summary: In the midst of New York City, a group of Fables (who we know as characters of myth and legend) have been living in our world for the past several centuries. Exiled here by an army of goblins lead by the evil Adversary, who conquered each world he came across, the Fables gathered here, on the so-called "mundane" world, which was without magic. The deputy mayor of Fabletown Snow White helps Bigby Wolf, sheriff and former Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood fame, hunt down the killer of White's sister, Rose Red. The main suspects are Rose's boyfriend Jack of Fables and the famous bridekiller Bluebeard, who claims to have been engaged to Rose. With the help of Snow's ex-husband, Prince Charming, Bigby and White manage to solve the case in time for Remembrance Day, a day in honor of the Homelands, where each of the Fables once lived.

What I Liked: Really, this time, it should be called "What I Loved". Willingham deftly manages to introduce the reader to a whole world, seemingly effortlessly, by having only a few characters give us the backdown of how the Fables' existence figures into our modern world. And he pillages his characters from everywhere, with everyone from the witch from Hansel & Gretel to a flying monkey from Oz making an appearance without so much as a hiccup. In fact, the majority of the major players for the next 100 issues (which Fables, in monthly installments, is quickly approaching) make an appearance here in the first five issues.

Willingham's dialogue is also a strength, with each of the characters quickly picking up their own voices, and the characters who appear in just a few panels are already identified as full-blown characters to be mined for stories later on. He not only creates a world in a few pages of art and dialogue - he populates it with fully realized characters, as well. Any writer could learn from his techniques. He's also not afraid to take risks, like having the major mystery be carried out over several issues or having Prince Charming's letter to his latest conquest be a complete panel, in handscripted type.

The art here, too, is beautiful. Medina does not go on as the regular artist past this arc, but he sets the book's tone. He has a few stylized pages, like with gold etching or storybook scrolls, that really sets up how the book will look for the future. Medina also does a great job of making each character easily recognizable, something hard to do when no one is wearing the same outfit repeatedly, like superheroes do. Valkenburgh's muted colors are also wonderful, helping to separate the book from others on the comic book shelf.

What I Didn't: While I enjoyed Medina's art here, it's really got nothing on what comes next. The next artist, Mark Buckingham, took Medina's ideas and basically exploited them to their fullest extent. There are also little touches where the story seems to start and stop - with the murder mystery taking a backseat to those great character and world introductions. Also, the action here is actually fairly minor - Fables is at its best when it does world-ending peril, but this story is much smaller than what comes later.

Similar Works: Myths in Modern Times: Neil Gaiman's American Gods

Fables in Novel Form: Peter & Max: A Fables Novel

Fables Spinoffs: Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love and Jack of Fables

Buy It Here: Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile

Last Thought: Who knew Snow White was such a fierce bitch?