To preface this I’m a long-term fan. I watched the show from episode 1, and I loved the idea of Veronica Mars books. However, for anyone with less exposure to the series, I could see this as being a very poorly paced book. A lot of the high action events we’ve seen through out most of the Veronica Mars world were absent in this book. It was much more procedural, and for that possibly more realistic, but also less surprising. I enjoyed spending time with characters that I’ve come to appreciate over the years, so that their new to Veronica Mars might not have the same patience.
Halfway through the book I suppose what was supposed to be a major twist seemed more like a lapse in observation on Veronica’s part. This could be explained by a major issue weighing on her mind throughout the book, but is not like our usual girl. There were major jumps in time related to waiting for DNA results, that again realistic, caused the story to lose momentum.
Interactions with Logan were very sweet, even a squee moment when Veronica finally got her pony. One other aspect that kept me going was the portrayal of the military members and their dependents. This is not a major point in the book but, the accuracy and sympathy with which very real issues were dealt with in this novel, wear something a greatly enjoyed as a member of the US Navy myself.
Did I enjoy this as much as the first book? No. Would I recommend this book to a friend? I wouldn’t start with this book but I still recommend the series.
This is a great book for Veronica Mars fans. I doubt someone who doesn’t have a history with the show will enjoy it as much, as there are a lot of references to the series (even more than the first book). While they try to give the one sentence back-story, I doubt it’s enough.
The real disappointment is the choice of narrator. It was hard to get through the prologue, which sounded like a beat poet on Prozac. It’s marginally better once there’s interaction between character voices, but I made the mistake of re-listening to the first book right before this one, and the difference is jarring. It’s just a shame.
