To talk about the second book, I need to talk about the first book, "The Thousand Dollar Tan Line", which came out just a week after the movie. The events that occur take place just two months after Veronica has made the decision to relocate back to Neptune, California. I absolutely loved it. I've read it and listened to it on audiobook many times since it was released. I think it is definitely geared toward people who loved the series, with at least two major characters brought over from there. One of the things I liked best about this book (and I know other fans may not agree with it) was that it avoided several of the important story lines from the movie. With Logan out on an air carrier somewhere, it really allowed the book to focus on Veronica's life as a Private Investigator. I thought the mystery she had to solve was complicated and really did a good job of making the town of Neptune (and its various strata of citizens) a character again (which I think was missing in the third season of the show). Like the movie, it brought back several characters from Veronica's past and made sure they played important parts (not just a cameo for the sake of a cameo). I absolutely loved it and haved read/listened to the audiobook of it several times since the release last year.
So what does this mean for the second book. The second book is a much different beast from the first one. Whereas the first book really centered on mystery, this second book focused much more on the emotional impact. Logan is back and we finally get to see what life with adult Veronica and Logan would be like. She's beginning to really succeed at the P.I. biz, and you can tell that she is really beginning to look at Neptune as home again. This book picks up the unresolved B Plot of the movie, the case of the planted weapon in Eli "Weevil" Navarro's hand and the corruption within the Neptune Sheriff's Department (not just their ineptitude as in the first book). Once again the main case incorporates a significant person from Veronica's high school past (although I'm not going to say who). While Veronica's motivation in the first book is "Can she solve this case?" (which we all knew she could, the motivation for her in this second book is "Why she should solve this case?". It has a very different tone from the first book, much like how in the series you had episodes that really concentrated on the mystery of the day and others that concentrated on the mystery of the season. I think if they can continue that mixture throughout a book series (which I hope there will be a series), it will distinguish them from other major mystery series (Stephanie Plum, I'm looking at you and your exploding cars).
Despite my love for this book, I only gave this book 4 stars (versus 5 stars for the first book) For starters, I found the mystery to be a little predictable. Unlike the first book, I didn't have any jaw-dropping surprises from the case and figured out who it probably was pretty early on. Second, I felt that some of the scenes felt very familiar because I had read very similar scenes in fan-fiction over the years. I am not knocking Veronica Mars fan-fiction here, our fandom has some of THE BEST fan-fiction writers out there; I'm just saying that if there is going to be a book series, they probably need to avoid writing the most obvious next story, because in all likelihood somebody already got there in the fan-fic world. Or if Jennifer Graham (which I like her writing so I hope she stays) ever leaves the series, they should seriously look at some of our fan-fic writers to take over. Finally, like the first one, I both read and listened to the audiobook. Unlike the first one, they did not get Kristen Bell to read the audiobook. While the new reader for the audiobook wasn't bad, she was a bit robotic at times. I really wish they could have stuck with Kristen Bell for the audiobook, and hope they can get her for future books again. She just really breathes in life to these characters in a way that other readers can't.
Overall, if you love the world of Veronica Mars - I think you should read Mr. Kiss and Tell. I still think its a really good mystery series and would encourage other mystery readers to read it, but I would encourage them to also watch the show and the movie if they haven't already because the three are very interconnected. For my 2015 book challenge, "Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell" checks off "Book based on or turned Into a TV show".