VMI: Mr Kiss and Tell
A LONG TIME AGO ON VERONICA MARS: Mr Kiss and Tell, an original mystery by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham:
A young woman has been raped and beaten, and, once again, the Neptune Grand hires Veronica to investigate - only so they don’t get sued for hiring the undocumented worker who has been accused.
But, having cleared him, Veronica keeps going with the case, to get justice for the victim, Grace Manning - that’s right, Meg’s little sister. A decade on from being locked in a closet by her parents, and still having a shit time.
Grace is one of several sex workers who have been attacked by this man, a SPORTSBALL coach. I knew I was right not to trust sportsball!
So Veronica and Leo team up, dress up and wig up to go to Vegas and bust this man. A golf course is involved - sports really come out of this novel badly.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s election looms into view, with a new candidate, Marcia - with whom Keith has history. Tense sad history, not sexy history. We assume Keith’s pelvis is still knitting itself back together.
Keith and Cliff put together a civil case, Weevil vs the sheriff’s department and their evidence planting. But which does Weevil need more: justice, or to stop his family falling apart?
And Logan is ashore! He and Veronica are having problems, with her overwork and his months-long absences - but, they do get a puppy! And the puppy’s called Pony! A satisfying conclusion to Veronica’s years-long pony joke.
Join Jenny Owen Youngs and Helen Zaltzman to investigate the second Veronica Mars novel, Mr Kiss and Tell, and get stuck into such mysteries as how we can go on a shopping trip with Weevil and Keith; whether this novel features the Marsverse's very first portrayal of gay characters who aren't evil, fake-gay, or some kind of prop for the straights; and if Weevil would ever want to ride a Segway AS IF.
Content note: Veronica Mars contains heavy themes, and this episode includes storylines concerning rape, murder, violence and sex work.
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Hear more Jenny Owen Youngs on Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast, and in the form of song at jennyowenyoungs.com. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @JennyOwenYoungs.
Hear more Helen Zaltzman on the comedy show Answer Me This, and the linguistic entertainment show The Allusionist. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @HelenZaltzman.
Lo Dodds brings us the LoDown.
This episode was edited and mixed by Helen Zaltzman. Thanks to Ian Steadman for transcript help.
The music is by Martin Austwick of Pale Bird Music and Jenny Owen Youngs of Jenny Owen Youngs.
Follow @VMIpod on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Got questions for Lo for a special LoDown about how accurately the law is portrayed on screen? Submit them at vmipod.com/investigations. If you’d like to advertise on VMI, and for us to talk amusingly about your thing, contact Amanda via multitude.productions/contact.
We also have MERCH for sale at Hello Merch, including #GayForWeevil pins designed by artist and VMI listener Danny Mooney and our long lens pins and Not Milk pin and T-shirt designed by Kristine Thune.