Books to film: Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum?

I love books. Always have. I also love movies and TV. Always have. So of course I'm always interested to see when characters and storylines from one medium jump to the other. As we all know, the best books don't always make the best movies. But there have also been some very good moviews adapted from books (good, bad, and mediocre) over the years.

In the past couple of years, I've really enjoyed the film versions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Shutter Island, amongst other crime fiction adaptations. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Angelina Jolie might portray Kay Scarpetta, if that project comes together.

Another big name crime writer whose work, and popular heroine, is coming to the big screen soon, is Janet Evanovich. Until recently, I hadn't read any of Evanovich's books, and in all honesty I'd probably fallen prey to listening to a few people who described the very, very popular author's work as a touch formulaic. So with a TBR pile tottering at over 300 books on my home bookshelves, I wasn't rushing to dive into a Stephanie Plum tale ahead of the many other new-to-me authors and characters to explore.

In one of those great lessons about perception and reality, last week I received a review copy of the latest Plum tale, EXPLODING EIGHTEEN, and for whatever reason, decided to read it next. And I really, really enjoyed it. I found Plum to be a very interesting heroine, with a nice mix of skills, personality, and doubts, and I particularly loved the balance of humour and action in Evanovich's storytelling. The the intriguing cast of supporting characters - that although could perhaps seem to border on caricature-ish on occasion, given their eccentricities etc, actually had some depth too - were another big plus. I found myself laughing out loud at times at the character relationships and interplay, and there was a nice narrative drive too.

Now, EXPLOSIVE EIGHTEEN was my first Stephanie Plum novel, and as I read more (as I most certainly will, having enjoyed it so much), I may find that perhaps the series is a touch 'samey' - but for now, I can hand on heart say that I was wrong to make assumptions about this popular series.

Given all that, I'm also now looking forward to seeing the film adaptation of ONE FOR THE MONEY, the first Stephanie Plum tale, due for release in January 2012. I'm not a huge Katherine Heigl fan, and she wouldn't have been who I may have pictured in the role - but like with the books, I need to be open to being impressed. Here's the trailer (which I think looks kind of fun - in that action/comedy genre that can be great to watch):



What hitherto un-adpated crime series would you most like to see brought to the big screen? Who are some of the actors or actresses that you could 'see' playing your favourite crime fiction characters? What do you think of this trailer? Of the Stephanie Plum novels?