Rock of Ages by Timothy Hallinan

 

First Line: The drum solo had gone on so long that it seemed to be taking place in geological time, and there was no indication that it was nearing an end.

 

Irwin Dressler, Hollywood's most dangerous geriatric mobster, has a problem. Four of his associates have put together a national tour of once-popular rock bands they own a piece of: concerts by those who were big shots in the 1960s and 1970s who are hoping for one last gasp of glory on this nostalgia tour. 

 

Dressler's problem? Those four associates of his are using the tour as a front to steal his money. This is something Dressler simply cannot allow. Who can he turn to? Junior Bender, Los Angeles burglar and off-the-books detective to the felonious, of course.

 

The timing couldn't be worse for Junior. He'll be spending the weekend with his teenage daughter, Rina, who's showing way too much interest in how Junior makes his living. Can Junior recover Dressler's money, prevent a murder, talk his daughter out of pursuing a life of crime, and somehow survive all that bad music?

 

One thing's for sure-- it's going to be an interesting weekend.

 

~

 

As a fan of cat burglars from Cary Grant's To Catch a Thief to Robert Wagner's It Takes a Thief, I've been a fan of the irreverent, irrepressible Junior Bender from book one (Crashed). In this latest installment, Rock of Ages puts readers right in the middle of a nostalgia rock and roll tour, complete with falling props, Super Trooper lighting, old groupies, and a very inquisitive teenage girl. The names of the bands are almost worth the price of admission alone, and this behind-the-scenes look at rock and roll is equal parts illuminating and hilarious. "The bands hated each other, some of them were rusty, some needed cue cards for their lyrics, and three guys had shown up in wheelchairs." Junior must navigate all this as well as slashed tires, threatening notes, inflated egos, and people willing to kill for a money-and-power grab.

 

I really enjoyed the time spent with Junior's daughter, Rina. She's one sharp cookie who has a mind (and a mouth) very similar to her father's. Junior's going to be sweating bullets over Rina in a year or two, mark my words. But Rock of Ages isn't just the Junior and Rina Show. Other characters shine as only Hallinan can make them. Lavender the old groupie. Cappy the manager who keeps everything running. Debbie, whom Junior calls when he needs backup. Irwin Dressler, the LA mobster of legend. I always love Hallinan's casts of characters.

 

As I said before, I've enjoyed this series from the very first book. I will follow Junior Bender wherever he leads me because I know I'm going to enjoy myself with a first-rate plot and an excellent cast of characters, and guess what? I always learn something, too. The history of Los Angeles, the movie industry, rock and roll... it's all up for grabs when Tim Hallinan shares an adventure with my favorite burglar. I'm already looking forward to the next one. Hurry up, Junior!   

Rock of Ages by Timothy Hallinan

eISBN: 9781641292191

Soho Press © 2022

eBook, 336 pages

 

Private Investigator, #8 Junior Bender mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Nighttown by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: By way of a prelude, a few words about the dark.

If Junior Bender and his girlfriend Ronnie weren't so desperate for cash, Junior would never have broken one of his cardinal rules: Never take a job that pays too well.

Junior has been hired to break into the abandoned house of a recently deceased 97-year-old recluse, Daisy Horton, and steal a doll from her collection. Junior thinks this job has nothing to do with the doll itself and everything to do with something that's hidden inside it-- and that something could get him into a boatload of trouble.

It doesn't take Junior long to discover that he's not the only one looking for the doll, and when one of his friends is murdered, he decides he will stop at nothing to find out who hired him and why that doll is important enough to leave a trail of bodies in its wake.

After spending time with Junior Bender through the course of seven books, he has me well-trained. When he and I break into a house, I, too, stop breathing and listen. I, too, take a close look at the objects in the room. Is anything missing? Is something there that shouldn't be? There's never been a better time for extreme caution than in Nighttown because Junior is breaking into Horton House-- Tim Hallinan's response to Shirley Jackson's Hill House. How does Horton House compare? I wouldn't want to step foot in it, that's for sure.

There's a lot of action packed into a couple of days here. Junior needs to find out what's in that doll, how to keep his loved ones safe, and how to keep himself from being added to the body count. Junior needs all the help he can get, whether it's from fellow crook Louie the Lost or from a tattooed waitress at a local diner or even from an old manuscript.

Hallinan's tightly plotted and fast-paced book kept me anxious for Junior's safety. After all, Junior Bender is my favorite fictional felon-- and Hallinan is one of my favorite writers. The death of Junior's friend at the beginning of the book hit me particularly hard and not because the scene was gruesome. No, not a spec of gore was to be seen, merely the sight of a person getting into a car, the car driving away, and a specific noise. That's all. A very simple scene, but its violence chilled me to the bone. Hallinan knows to let a reader's mind do its own work.

I also appreciate Hallinan's cynicism and his humor. I welcomed those flashes of humor while I worried about Junior. And it's always good to learn something new... like how to shower with a baby alligator. Nighttown is the real deal, the complete package, and if you haven't had the pleasure of reading one of these books, what are you waiting for?

Nighttown by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616957483

Soho Crime © 2018

Hardcover, 384 pages

Private Investigator, #7 Junior Bender

Rating: A+

Source: the publisher 

Fields Where They Lay by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: The astringent December sunlight looked, as always at this time of year, like it had been ladled into the smog with a teaspoon, like vinegar.

Sooner or later, the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) is going to make burglar extraordinaire Junior Bender an official member. This time Junior has been forced to accept a job by a thoroughly nasty Russian mobster whom he refers to as "Vlad." Vlad is the owner of Edgerton Mall, a rundown shopping center past its sell-by date that is experiencing a monumental holiday shoplifting problem. 

Junior is no lover of Christmas. He has his reasons. A shopping mall is the absolute last place he wants to be during this time of year, but Vlad has given him an offer he can't refuse-- and with two dead bodies shortly after Junior begins investigating, it's obvious to Junior that there's something more going on than some shoplifting.

Amongst the enlightening legends and lore of shopping malls, Timothy Hallinan peoples Fields Where They Lay (as he usually does) with a first-rate cast of characters. Junior is a thief with a heart of gold. A man who stumbled into investigating cases for various Los Angeles area bad guys, and now couldn't stumble his way back out no matter how hard he tried. (It's LA's organized crime version of type casting.) Junior gets along with his ex-wife, adores his teenage daughter, and has fallen totally for Ronnie, a woman with a past she refuses to talk about. 

Along with the series regulars, readers can get to enjoy the denizens of Edgerton Mall, like Shlomo, one of the mall's two Santas, and Bonnie, a store owner who's never met a porcelain figurine she didn't like. Woven into the tapestry of characters and interactions, there's Junior's dislike of Christmas-- and why he feels that way.

There's a lot of shady goings-on in that decrepit mall, and it's fun to watch Junior sort through it all. He's the absolute best character I know when it comes to thinking on your feet in dangerous situations. This man is a master at hiding and nano-second escapes. Love it!

Is Junior going to figure out what's going on at Edgerton Mall? Is he going to be successful in carrying out a small job for Santa Shlomo (my favorite part of the book)? Will he get his Christmas shopping done? Can he avoid a personal crisis with Ronnie? How's Junior going to survive Christmas Eve at the Edgerton Mall?

You're going to love finding out!   

Fields Where They Lay by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN:  9781616957469

Soho Crime © 2016

Hardcover, 384 pages

Private Investigator, #6 Junior Bender mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Amazon Vine   


 

King Maybe by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: Bad luck, as my mentor and surrogate father, Herbie Mott, used to say, arrives on the wind.

If bad luck does arrive on the wind, then Junior Bender must be in a hurricane. A Los Angeles-based cat burglar and reluctant private investigator for local crooks, Bender needs assistance in getting out alive when he steals one of the world's rarest stamps from a professional killer. But that's only the beginning. His escape sets off a deadly criminal chain reaction-- and requires him to commit three burglaries in one week.

The third burglary involves getting into the fortress of King Maybe-- a ruthless studio mogul hated by one and all. Junior may wish that he'd just stopped with the first burglary and taken his chances with the killer, but King Maybe? This guy deserves every bit of what's coming to him-- as long as Junior can pull it off.

I've loved Hallinan's Junior Bender mysteries since the very first one, Crashed. Blame it on Hollywood and television series like It Takes a Thief or movies like The Pink Panther. Of course readers get Hallinan's trademark humor, strongly constructed plots, and wonderful characterizations, but they also receive tasty appetizers of Los Angeles film and criminal history. With Hallinan's skill, it's a recipe I simply cannot resist.

With Junior's luck all being bad in King Maybe, the focus naturally has to be on him as an escape artist, and his sense of self-preservation and lightning-fast ability to think on his feet are a joy to behold. The three-fold plot involving (1) King Maybe, (2) fallout from the stamp heist, and (3) the trouble Junior's daughter is having moves quickly, and-- as usual for a Hallinan novel-- the focus really isn't on Junior's skills as a burglar or as an investigator. The focus is on his relationships with the other characters, and Hallinan is one of the best when it comes to delineating those emotional bonds.

There's a new(ish) woman in his life with whom Junior is having trouble. His relationship with his ex-wife seems to be on a more even keel, and things are great between Junior and his daughter. But the two characters who have rapidly become my favorites are the two teenage hackers Anime and Lilli. In them I see shades of Miaow, the young Thai girl in Hallinan's Poke Rafferty series. Anime and Lilli are worlds beyond smart, extremely unconventional, and often downright hilarious.

If you have a fondness for cat burglars with hearts of gold (like I do) and mysteries with wonderful stories and characters, I urge you to become acquainted with Junior Bender. You could probably jump in anywhere and not be too confused, but I'd suggest you start at the beginning with Crashed so you won't miss any of the character development. And if you haven't already, get your hands on the first Poke Rafferty mystery, A Nail Through the Heart. You really should become acquainted with Poke and Rose and Miaow and.... (In other words, Tim Hallinan writes marvelous books!)
     

King Maybe by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616954321

Soho Press © 2016

Hardcover, 400 pages

Private Investigator, #5 Junior Bender mystery

Rating: A

Source: the publisher


 

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: "So you see, kid," Herbie said, "we're like Robin Hood."

The top executive crook in the San Fernando Valley has been burgled, and it's bad news. It used to be that Wattles could remember every step in the chain of the hit that had been ordered, but lately he's afraid he'll forget something, so he wrote the latest one down. That piece of paper has been stolen, and the people whose names were on it are beginning to pop up all over town... dead. The only person Wattles can turn to is Junior Bender, professional burglar and reluctant private eye for valley crooks.

Problem is, Junior already knows who cracked Wattles' safe: Herbie Mott, his mentor and the man he's always considered to be his second father. This is one investigation in which Junior is going to learn way more than he ever wanted to know.

This fourth book in Hallinan's Junior Bender series is much more somber than the others. The trademark laugh-out-loud humor and wisecracks are still there, but they're restrained by the very personal nature of Junior's investigation. Herbie Mott is the man who taught Junior everything he needed to know about the burglary business, and he also taught Junior many important lessons about life. Junior has always looked up to Herbie, so when he goes to find out why Herbie burgled Wattles' safe and finds him dead, his shock and grief are profound.

As he continues to follow clues, he learns more and more about the man Herbie really was, and Junior can't understand how he could have been so blind. For anyone who's read all the Junior Bender books (like I have), the answer is a simple one, and Junior's ex-wife says it best:

"It's because you're decent... it's something people don't think about. The people who have it usually don't even know it... Because decent people assume everyone else is decent. They don't see it as anything special."

The ex-wife hit the nail right on the head. That's the basic part of Junior's charm: he's a decent person and-- even though he's employed on the wrong side of the law-- he expects everyone else to be decent, too. You know he's going to do the right thing even if it isn't easy or convenient simply because it's the right thing to do.

Timothy Hallinan's Junior Bender books are a treat to read. We get to learn some Hollywood and Los Angeles history, we get to see how crooks run their businesses (and how they often intersect with "legitimate" business), we get to laugh a lot, and we get to experience it all through a man most people would never consider to be good because he's a thief. It's a different perspective that I enjoy to pieces, especially knowing that learning about Junior is enough to make some people grind their teeth and think the world's coming to an end.

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616954291

Soho Crime © 2014

Hardcover, 400 pages

Private Investigator, #4 Junior Bender mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley 

The Fame Thief by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: Irwin Dressler crossed one eye-agonizing plaid leg over the other, leaned back on a white leather couch half the width of the Queen Mary, and said, "Junior, I'm disappointed in you."

It doesn't make one bit of difference that Irwin Dressler-- the mob boss who's been in charge of Hollywood for decades-- is in his nineties. When he tells you to show up for a meeting, you show up (and quake in your boots wondering what you've done to displease him). That's exactly what Junior Bender does. Dressler doesn't waste much time in telling Junior why he's displeased. As far as Dressler is concerned, Junior has one heck of a franchise that he's not making the most of. What franchise? Junior solves crimes for crooks-- and is still alive when the cases are solved. Dressler thinks this franchise has so much potential that he has an investigation that he wants Junior to carry out for him.

Seventy years ago Dolores La Marr was a breathtakingly beautiful movie starlet who was just about to hit the big time when her career was ruined and she disappeared from sight. Dressler thinks La Marr was set up and wants Junior to dig around and find the information needed to prove it. Junior thinks most of the people involved in this crime have long since gone to a lengthy screening in that movie theater in the sky, so there's not much point in investigating. Except for one small detail: Irwin Dressler wants him to do it.  It's not long at all before Junior learns that very deadly things indeed can be hiding under rocks that haven't been touched for seventy years.

In the Author's Note at the back of this book, Hallinan admits, "Writing this book was almost illegally enjoyable. I can only hope it's fun to read, too." It is, as have the other two books in the Junior Bender series. Junior Bender may be a thief, but he's got better morals than most other humans on the planet, he's smart, and his sense of humor will have you laughing time after time. In The Fame Thief, Hallinan gets to dabble in the scandal-ridden glamor of Hollywood, and even if you haven't paid any attention to that city's history, the star power of this part of the story is more than enough to draw you in.

Once you're drawn in, those pages are going to continue to turn because of the bizarre parade of characters that Junior meets during his investigation and because of the situations he gets himself into. (And then there's the matter of trying to put all those puzzle pieces together yourself.) Hallinan is one of the few writers I know who can make me roar with laughter on one page and have me gasping in shock on the next. It has a lot to do with Junior Bender's voice. Even though Junior wishes his name had "a little more swash and a few buckles," his voice with its intelligence, compassion, and bred-in-the-bone irreverent humor lures me in each and every time.

Timothy Hallinan's Junior Bender books are so much fun to read that they're almost illegal. I only hope that there are many more to come.

The Fame Thief by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616952808

Soho Crime © 2013

Hardcover, 336 pages

Private Investigator, #3 Junior Bender

Rating: A

Source: the publicist

Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: From behind his little pile of crumpled Tootsie Roll wrappers, DiGaudio said, "We can make you for the Hammer job."

Junior Bender has made a name for himself in Los Angeles-- as a first-rate burglar... and as a competent private investigator for the criminal element in town. (After all, to whom are the crooks going to turn when they have a problem, the cops?) This private eye gig isn't all it's cracked up to be because it's a no win situation. Regardless whether he solves the crime or not, someone dangerous-- suspect or employer-- is going to be unhappy with him.

In this second book in the series, Junior has been bullied into proving that an aging music industry mogul didn't murder a nasty journalist whom he'd publicly threatened to kill. The journalist's pretty widow doesn't help matters when she tries to get Junior to mix pleasure with business.  Just when his investigation starts going out of control, Junior's landlady begs him to solve the disappearance of her daughter-- and then he learns that both his ex-wife and his thirteen-year-old daughter have new boyfriends. But Junior knows better than to ask if things could get any worse. Somehow, some way, Junior Bender has to make as many people happy as possible because he most definitely wants to survive to live another day.

Ever since 1968 and the television series "It Takes a Thief" starring Robert Wagner, I've had a thing for handsome, smart aleck burglars with devilish smiles and nine lives. This "thing" grew to embrace Cary Grant, David Niven, Maltese Falcons, and the debonair Remington Steele among others, so you have to know that I was thrilled to discover Junior Bender. Sure, Junior doesn't have a cool name like Alexander Mundy or the aforementioned Mr. Steele, but he's more than a match for them all when it comes to a sense of humor, a heart of gold, and quick wits.

Timothy Hallinan has to have a blast when he writes these books. He gets to bring in bits of Los Angeles and Hollywood history as well as his opinion of Southern California in general. He gets to create some hilarious characters, some downright scary characters, and a few characters that really know how to tug on the heartstrings.

As much as I love the people Hallinan has created, his plots are every bit as much fun. Although I do like to attempt to puzzle things out as I read a mystery, I throw my hands up when reading about Junior Bender. Hallinan's plots are even more crooked than San Francisco's Lombard Street; just as I think I know how one thing is going to be resolved, the author proves that I couldn't be more wrong. It's better to just sit back, fasten your seatbelt, and put your tray table in its upright and locked position. You're in for one fantastic ride-- and you're going to be cheering for Junior Bender all the way.

Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616952778

Soho Crime © 2013

Hardcover, 350 pages

Private Investigator, #2 Junior Bender mystery

Rating: A

Source: Publisher, Amazon Vine

Crashed by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: If I'd liked expressionism, I might have been okay.

If you're in the mood for a mystery that's just plain fun, this is the one for you. Junior Bender lives in a series of specially selected Los Angeles area motels. You see, when you're a burglar you don't always want everyone knowing where you live. Junior has a magic touch, too. He started breaking into houses when he was fourteen, and he has yet to be caught. He burgles a couple of places a month, his child support is paid, and he's good to go. He's a man of few needs is our Junior.

But things begin heading south for him when he's set up during his latest heist. Now he's being blackmailed by one of the most powerful crime bosses in LA into acting as a private investigator on the set of the boss's latest porn movie venture.

Someone keeps sabotaging the movie, and the boss wants Junior to get to the bottom of it. When Junior finds out the identity of the star, he's positive the former sweetheart of American sitcoms figures into the solution somehow. He also knows that he simply cannot let young Thistle Downing star in those films, no matter how far from grace she's fallen. Doing the right thing is going to put Junior on the wrong side of LA's scariest mob boss, so this is going to take some very careful planning. Is Junior going to be able to pull it off?

Timothy Hallinan knows how to write a smart aleck main character who has his own set of morals and a heart of gold. (In many ways Junior Bender reminds me of Hallinan's Poke Rafferty, although Poke doesn't have the necessary experience of having a career on the wrong side of the law.) Junior is more moral than most people one meets in Los Angeles, and almost everything he does is done with the thought of "What will my teenage daughter think of what I'm doing?" in his mind. As a father, he cannot in all good conscience let the young woman, Thistle Downing, act in a porno movie-- and as a man he can't let it happen either. If you've got your nose stuck in the air because Junior earns his living as a thief, you need to bring it back down again because this man does more good than most of us-- and he can do it in such a way that makes us laugh or at least smile.

We get to know Junior by bits and pieces as the story progresses, and both character and plot are fascinating. The rest of the cast-- including an ex-getaway driver and two little girls who know how to lose a tail-- is stellar, and don't be surprised if you find yourself exclaiming, flinching, or otherwise making noticeable reactions to Hallinan's story as it races along.

Yes, sometimes I'm in the mood for a book that's just plain fun. In the instance of Crashed, I was very fortunate indeed. Not only is this book fun, it's extremely well-crafted and insightful. Next up in the Junior Bender series is Little Elvises, and I've managed to snag a copy. Lucky, lucky me!

Crashed by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616952747

Soho Crime © 2012

Hardcover, 356 pages

Private Investigator, #1 Junior Bender

Rating: A

Source: Publisher