Reviews

This was a highly amusing little listen. The characters are fun. The mysteries are suitably puzzling. The twist of the main character who needs to solve the problems and mysteries being a self-confessed career criminal telling the story in first person is different enough for me. The fact that it is also funny is even better. Not laugh out loud funny, but lots of smiles and chuckles.

spinstah's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This was a really fun read. It's a mystery, but instead of following an investigator, the main character is a burglar who starts trying to unravel a mystery he finds himself stuck in the middle of. I really enjoyed reading the book from this POV - this particular crook, Junior Bender, has his own code and morals, and was a really interesting character.

emilyknap's review

Go to review page

4.0

I've read a handful of Hallinan before and have never been overly impressed or disappointed. Most of his books for me are just ok. Relatively entertaining, but I could take them or leave them. This one was different though and I think it was because I really liked Junior. I'm not sure exactly what it is about him that I like. He's a crook, so normally you would assume his moral compass is skewed but you quickly realize it actually isn't. Sure, he steals from people. But he also has a big heart which is apparent when you start to meet his fellow crooks and his family. A lovable crook, who knew!?!

I also really enjoyed Thistle. Yea, she was a hot mess. But it was completely understandable how she got there. I'm sure I'm not the first and I won't be the last to comment on this, but she reminded me of Lindsay Lohan. A child who star who was misguided from a young age and is just looking for something she can't find. But Thistle is crazy talented and a fighter which is why she is also endearing.

Most of the extraneous characters were relatively enjoyable. The plot was a little weird. It centers around an adult film and crime in LA but it's easy to get hooked in this story once you meet Junior and Thistle. You want the best for both of the main characters and the author does a good job of taking you on a ride in order to figure out where they will end up. I would recommend this over all of the other Hallinan books I've read at this point!

P. 313

nglofile's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

The mystery genre is stuffed with investigators who don't exactly play by the rules, so why not take that two steps further and make the hero an actual criminal? This is the premise of the Junior Bender series, and I have to admit that it has its charms.

This particular story has quite a bit to say about celebrity culture and the dismal outlook for child actors as they age. Bender is a great character. He's no Robin Hood, an altruistic burglar who is only looking to redistribute wealth. He's invested in personal gain, but let's just say that he sometimes uses his powers for the good of someone other than himself or his family. His schemes can be entertaining, we admire his style, and there's a healthy dose of humor or levity -- especially when it involves a comeuppance for a less heart-of-gold-style character.

audiobook note: Peter Berkrot plays well the resignation peppered with sparks of animation. Good match for this character, and the notes of genuine concern about the well-beings of others are warmly enacted without counteracting any persona as developed earlier.

mschlat's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I'm closer to 3.5 stars than 4. On the plus side, you have a lot of humor, an intriguing antihero who works as a thief, and a nice complex climax where all the pieces come together. On the minus side, the major threat and question of the book is whether or not Junior Bender will prevent a former child star from making a porno film, and I found that an uncomfortable place to be in the middle of the book. I might try another in the series.

attytheresa's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I very nearly gave this 5 stars. Junior Bender, a professional burglar, finds himself in a sticky mess after a contract theft, leaving him beholden to a bunch of folks, including a leading crime boss trying to go legit. To square himself, and get paid the $20,000 he desperately needs to pay child support, he agrees to work for the crime boss and make sure that former-child-star-now-druggie Thistle remains safe and alive and makes the porn flic that will make enough millions to assure crime boss can finish legitimizing the biz. You see, things keep happening on the shoot and the target seems to be Thistle, and they are increasingly threatening...

This was a totally entertaining, engaging romp full of sympathetic characters and the down and dirty side of Hollywood. Almost everyone is a crook and you just like them, except for the really bad ones. Junior himself is so relatable - a man who loves both his daughter and his ex, but whose profession is a problem to keeping the family together. He's smart, a bit slick, kind of cool, and definitely has a Robin Hood complex.

This had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, paced well and wirtten well enough that when you have figured some piece of it out, you really don't mind that it is 'revealed' many chapters later.

I will definitely be reading more in this series.

cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

First in a mystery series recommended by Jo, who calls Junior Bender a humorous, memorable protagonist. Read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/842279537?book_show_action=false&page=1

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Scrashed%20hallinan__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl

More...