A serious misstep from one of my faves.

Would you try another book from Timothy Hallinan and/or Peter Berkrot?

I have loved all of the Poke Rafferty books, which show us the extraordinary vista of Tim Hallinan's talent. On the other hand, I have read a couple of the Junior Bender books, and I have to ask, "Why?" Junior can't even be compared to Poke as a protagonist in any way. A burglar? That we are supposed to get interested in and enjoy following his exploits? His fellow low-life burglars, and his teacher, Herbie, the grandfather of burglars, who teaches crooks how to break into people's houses? What on earth could have made Tim seriously think that this would be an enjoyable read? I know there is humor, and the fact that he is getting recognized for the humor is all good. But it's just not for me.

Has Herbie's Game turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'm not going to generalize from this attempt to other authors' works. Thomas Perry, for instance, has accomplished what one might think of as the impossible in this area: the Butcher's Boy is a serial killer with whom we empathize, and whose adventures often find us, against all odds, rooting for him. Other authors might be able to do something like this, but I haven't come across it yet. As a faithful reader of Tim's newsletter, I know that he has more Junior Bender books planned, as well as more Poke Rafferty books. Disappointing.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator actually is pretty good. There are many voices, which he does well. I woould listen to him again, just not to a Junior Bender book. The narrator of the Poke Rafferty series, by contrast, is just marvelous, and I would not want anyone else to read them.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Basically disinterest. I just don't care about the lives of these characters. I very much appreciate Tim's sense of humor, but you just can't get me to care about the lives of these criminals and their lock-picking skills, and their "disconnects" (don't bother) and their beautiful, hot, smart (yeah, yeah, yeah) chicks. The one attempt to really humanize Junior is his attachment to his daughter, Rina. Fine and good, if trite and obvious. Not enough.

Any additional comments?

Nope. Read all of the Poke Rafferty books.

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7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Junior keeps on truckin

This Junior Bender series listening is fun. Sort of a comedic crime thriller, the author evidently knows a lot about old Los Angeles as he brings to life some of how LA must have been in days past. It's not that the thrillers are that thrilling but the author has a nice, hip writing style that makes them interesting and fun.

In this book the 4th in the series, Junior's mentor into the criminal life, Herbie, is found dead. To find the killer, Junior has to unravel a hit chain of people that were paid to pass along the hit money to protect the person ordering the hit. You might imagine there at lots of characters, many of them bad people, along the way to solving the crime.

“Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry”

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3 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Good comic mystery-Junior as "detective."

I enjoyed this, my first in the Junior Bender series. Although the protagonist is a seasoned burglar, here he is more like a private detective, trying to find out who killed his mentor Herbie and why. Junior's peculiar life is full of kinky people, which adds to the fun. It's not a memorable story but it's a lot of fun.

Peter Berkrot added to the enjoyment by attaching a unique, appropriate voice to each character. He even did a good job with women's voices.

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2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Above entertaining

The Junior Bender books are always fun, well-written, easy reads, but they are always more than just that. Full of interesting history & characters, fabulous noir atmosphere, wit, and (most thankfully) good grammar.

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anything read by Peter Betkrot

is a joy to read. It makes up for the authors gratuitous political comments.

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not the ex

Only issue I had was how the ex wife is treated with so much disrespect.

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Favorite thus far.

As a writer, I'm learning do much from this author. Good listen. Doing the entire series.

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Exciting read!

Book 4 in the series was an exciting read and one of my new favorite mystery book. The narrator is a perfect fit as well!

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Wow

This series is so much fun! Smart, entertaining and funny. Best series I’ve read in years! Every book has been fantastic can’t stop listening.

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Said. Said. Said.

The storyline was intriguing and I enjoyed getting to know the characters better.
The characters have depth and I want to see what happens next!
The narration was spot on but I just could not get over the amount of times "said" was used.
I am not a writer but I am an avid audiobook listener (150+ in my library) and it really took me out of the story when every conversation was described as "he said.. then I said... she said" .
This was just a personal annoyance/pet peeve and hopefully isn't a deterrent to future readers.
I plan to continue the series.
Thats what she said.

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