Reviews

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

alisa4books's review

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4.0

One of my favorite crime series ever. This one fell apart a bit near the climax but still engaging.

soulkissed2003's review

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4.0

In modern day Los Angeles, the local criminals are all on edge. Something has gone terribly wrong, and they are being picked off, one by one. Junior Bender, professional burglar, decides to get involved when his mentor, Herbie, is murdered. Junior vows to track down the killer and exact revenge, for Herbie's sake. For lack of a better father figure, Herbie was the closest thing Junior ever had. He figures he owes him.

But things are more complicated than they seem. Who can you trust in a network of people who have been living under the radar of the law for years? As Junior digs deeper, trying to solve the murder before he becomes the next victim, he realizes that not even Herbie was all that he seemed to be. Junior has to decide if pursuing the killer is worth his life, or the lives of his ex-wife and daughter. On the other hand, if he does not figure it out, he may be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life!

The author brings us a thrilling chase involving seedy characters from the city. It has a bit of an old time gangster feel to it. Junior is no hero, but you'll find yourself rooting for him to figure things out, just the same. Occasionally, a spot of well placed, wry humor breaks the tension of the suspenseful pace of the story.

This novel from Soho Crime was released on July 15, 2014, with a suggested retail price of $25.00. ISBN: 9781616954291. Look for other titles in the Junior Bender series, such as Crashed and The Fame Thief.

justasking27's review

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4.0

I think this book took me so long to read mostly because I never wanted it to end. Junior Bender is my new favorite burglar detective. I will definitely be looking for other books in the series.

vkemp's review

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4.0

Junior Bender is the guy crooks turn to when they need help. He is a burglar, trained by the great Herbie Mott, initiated into Herbie's Game. When Wattles loses a piece of paper, he hires Junior to find it and Junior immediately knows Herbie is the thief. But then Herbie is murdered and the bodies begin to pile up. Junior has to hire some hitters to look after his ex-wife and daughter. As Junior pursues the various people who might have had a hand in Herbie's death, he learns his mentor might have had feet of clay. Junior faces a philosophical dilemma, which he ponders in typical Junior manner. This is an extremely entertaining series and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys caper novels.

clambook's review

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4.0

Hallinan back on his game, best of the series.
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