A review by hsquared
King Maybe by Timothy Hallinan

3.0

Halligan's latest has quite a lot going for it--a quirky, but loveable cast of characters, witty dialogue, light romance, and a dark but compelling theme of corruption, manipulation, and abuse of power within the elite of Hollywood that is nicely mirrored at the high school level in the parallel plot with Junior's daughter. My only real complaint is with the pacing. For the first three quarters of the book, the story wanders as Junior stumbles from one setup to another, then comes dramatically into focus as everything suddenly falls into place. The suspense at this point builds to a white knuckle ride that comes to a speedy--and much too perfect--conclusion. Though the ending is satisfying in that the nasty villain gets his just rewards, it would be even more so if we could have seen Junior sweat a little more to get there.

*digital advanced reader copy from Net Galley.