Nighttown (A Junior Bender Mystery #7)

Nighttown (A Junior Bender Mystery #7)

Timothy Hallinan
$26.95
Publication Date: November 6th, 2018
Publisher:
Soho Crime
ISBN:
9781616957483
Pages:
384

Description

"Exceedingly funny . . . this one's good for what ails you."—The New York Times  

Reluctant P.I. to the perfidious, Junior Bender, may be L.A.’s smoothest operator but when he breaks one of the cardinal rules of burglary (don’t take scores that you’re being paid way too much for) he finds himself once again on the wrong side of, well, the wrong side.

Los Angeles burglar Junior Bender has a rule about never taking a job that pays too well: in the criminal underworld, if you’re offered more money than a job is worth, someone is going to end up dead. But he’s bending his rule this one time because he and his girlfriend, Ronnie, are in desperate need of cash to hire a kidnapper to snatch Ronnie’s two-year-old son back from her ex. The whole thing is pretty complicated and has Junior on edge.
 
The parameters of the job do nothing to calm his nerves. A nameless woman in an orange wig has offered Junior fifty grand—twenty-five up front—to break into the abandoned house of a recently deceased 97-year-old recluse, Daisy Horton, and steal a doll from her collection. Junior knows no doll is worth 50K, so he figures there must be something hidden inside the doll that can get him in a heap of trouble. It doesn’t take long for Junior to realize he’s not the only one looking for the doll. When an old friend ends up murdered, Junior decides he will stop at nothing to figure out who the woman in the orange wig is, and why she wants the doll badly enough to leave a trail of bodies in her wake.

About the Author

Timothy Hallinan has been nominated for the Edgar, Nero, Shamus, Macavity, and Silver Dagger awards. He is the author of twenty-two widely praised books, including the Poke Rafferty Bangkok thrillers, most recently Fools’ River, and the Junior Bender Hollywood burglar mysteries, including Herbie’s Game, winner of the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. After years of working in the television and music industries, he now writes full-time. He lives in California and Thailand.

Praise for Nighttown (A Junior Bender Mystery #7)

Finalist for the 2019 Nero Award
Finalist for the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery Novel

Praise for Nighttown

"Exceedingly funny . . . this one's good for what ails you."
—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times 

"If you enjoy the ironic wit and criminal adventures of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr, then you’ll want to read Timothy Hallinan’s Nighttown. Junior Bender is one of my favorite fictional felons and Hallinan is a writer with the kind of heart and healthy cynicism that I admire."  
—Carole E. Barrowman, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

"Hallinan’s top-notch prose and plotting are reminiscent of Lawrence Block and Elmore Leonard."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Nothing puts a smile on my face or chuckle in my heart like a new Junior Bender book. Always fresh and ever insightful, Hallinan delivers pleasure reading in its purest form.” 
—Tim Tigner, author of Pushing Brilliance

"Everybody's go-to burglar in LA, takes on another job that doesn't smell right—it fairly reeks of talcum powder—and lives to regret it early and often . . . Highly readable."
—Kirkus Reviews

"[Nighttown] packs an unexpected wallop, which resonates long after the last (and highly satisfying) sentence is read."
—Bookreporter.com

"A not-to-miss mystery . . . Hallinan is easily one of the most entertaining crime writers in the business today." 
—New York Journal of Books

"Are you a fan of Donald Westlake's caper books, or the first series from Bethany Maines with its side-splitting moments among makeup experts who ride on the wild side? Here's what you've been waiting for: exquisitely plotted action and twists, with conversation and commentary so dryly funny that those pee-proof panties advertised on TV should be sold with the book in some regions."
—Kingdom Books

"Tightly plotted and fast-paced . . . Nighttown is the real deal."
—Kittling Books 

"This novel was extremely intriguing, suspenseful, and mysterious. It is highly recommended reading."
—The Gumshoe Review

"Humor is a hallmark of the Junior Bender series, and this latest title is no exception." 
—Bookgasm

Praise for Fields Where They Lay

A Kirkus & Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A BookPage Top Pick

“Burglar Junior Bender may just be our favorite literary PI.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“West Coast fun for the noir at heart.” 
—Sunday Times

“Slick sleuthing, a touching romance and several good laughs.” 
—Toronto Star 

“Comparisons to Raymond Chandler and Donald Westlake are totally deserved and should give you a clue as to whether you’ll like this book as much as I did.” 
—Raleigh News & Observer 

“Hallinan deserves to win an Edgar for his ingeniously plotted, often hilarious sixth Junior Bender novel.” 
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review 

“Nobody does comic mystery with an edge better than Hallinan.” 
—Booklist, Starred Review

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