I received [b: King Maybe: Junior Bender #5|25937722|King Maybe (Junior Bender, #5)|Timothy Hallinan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1459281766s/25937722.jpg|45835073] by [a: Timothy Hallinan|274986|Timothy Hallinan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1285073991p2/274986.jpg] by approval of Soho Press. NetGalley issued this novel to me in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Junior Bender novel. "King Maybe" is #5 in a series but does stand alone well. The writing is good. If you love high suspense and are looking for a guy's book this is it. The writing and subplots are good.

I recommend going back and starting at the beginning of the Junior Bender series. Not because of following the subplots or character, but because you will want to anyway.

I am compelled to start at the beginning of this honorable thief's career. I want to meet him early on, when he still had a lot to learn. My curiosity drives me to meet some of the colorful if not benign characters. They are all well developed and three dimensional in "King Maybe"

Hallinan is a man's man author. It would not be a surprise to see an HBO series or movies based on the Junior Bender series.

There were times while reading this that I forgot to breathe. [a: Timothy Hallinan|274986|Timothy Hallinan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1285073991p2/274986.jpg] is a gifted writer. I look forward to more journeys through locked windows and iron gates. Beating the top rated alarm systems, and real bad guys.

Timothy Hallinan has a new fan. ( )

As I read the other reviews about this book, “wacky” fits the bill. Not sure I will read other Junior Bender books, but this one was fun with filled with people I’d never meet in my neighborhood. ( )

Book Review & Giveaway: Having reviewed two Junior Bender mysteries, and loved all of them, I’ve been looking at what it is about that series that appeals to me so much – other than award-winning Timothy Hallinan’s writing style, which is excellent. Not only are they entertaining but they ring true.

Anyone who’s worked in any way with the entertainment industry knows it has an underbelly, and it usually doesn’t take long to come face to face with it at one level or another. Then your values get tested. The other aspect to this is that Junior is doing what everyone else in Los Angeles is doing, hustling for all he’s worth to keep his head above water. Now most people in LA do that in more legit jobs but Junior’s a burglar with a heart. He’s an Everyman who took a left turn when most of us turn right…and he’s still a fun character because you never know what’s going to happen to him next.

Now that’s a long way around to introduce King Maybe, the new novel in the Junior Bender series – I think it’s #5. The 4th novel in the series won a Leftie Award – very cool – and has also been nominated for a Nero Award!

Any of this series’ books can be read as stand-alone novels, so no worries if you haven’t read the first four – except that, if you like Junior as much as I do, you’re going to want to get the others too. But even that won’t be a hardship because the prior e-books are bargain priced – Whoot! I’ve included links to the two prior books we’ve reviewed on this site at the end of this review, so you can get a glimpse at what they’re like.

Oh, and did I mention that one of you is going to win King Maybe? Even better, right? Enter to win it at http://popcornreads.com/?p=9053 ( )

I've loved Hallinan's Junior Bender mysteries since the very first one, Crashed. Blame it on Hollywood and television series like It Takes a Thief or movies like The Pink Panther. Of course readers get Hallinan's trademark humor, strongly constructed plots, and wonderful characterizations, but they also receive tasty appetizers of Los Angeles film and criminal history. With Hallinan's skill, it's a recipe I simply cannot resist.

With Junior's luck all being bad in King Maybe, the focus naturally has to be on him as an escape artist, and his sense of self-preservation and lightning-fast ability to think on his feet are a joy to behold. The three-fold plot involving (1) King Maybe, (2) fallout from the stamp heist, and (3) the trouble Junior's daughter is having moves quickly, and-- as usual for a Hallinan novel-- the focus really isn't on Junior's skills as a burglar or as an investigator. The focus is on his relationships with the other characters, and Hallinan is one of the best when it comes to delineating those emotional bonds.

There's a new(ish) woman in his life with whom Junior is having trouble. His relationship with his ex-wife seems to be on a more even keel, and things are great between Junior and his daughter. But the two characters who have rapidly become my favorites are the two teenage hackers Anime and Lilli. In them I see shades of Miaow, the young Thai girl in Hallinan's Poke Rafferty series. Anime and Lilli are worlds beyond smart, extremely unconventional, and often downright hilarious.

If you have a fondness for cat burglars with hearts of gold (like I do) and mysteries with wonderful stories and characters, I urge you to become acquainted with Junior Bender. You could probably jump in anywhere and not be too confused, but I'd suggest you start at the beginning with Crashed so you won't miss any of the character development. And if you haven't already, get your hands on the first Poke Rafferty mystery, A Nail Through the Heart. You really should become acquainted with Poke and Rose and Miaow and.... (In other words, Tim Hallinan writes marvelous books!) ( )

Master burglar Junior Bender has a big problem, but it’s not the kind of problem you would expect someone in Junior’s profession normally to have. There are no cops hot on his trail because, truth be known, the cops don’t even have Junior on their radar screen. He is that good at what he does. No, Junior’s problem is that he is a burglar with a conscience who is forced to deal with a wide assortment of people for whom conscience doesn’t even figure into the equation.

Still, it is only after a planned-to-the-split-second burglary suddenly goes pear shaped that Junior realizes just how a serious a chain of events he has inadvertently triggered. King Maybe, probably the most ruthless and most powerful man in all of Hollywood, wants Junior to do something for him – and declining the job is not something he is going to let Junior do. King Maybe may not be much of a physical specimen (only those who don’t know him, though, would dare label him the shrimp he is), but his money and vicious cruel-streak make him one very dangerous man.

King Maybe is the fifth book in Timothy Hallinan’s Junior Bender series, and the now fortyish Junior has been breaking into houses and businesses without ever once having been caught since he was fourteen years old. That’s more than two decades of unbroken success, but Junior has to wonder if that means that he is unlikely ever to be caught, or that the odds are increasingly more likely that his day is drawing near. Junior really has no idea, but hedges his bet by keeping a detailed escape plan firmly in place. At a moment’s notice, Junior Bender is prepared to disappear, assume a well-crafted new identity, and begin life anew far from California.

King Maybe can correctly be characterized as a “crime thriller,” but that would be shortchanging both the book and its author because Tim Hallinan’s novels are as character-driven as any literary fiction out there. Longtime fans of the series are familiar with the Junior Bender character at this point, and they know pretty much what to expect from him in most circumstances (although Junior does show a side of his character at the end of this one that I didn’t suspect he had). What keeps the series so fresh is Hallinan’s talent for creating memorable side characters for Junior to interact with, be they Filipino houseboys, love interests, or villains like the high-heeled cowboy boot wearing King Maybe, a little man with a big ego.

Hallinan has done it again. This one is fun. ( )