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    Crashed
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    Crashed
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    Crashed
    Audiobook10 hours

    Crashed

    Written by Timothy Hallinan

    Narrated by Peter Berkrot

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Junior Bender, a Los Angeles burglar with an exemplary career, has been blackmailed by Trey Annunziato, a powerful LA crime boss, into acting as a private investigator on the set of Trey’s porn movie venture, which is being sabotaged. The star Trey has lined up is Thistle Downing, America’s beloved child star, who now lives alone in a drug-induced stupor. Her starring role will be the scandalous gossip of rubberneckers everywhere. Junior knows what that he should do—help Thistle—but doing the right thing will land him on the wrong side of LA’s scariest mob boss. With the help of two unlikely sidekicks, Junior will have to pull off a miracle.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBlackstone Audio
    Release dateOct 23, 2012
    ISBN9781470838157
    Unavailable
    Crashed
    Author

    Timothy Hallinan

    Timothy Hallinan is the author of nine widely praised books: eight novels—including the Bangkok thrillers featuring Poke Rafferty—and a work of nonfiction. Along with his wife, Munyin Choy, he divides his time equally between Los Angeles, California, and Southeast Asia.

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    Reviews for Crashed

    4/5

    94 ratings14 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I don't know why this book didn't cut it with me. I really wanted to like it but I just kept finding myself thinking about other books. It wasn't nearly funny enough to keep me going.
    • 4/5
      Junior Bender has been a successful burglar since he was a teenage boy. However, everyone's luck runs out eventually, and when Junior is contracted to steal a Paul Klee painting, he finds he's been set up, a blackmail victim because of an inconvenient video surveillance system.

      A Los Angeles crime boss, Trey Annunziato, needs Junior to protect her new movie project, a trilogy of porn films starring the former child television star, Thistle Downing. Someone is trying to shut Trey's production down, and whether it's disrupting the film set or killing the star, they don't care.

      Downing was one of the biggest child stars of her time, but drugs, poor money choices, and parental problems have left her destitute and disillusioned. Junior takes a liking to the young woman and finds that he can't let her, or his 12-year old daughter, Rina, down. Now how can he help her without paying the ultimate price?

      Hallinan has written an irreverently, nice guy in Junior Bender. He's a criminal with lots of smooth, intellectual edges. Although divorced, he still loves his wife, and cherishes his daughter. He'll do what's right as long as it falls within his unique moral code. If not, he'll do what's necessary.

      Doing what's necessary happens a lot in Crashed and following Junior as he navigates through the land mines of bad girls and worse guys is great fun.
    • 3/5
      Crashed has all the potential to be a book I love. I love thieves. I love mysteries. I like first person novels.

      But I found myself struggling to get through. I finished it, which is something I very often don't do with a novel I can't quite find a friendship with.

      But this novel should have been great.

      Junior is very smart and Hallinan likes to make him narrate in a modern snarky voice. And to be clear, Hallinan is very good at this sort of snark. Which is fine for the occasional one line to punctuate narration,and is great in conversations. But when you are reading first person narration it becomes contrived and starts to feel like a blog post. At least to me. I think Hallinan would have been better off keeping it to just dialogue.

      The book would have been better if Hallinan either wholeheartedly embraces his "women are the weaker sex and should be protected" theme instead of apologizing for it's existence and doing it anyway. Actually, I think it would have been a better book if he had made it grittier by embracing the idea that a woman can be killed and a woman isn't necessarily making a disastrous life choice if she chooses freely to be a porn star. In any case, the constant pointing what an old fashioned idea it is that Bender was acting like women were to be protected was like inserting excuses for sexism.

      But neither of those things is what made it a slog. I think I had a hard time caring about what was going to happen next. Mostly because I didn't get the motivations of the characters. Why was the mob boss wanting to straight, it didn't seem to fit with her caricature like being. Why would his kid and ex-wife have so much emotional interest in his involvement in this situation.

      I often confused the two thugs in the plot, they were identical characters in action and apparently motivation, which was 'I'm stupid and I like to hit things for other people'? The real villain is introduced at the end of the book, except as referenced by other people. The pawn was obvious from it's introduction.

      Finally, Bender is about as emotionally revealing as a comic book. He is facing some scary things, some emotionally trying things and exhausting things. I never felt any empathy for him because the snark wall of cleverness in his narration is never inviting us to sympathize with his emotional state.

      All of this review is a way of saying I really wish I liked this book more because it's a great concept. However, I'm probably going to give the next one a chance because I've learned that I almost always find the second book in a series better than the first. And it's the second one that hooks me. I should probably just start reading a series with the second one.






    • 4/5
      My favorite mystery authors have been dying off, one by one. With the demises of Donald Westlake and Robert B Parker, I was fearful of finding a decent story, told with intelligence and humor. But thanks to Nancy Pearl's recommendations NPR for books under the radar, I've discovered Hallinan, and his Junior Bender, and am a happy girl.This is apparently the first in a newish series for Hallinan. (I've got the second requested at CCPL, and just saw that another one is due out any moment. Bender (whose first name is actually "Junior" . His father was a junior, but despised the name so much that he didn't want to saddle his son with it, so just gave him the Junior bit) is a burglar. And he's smart. He's been doing his craft since he was fourteen, and hasn't been caught yet. But, he's in for a bit of a tough time when he basically blackmailed to work for one of LA's crime bosses. There's trouble on a movie set for a film the boss is producing and Bender is put in charge of keeping things straight and getting the job jobbed.Only problem is, it's a porn movie that is to star a former child actress/American sweetheart, currently down, out, drugged, and on a pretty impressive downward slide. And it turns out that Junior has a heavy dose of compassion in his make-up, as well as brains.The writing and dialog is good, filled with amusing bits. The twists and solutions Junior comes up with were also amusing. Junior is unashamed that he's a burglar, sees some benefits in a work schedule that keeps him pretty free most of the month, and lives mostly out of hotel rooms since his marriage ended. He has a good relationship with his young daughter. He reads a lot, and has pretty much charted a educational course that is probably better than what most undergrads get at a majority of universities. He's a self-made burglar, and comfortable in his own skin.Looking forward to the next book with Junior.
    • 5/5
      When it comes to crime fiction, writers generally choose between telling their story through the eyes of either the criminal being pursued or the one primarily responsible for catching him. Or occasionally, generally via alternating chapters, readers are offered both points of view - an approach that works remarkably well to create and maintain a high level of tension that peaks when pursuer and pursued finally come together. Timothy Hallinan's new Junior Bender series, of which Crashed is book number one, takes the first approach.Junior Bender is one damn fine burglar, a thirty-six-year-old man who has been successfully breaking into houses since he was fourteen without ever having been caught. When it comes to breaking and entering, Junior is a pro's pro. He only works two or three times a month, never gets greedy, and knows exactly what he will be able to move safely on the street. So when a cop is waiting for him as he exits his latest job, Junior is truly and honestly surprised. He is even more surprised to learn that he has been set up by criminals every bit as street smart as him, criminals willing to blackmail him into doing something for them he wants nothing to do with.Trey Annunziato, a notorious Los Angeles mobster, wants Junior to work as a private investigator on the set of a pornographic movie the mob is bankrolling. Someone wants badly to make sure that the film never happens, and each day lost is costing the mob boss almost $25,000 in sunk costs. When Junior learns that the star of the film is the dope-addled, grown-up version of one of America's most beloved child television stars of the previous decade, he finds himself sympathizing with the aims of the saboteur he supposed to stop. What is a decent criminal to do?Readers familiar with Timothy Hallinan's Poke Rafferty thrillers (the Bangkok books) know that the author fills his thrillers with well-developed characters that are as much fun as the tight spots his heroes get themselves into and out of. If Crashed is any indication, the Junior Bender series continues that Hallinan tradition. Junior has a network of friends he can call upon when he needs a special skill or just another pair of hands, and unfortunately for him, he has at least one sworn enemy in the LAPD who would love nothing better than to put Junior away for a long, long time - if he cannot coerce Junior into sharing the wealth with him first.Bottom Line: Crashed is a fun way to begin what promises to be another great crime series from a trusted author. This one is a wild ride that, despite the overall sadness of the story it tells, will keep the reader chuckling throughout. Junior Bender is just that kind of guy - and, frankly, it's a lot of fun rooting for a bad guy with a heart.
    • 3/5
      Junior Bender is a professional burglar. He gets drawn into a situation against his will.What can you expect from a "professional" burglar. That phrase shouldn't even exist. Bender is least unlikable character in the book. He tires to have morals and follow a code of ethics. None of it seems to work for me, as he is quite simply "a crook". I did enjoy the plot though even though I despise all the characters. There's too many overly clever remarks by Junior that seem to be going for snarky,but fall flat. Also of note, I HATE the narrator of this book. His accent was extremely annoying. Sounded as though it was supposed to be Chicagoan, but the story occurs in LA, so it didn't work for me at all. I'm not happy to see that the narrator has done the others in the series.
    • 4/5
      A professional contract burglar/detective, a child star/pornstar and various murderous people are featured in this story. Not intended to be great literature or even a morality tale, it meets its purpose of an entertaining read. It has many interesting characters, murder and mayhem and many twists and turns.
    • 4/5
      Well written and intelligent though at times cliched. Reeks of Chandler, but in a good way. Characters are well developed and mostly believable. Very suspenseful. Humor handled well when not bordering on juvenile. 95% of the time I was reading I was enjoying it, but other 5% I was doing some mental eye rolling.
    • 4/5
      I read one of the author's books years ago & didn't care for it at all. But I did like this one. I liked the protagonist. I'm fascinated by the lives of child stars, especially "after." I have quibbles about the end--hence 4 instead of 5--but if you read to the end, you'll enjoy yourself along the way. I'll just say, I remembered why I disliked this author. I'll read the next one in this series, though. I agree with Hallinan about the whole bad guy thing. (He says they're more fun to write about.)
    • 5/5
      First Line: If I'd liked expressionism, I might have been okay.If you're in the mood for a mystery that's just plain fun, this is the one for you. Junior Bender lives in a series of specially selected Los Angeles area motels. You see, when you're a burglar you don't always want everyone knowing where you live. Junior has a magic touch, too. He started breaking into houses when he was fourteen, and he has yet to be caught. He burgles a couple of places a month, his child support is paid, and he's good to go. He's a man of few needs is our Junior.But things begin heading south for him when he's set up during his latest heist. Now he's being blackmailed by one of the most powerful crime bosses in LA into acting as a private investigator on the set of the boss's latest porn movie venture.Someone keeps sabotaging the movie, and the boss wants Junior to get to the bottom of it. When Junior finds out the identity of the star, he's positive the former sweetheart of American sitcoms figures into the solution somehow. He also knows that he simply cannot let young Thistle Downing star in those films, no matter how far from grace she's fallen. Doing the right thing is going to put Junior on the wrong side of LA's scariest mob boss, so this is going to take some very careful planning. Is Junior going to be able to pull it off?Timothy Hallinan knows how to write a smart aleck main character who has his own set of morals and a heart of gold. (In many ways Junior Bender reminds me of Hallinan's Poke Rafferty, although Poke doesn't have the necessary experience of having a career on the wrong side of the law.) Junior is more moral than most people one meets in Los Angeles, and almost everything he does is done with the thought of "What will my teenage daughter think of what I'm doing?" in his mind. As a father, he cannot in all good conscience let the young woman, Thistle Downing, act in a porno movie-- and as a man he can't let it happen either. If you've got your nose stuck in the air because Junior earns his living as a thief, you need to bring it back down again because this man does more good than most of us-- and he can do it in such a way that makes us laugh or at least smile.We get to know Junior by bits and pieces as the story progresses, and both character and plot are fascinating. The rest of the cast-- including an ex-getaway driver and two little girls who know how to lose a tail-- is stellar, and don't be surprised if you find yourself exclaiming, flinching, or otherwise making noticeable reactions to Hallinan's story as it races along.Yes, sometimes I'm in the mood for a book that's just plain fun. In the instance of Crashed, I was very fortunate indeed. Not only is this book fun, it's extremely well-crafted and insightful. Next up in the Junior Bender series is Little Elvises, and I've managed to snag a copy. Lucky, lucky me!
    • 4/5
      Quick, light fun. I wish that I had found the main character a bit more engaging. He didn't work that well for me, but the story moved along quickly enough that I wasn't bored.
    • 4/5
      Really good story and characters. Clever and sarcastic with plenty of action.
    • 3/5
      I finished this last night and logged onto Goodreads this morning to note it only to discover that at some point I'd marked it as a 'reject'! I can see why. It was not the best written with the tightest plot but after a bit, I was at least interested enough to get to the end. There were a few too many not needed characters and some needed characters that didn't really make sense but...

      The character of Junior Bender, the protagonist thief, was cute enough and the basic plot of a child star trying to stay alive long enough to patch up her broken life worked somewhat.

      No need to read the rest of the series, I don't think.
    • 5/5
      Junior Bender is a thief who works for other thieves. He is a specialist. He gets all the information he needs to gain access without duress. He gets the particular information about the location of the object. He gets measurements. He gets everything a thief needs to satisfy the customer, earn his respectable gratuity for rendering good service, and clear directions on how to get out without getting caught.When we meet Junior, he is at work. There is a bit of a hiccup when the owners guard dogs get access to the house and Junior has to resort to a ploy that a sensible person would know was doomed from the start but Junior handles his assignment perfectly. He did just what the customer ordered. Unfortunately, Junior has a terrible weakness for a man who steals to order. He cannot resist a wall safe. Junior does not resist this one. He opens it without any difficulty, grabs a handful of diamonds, and makes his escape.He doesn’t escape for long. Junior has been set up. The owner of the house is a major player in the world of the morally corrupt. There was a camera in the safe. Junior’s job is on film. Hacker, a crooked cop, takes Junior to Wattles, more than a step up (or down, depending on how someone rates criminals), and on to Trey Annunziato. Trey is the head of the largest organized crime family in the west. Trey, it is rumored, killed the previous head of the family without a moments thought. Perhaps Trey did this because her father gave her a man’s name so that the family line wouldn’t be diluted with female names. Trey is seriously dangerous because she has a plan to redeem her reputation. She is divesting the family of most of its less salubrious enterprises but she needs a legal means of keeping the money flowing so she can take care of the people who are loyal to her. To do this she has decided to film a trilogy of porn films starring Thistle Downing.Junior has no idea who Thistle Downing is but he learns he is probably the only person on the planet who doesn’t. Louie the Lost, one of Junior’s closest associates, fills Junior in on the star that is Thistle Downing. Louie finds a cable station that runs old TV shows and Junior discovers the enormous talent Thistle displayed as a child when her television series ran for eight years. Louis is appalled that anyone would destroy the reputation of this child. Junior realizes that therein lies the problem. Thistle is now in her twenties but to the world, including Junior’s daughter, she is still the child on the TV screen. Trey is counting on people paying to see what is left of the brilliant talent that has been diminished, but not extinguished, by drugs.Junior’s job is to protect Thistle so that she is able to make a movie that will be as explicit as the law allows. Junior sees his job as making sure that Thistle doesn’t make the movie at all. But Trey does have that film.Timothy Hallinan’s protagonists, be they Simeon Grist, Poke Rafferty, or Junior Bender, are men who have a strong code of moral behavior that is a bit off to the side of the straight and narrow. The characters in CRASHED are damaged people. Thistle is the epitome of the child star who is never allowed to be a child. Thistle is every twenty-something celebrity whose names and faces are used on the tabloids because they sell papers. They are used up by the end of their teens. Even Trey Annunziato is uncomfortable with the expectations that her name place upon her. She might have arranged for her father’s “accident” but she doesn’t want to make money off hookers.Hallinan creates memorable characters. They are not always likable. but they are always interesting. But what makes Hallinan’s books so compelling is his genius in finding the perfect words. For example, “He changed his name to Ding Ji Ming and joined a Chinese gang in New York. Chinese names are written with the surname first, but if you wrote Bai Chen’s new name in the Western fashion, first name first, it would be Ji Ming Ding, which was as close as he could get in Mandarin to Jimmy Dean.” Will anyone forget Jimmy? He isn’t a main character but he is unforgettable because Hallinan explains his name.And this, I think, is autobiographical -” You know, lots of creative people feel like someone else is actually doing the work. Some of the best writers I know say that the words come through them, from somewhere else, that the characters talk and all the writer does is try to get it down before it fades. It’s not like they’re making things up. It’s like someone is telling them the story, and they’re just, I don’t know, taking dictation.”I don’t own a Kindle. The Kindle application for the PC is free and incredibly easy to download; even I did it without a problem. Reading Timothy Hallinan’s books on a PC is far better than not being able to read them at all.