Fields Where They Lay: A Junior Bender Mystery

(Paperback)

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Description

Junior Bender, burglar extraordinaire, finds himself stuck inside the Edgerton Mall at Christmas. Edgerton isn't exactly the epicentre of holiday cheer. The mall is a fossil of an industry in decline; many of its stores are closed, and to make matters worse, there is a rampant shoplifting problem. The murderous Russian mobster who owns the place hires Junior - under threat - to solve the shoplifting problem. But Junior's surveillance operation doesn't go well: as Christmas Eve approaches, two people are dead and it's obvious that shoplifting is the least of the mall's problems.

Reviews

Praise for Fields Where They Lay

A KirkusBest Book of 2016
APublishers WeeklyBest Book of 2016
A BookPage Top Pick for December
A Kittling Books Top 10 Mystery Series

"Burglar Junior Bender may just be our favorite literary P.I."
Entertainment Weekly

"West Coast fun for the noir at heart."
Sunday Times, "Best Christmas Mysteries of 2016"

"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 youll like this book as much as I did."
Raleigh News & Observer

"Wickedly funny . . . Somewhere amid all this suspense and uncertainty lies the true meaning of Christmas, assuming that Junior can stay alive long enough to see it."
BookPage, Top Pick for December

A plum pudding stuffed with cynical disillusionment, organized and disorganized crime, two Santas, a seasonal miracle, and an ending that earns every bit of its uplift.
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"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

"Everything readers could want."
Library Journal, Starred Review

"I had never read [Hallinan], anddon't know why I decided to readthisJunior Benderin May. Out of season. But I amsoglad I didJunior is quite the find."
Marilyn Dahl, Shelf-Awareness

"Once again, Timothy Hallinan has given us a book to cheer, and a character to cheer for, but this outing is like a sweet little holiday story with dead bodies, live crooks, and a wartime reminiscence thats both heartwarming and terrifying."
Schuler Books (Michigan)

"Its hard to top Hallinans Junior Bender, the Los Angeles 'Thief of Thieves'."
BookBub

"My new favorite Christmas crime novel."
Bill Crider, Poisoned Pen Bookstore Blog

"A must-read for all seasons."
BookReporter.com

"Highly recommended."
Gumshoe Review

"A+"
Kittling Books

"Even if you hate the holidays with reasons just as good as Junior'sor especially if you dothis book is still the best gift you can give to yourself."
Kingdom Books

"Masterful."
Stop You're Killing Me!

"What a Christmas story would look like if Raymond Chandler wrote it."
Deadly Diversions

"Hallinan has skillfully managed to write a story that manages both the cynical and hopeful sides of Christmas. Its a good mix that Hallinan mines for its humorous promisefighting off a gunman with the help of tinsel, anyoneyet recognizes the humanity that is at the center of the holiday, even for someone as immune to warm fuzzies as a professional thief."
Madison Public Library

"Do your friends a favor this Christmasturn them on to Junior Bender."
BookChase

Praise for the nationally bestselling Junior Bender mysteries

Plenty funny and packed with colorful characters.
The New York Times Book Review

Run right out and get this book. Its just fabulous.
NPR, Morning Edition

"Dangerously outrageous."
Associated Press

Smart, refreshing and never dull, Hallinans vibrant King Maybe sees an author at the top of his game and a series in full, magnificent swing.
Los Angeles Review of Books

"A smart, cynical mystery . . . The best burglar in Los Angeles."
Minneapolis Star Tribune

"[Hallinan] proudly carries the banner of the late Donald Westlake, whose books are the gold standard of antic capers. The resultlucky usis a hoot and a half."
The Seattle Times

"A modern-day successor to Raymond Chandler."
Los Angeles Daily News

Author Bio

Timothy Hallinan has been nominated for the Edgar, Nero, Shamus, Macavity and Silver Dagger awards. He is the author of nineteen widely praised books, including For the Dead, The Hot Countries, Crashed, Little Elvises, The Fame Thief, King Maybe, and Herbie's Game, which won the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. After years of working in the television and music industries, he now writes full-time. He divides his time between California and Thailand.