Fields Where They Lay | 
pickCrime mystery starring Junior Bender, a professional thief hired to find out why shoplifting is out of control at a dying mall. I enjoyed the narrator's often funny commentary, the well drawn characters (Jewish mall Santa is one of my favorites), and the various views of cheesy, materialistic, yet somehow alluring Xmas. This would be a fun December read.
"Say what you will about the past, it's rarely an improvement to bulldoze it wholesale. Even in Los Angeles, if you go back far enough, you'll encounter two or three periods when people briefly displayed good taste, and some of those structures should be preserved, if only for variety." Not sure what I think of the story yet, but loving the commentary!
pickJust finished the audio! Hiassen meets The Sopranos in this wacky Christmas caper that takes place in a dilapidated shopping mall. Stands alone just fine. Great holiday spirit without getting schmaltzy. Russian gangsters, a cast of thieves with hearts of gold. Just loved it!
OMG! How is it I've never read a Junior Bender mystery before?!?!?!?
The folks at Soho Press kept telling me I would like these, so I downloaded this audio holiday caper. I must read them all! This series book holds up perfectly well as a stand alone.
Carl Hiassen meets The Sopranos in present day L.A. Junior, a thief/detective, finds himself employed by a Russian thug to catch a shoplifter in a depressing shopping mall at Christmas. Hilarious!
Oh, but doesn't this look jolly?!
Reading this now. What a well-written and truly philosophical mystery! It's also very funny.
