Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

Published by Soho Crime on July 15, 2014

There's something endearing about Junior Bender. Yes, he's a burglar, although his secondary career involves solving crimes committed against criminals who, for obvious reasons, don't want to call the police. Yes, he's relatively amoral, although he has a (somewhat flexible) ethical code. Yes, his friends are mostly thieves, con artists, and killers. Yes, he views crime as a reasonable way to make a living. Those minor character defects notwithstanding, Bender is bright and funny and self-aware. He cares about his daughter. His heart is mostly in the right place. He has enormous empathy for people who have lived difficult lives. What's not to like?

When someone steals an important list of names from Wattles' safe -- the kind of list that could get Wattles killed -- he turns to Junior Bender for help, not because Bender is a friend (he recently tried to have Bender killed), but because Bender is one of the few burglars who could have pulled off the job. If Bender didn't do it, he can find the person who did, and Wattles uses both cash and threats to induce Bender's cooperation. Unfortunately for Bender, his first stop brings him to the body of his mentor. It is Herbie's game -- burglary -- that Bender learned to play so well. Herbie's death makes Bender's mission personal, particularly after that mission is expanded by a letter from beyond the grave. But will Bender's investigation cause him to learn more about Herbie Mott than he wanted to know?

The story takes Bender on an enjoyable journey through the underworld he loves. The misfits he meets include a crooked psychic, a magician who doubles as a pickpocket, a guy with calculus symbols tattooed on his body, several friendly hit women, a couple of teenage girls who are filling their college fund with proceeds derived from hacking, and people with names like Stinky and Burt the Gut. An odd brooch that comes into Bender's illicit possession in the first chapter adds to the story's mystery and, in a particularly funny scene, causes him to get beaten up by a little Filipino named Ting Ting.

Bender does a fair amount of soul searching in this novel -- searching for a soul he's not sure he has, or at least not the right kind of soul, the kind upon which love is not wasted. Looking at Herbie's life (particularly Herbie's parenting) forces Bender to examine his own life (and parenting). What he discovers is not always pretty, but Bender at least has the decency to be troubled by it. That's one reason he's such a likeable character. Another is his belief that "a wall of books makes civilization seem real, despite all the evidence to the contrary." As Bender ponders life (his and others'), he gives the reader some thoughts to chew on, including the reminder that people are always changing, whether we like it or not.

As always, Timothy Hallinan moves the story at a brisk pace without skimping on characterization, develops an interesting plot, and fills the pages with clever prose. The motive for the act that caused Herbie's death (and for murders that follow) is a wildly improbable coincidence, but those have become routine in modern thrillers. That credibility issue notwithstanding, Herbie's Game is a strong entry in a fun series.

RECOMMENDED