Junior Bender, who "steal[s] from the rich and sell[s] to the richer," falls into a rabbit hole full of aging rock-and-roll bands. Irwin Dressler is unhappy. Rock of Ages, the ancient foursome to whom he loaned $250,000 to finance a nostalgia tour, hasn't returned a penny, and there are rumors that they've lost a more substantial amount of money than he ever would've expected them to take in. Most creditors would have to suffer this mistreatment in silence, but since Dressler's still the preeminent gang leader in Los Angeles despite his constant fears that he'll lose face and everything else, he gets Junior to look into the matter for him. That's why Junior's on hand when drummer Boomboom Black ends his performance at Wilshire's Lafayette Theater with the band Rat Bite by getting into a fight with the lead guitarist, who conks him with his instrument, and then getting a much more consequential conk from a falling stage flat that ends both his set and his life. It's kind of awkward for Junior, who's not only there on what he assumes is unrelated business, but is accompanied by Rina, his teenage daughter, whose mother has entrusted her to her ex while she's out of town. The best parts of this blast from the past involve the relations among Rina, Junior as the world's worst babysitter, and Lavender, an aging groupie to whom Rina takes a shine. Other characters from the Razorettes, Lionel and the Pussycats, and Rock of Ages dissolve under a haze of bright lights that overshadow the forgettable mystery and cast readers as semistoned groupies themselves. The ideal audience for this shaggy trip down Memory Lane: die-hard fans who wish rock could go on forever. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Hallinan hasn't hinged one of his Junior Bender novels on rock music in almost 10 years (Little Elvises, 2013), but there's always a backbeat somewhere in this toe-tappingly entertaining comic mystery series starring the forever-put-upon Junior, who juggles two equally dicey "lines of work": high-end burglar and low-end investigator for L.A.'s criminal class. This time it's the notorious Irwin Dressler, aging but still-feared kingpin of Hollywood mobsters, who comes calling. It seems Dressler has helped fund a scheme concocted by four of his fellow geriatric wrongdoers, who have organized a music tour featuring a collection of mostly minor-league geezer rockers from the '60s and '70s bearing grudges the size of their prostates: "The drummer and the guitarist had hated each other since FM radio was still something most people picked up on their fillings." Dressler is convinced that the promoters are skimming from the already-meager take and wants his money back. Meanwhile, Junior must juggle the case with taking care of his teen daughter, who's getting curious about how Dad earns a living. Junior gets everything sorted out, with the help of his motley crew of pals, including the lovably lethal Debbie, who believes "it's a rare group of people that doesn't include someone who needs killing," The one-liners come as if fired from a gatling gun in this gem of a novel that will leave Junior's fans wishing they'd read it a whole lot slower.

In Hallinan's outstanding eighth novel starring burglar Junior Bender (after 2018's Nighttown), L.A. mobster Irwin Dressler needs Bender to do him a favor. Dressler has invested money in a concert tour featuring obscure bands organized by "four of the killers, extortionists, leg-breakers, kidnappers, armed robbers, and threat specialists who made up his former social circle." Dressler believes that one of them has been siphoning off the profits and that two near-fatal accidents to two of the touring musicians may have been attempted murders. Complications ensue since Bender's investigation coincides with time allotted to spend with his teenage daughter, Rina, who's unaware of his actual profession. When a drummer is seriously injured during a performance after a stage set wall falls on him, Bender finds evidence that the rope suspending the wall was tampered with, thus validating Dressler's suspicions. Hallinan's sharp-edged prose (a character has "lips sharp enough to turn a kiss into a paper cut") and facility for making even assassins likable enhance a complex puzzle. Both newcomers and fans will be delighted. Agent: Bob Mecoy, Bob Mecoy Literary. (June)

Los Angeles burglar and private eye to the criminal fringe, Junior Bender is asked by aging mobster Irwin Dressler to discover who is using the Rock of Ages tour of once great bands to steal his money. Now Junior is facing a weekend of so-so music while shepherding teenage daughter Rina, whom he's trying not to introduce to a life of crime. From a nominee for Edgar, Nero, Shamus, Macavity, and Silver Dagger honors.