In my review of The Tomb, I lamented getting wrapped up in yet another series, but to quote Britney: Oops, I did it again. Crashed is the first novel in the Junior Bender series and I can’t wait to dig into these books! Again, it’s all about a main character who is intriguing enough to keep me turning pages.

Junior Bender is a burglar. He’s a very successful burglar in that he has never been caught – at least not by the police. He was doing a job, stealing a painting, but when he took the painting down and saw the safe hidden behind it, he just could not resist. And that got him in trouble. First with a pack of vicious dogs and then with Trey Annunziato, a powerful L.A. crime boss, known primarily for murdering her own father to take over the business. He also has to worry about Tito the Incisor (which is a great name for a gangster), who owned the paintings that Junior has just stolen.

Junior was set up and now he’s being blackmailed. Trey is in the porn business, but she’s trying to get out. She just needs one big score to finance her new ventures. She is in the midst of her biggest project ever and she knows just how to turn this into a blockbuster. The star that Trey has hired is Thistle Downing, once America’s Sweetheart, but now a drug addict, broke and desperate enough to agree to do porn just to scrounge together some cash. Trey is convinced that someone is sabotaging the set and she’s afraid that they may be targeting her vulnerable star. And that’s where Junior comes in.

It’s an ugly situation. If Junior does what Trey has ordered him to do, his daughter – who grew up watching Thistle – is going to hate him. If he does the right thing, he’s likely to get himself killed in a very unpleasant fashion. Junior needs to figure out who is sabotaging the set, keep the actress from overdosing, and find a way to keep everyone happy. (And keep himself out of the hands of Tito the Incisor.)

And boy, does Junior come through! Watching him plot and scheme and pull strings is a joy. I love a good detective novel, but Junior is a special kind of detective. He doesn’t want to be doing this job, but he has no other choice. Still, he uses all of the talents he has developed over the years to turn this into a win for everyone.

I listened to Crashed on my drive to Delaware for a little beach vacation and it was a perfect accompaniment. The timing was perfect, too; the story finished up on the drive home, just as I got off the freeway. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series because I am so intrigued by Junior’s character.