Burn Notice: The Giveaway: The Giveaway [Kindle Edition]

Tod Goldberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ex-covert op Michael Weston owes favors to Barry, the local money launderer. Now Barry wants to call those favors in. Barry has a friend, Bruce, who is an ex-legendary gentleman thief. But with an ailing mother to support, Bruce has returned to his illegal vocation. Unfortunately, his most recent job involved stealing from the notorious Ghouls motorcycle gang, and they're looking for some serious payback. Unless Michael can convince them otherwise...

About the Author

Tod Goldberg is the author of the novels Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Fake Liar Cheat, as well as the short story collection Simplify, a 2006 finalist for the SCBA Award for Fiction and winner of the Other Voices Short Story Collection Prize. He teaches creative writing at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 406 KB
• Publisher: NAL (July 6, 2010)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003QMLBIO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,616 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Tod Goldberg is the author of several books of fiction, including the novels Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Fake Liar Cheat and the popular Burn Notice series, as well as two collections of short stories, Simplify and Other Resort Cities. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College and lives in La Quinta, CA where he directs the Low Residency MFA program in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside's Palm Desert campus. His latest book, Where You Lived, is available exclusively as an ebook. For more information, visit todgoldberg.typepad.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining story - but please drop the politics, July 17, 2010

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Everyday Person "just me" (Utica NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Burn Notice: The Giveaway (Mass Market Paperback)

I love Burn Notice, and have enjoyed the previous two books written by Goldberg as tie-ins. However, I'm still not finished with the book (about 25 pages to go) and there are at least three references to the Obamas already. Since the references really have no place in the story, it seems like the author purposely included these. Must we make everything political? I was sick of the Bush references in other media, and now here we start with Obama (although these are positive - which is a twist). The TV show has no political affiliation, so why introduce it in the books? I don't care what party the book is talking about - I follow politics but would prefer my entertainment to be just that...entertainment. Obviously Mr. Goldberg is an Obama supporter, but it had no place in this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pitch Perfect Tie In, September 3, 2010

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Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Burn Notice: The Giveaway (Mass Market Paperback)

It's never a good thing when Michael's "friend" Barry calls him asking for a favor. Barry is an expert money launderer, and Michael owes him a favor or twenty. So it is with some reluctance that Michael takes on the case of Bruce Grossman.

Bruce is a bank robber who did his time. He's reverted to his old ways in an effort to raise the cash to take care of a mother who is dying of cancer. But he's robbed the wrong people, specifically the Ghouls, a motorcycle gang. And the Ghouls are hunting Bruce down to kill him. Can Michael and his friends find a way to save Bruce?

I completely enjoyed this book. The series characters are spot on. I had no trouble hearing the actors saying the lines. And that's extra impressive when you realize that the book is written mostly first person from Michael's point of view. Much of the narration sounds like a voiceover from the show. The plot is the best one in the novels yet, and completely enjoyable.

If you like the TV show, don't pass up this book. You'll enjoy every minute of it.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A true disappointment..., November 13, 2010

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Dancing Mike - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Burn Notice: The Giveaway (Mass Market Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Goldberg's two previous "Burn Notice" books. However, I feel he really lost the voices of the characters in "The Giveaway." I don't envision Fiona Glenanne expressing such extreme admiration for Oprah and "that nice Michelle Obama." Of course, that was only one of at least five instances of Obama's name being mentioned in this book. And Mr. Goldberg also decided to let us know his feelings on the war in Iraq in several occasions in the book; again, he did this through uncharacteristic dialogue from the characters.

I wanted to read another entertaining "Burn Notice" book. Instead, I felt like I was reading "The Political Leanings of Tod Goldberg, Esquire." And I would give that book a pass. I am definitely waiting before purchasing the upcoming "Burn Notice" book, "The Reformed," until I can see a review or two that will convince me that Mr. Goldberg has returned to the form of "The Fix" and "The End Game" and dropped the political commentary.

Recommendation to avoid.