Nighttown (Junior Bender) by Timothy Hallinan

Two things set this series apart for me. One is the original idea of a burglar working PI jobs for other criminals. The other is some of the colorful characters populating it. Number one of these characters is the hitwoman that carries a pink gun, Eaglet. She steals every scene she is in with her strange combination of killer toughness and girly tenderness.
When Junior Bender breaks into to steal a valuable doll he ends up investigating the murder of a fellow burglar he has a soft spot for. Things get a little bit literary when it turns out there's an autographed copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes involved.
While I thought some scenes moved a bit slow Timothy Hallinan excels in writing witty characters and he is to be lauded to put a literary spin on a pulpy premise so this book will be enjoyed by hardcore PI fans and the more mainstream mystery fans as well.
But hey, I tell you... The scenes with Eaglet are worth buying this book alone.