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    Good Behavior
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    Good Behavior
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    Good Behavior
    Audiobook5 hours

    Good Behavior

    Published by Brilliance Audio

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Now a TNT television series starring Michelle Dockery.

    Fresh out of prison and fighting to keep afloat, Letty Dobesh returns to her old tricks burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel. While on the job, she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. Letty may not be winning any morality awards, but even she has limits. Unable to go to the police, Letty sets out to derail the job, putting herself on a collision course with the killer that entangles the two of them in a dangerous, seductive relationship.

    Good Behavior comprises three interlinked novellas (The Pain of Others, Sunset Key, and Grab), which together form a novel-length portrait of Blake Crouch's all-time favorite character creation, Letty Dobesh. This edition is the complete Letty Dobesh collection.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateNov 15, 2016
    ISBN9781531864644
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Good Behavior

    4/5

    77 ratings13 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

      3 stars.
      Very formulaic. Each story followed the exact same pattern: Down-on-her-luck recovering alcoholic/meth addict Letty meets a guy (a handler?) who has heard about her "abilities" as a thief, hires her for a heist, heist goes south, Letty escapes, and the story ends with a "surprise" betrayal. While this would get very tedious very quickly in book form, I can see how it would work as a TV show. Kind of reminds me of the old Quantum Leap series in which Sam Beckett leaps from time to time, always into some confusing/dangerous situation that he has to solve before the next leap.

      This is not a bad read by any means, and would make a good vacation read. The biggest problem I had was the lack of continuity between the stories, which simply didn't exist. At the end of each of the stories, Letty comes away with a huge payout after a heist, and with the start of the next story, she's destitute, barely surviving, unable to even buy herself a meal. Very confusing, and it made me wonder what happened with the money she had, and how long did it take her to squander it.

      I am looking forward to the TV show, though. The explanations and dialogue that the author provides after each story makes the TV show sound more interesting than the book was.
    • 4/5
      Letty BeginsThis is a collection of the original Letty Dobesh crime novellas "The Pain of Others", "Sunset Key" and "Grab" from 2011-13 which became the basis of the TV-series "Good Behavior" (2016-ongoing) with Michelle Dockery (late of Downton Abbey in the role of Lady Mary Crawley) in the role of the re-named grifter Letty Raines. Author Crouch provides an introduction and afterwords for all of the stories to give context and to note the characters and scenes that were incorporated into the TV-scripts. The events are similar but are not exactly the same, so seeing the show or reading the stories is not a spoiler for the other.If you are a fan of the "poetic noir" of the TV-series, then you are likely to be equally fascinated with the noir-crime fiction of the original stories. The character evolved from a simple story premise for Alfred Hitchcock Magazine that Crouch started with, i.e. Q: What sort of character would not report a murder-for-hire? A: A character who was in the middle of committing a crime themselves. Crouch doesn't explain the reason for the character family name change, but presumably the Czech name "Dobesh" wasn't considered American TV-friendly enough.
    • 3/5
      Maybe my opinion of this book is skewed, with unfair expectations based off his last book, Dark Matter. Whatever the storyline, I've come to expect a lot of Blake Crouch and his characters, and this book didn't quite deliver for me.The three stories are separate and distinct, with no real thread tying them together. They work perfectly as stand-alone short stories, but not so much as a single read. I know these were written individually, at separate times, but I would have liked some sort of lead-in added to the second and third story to give a better sense of Letty's evolution (or devolution) as a character.The first story, 'The Pain of Others', is my favorite. Here, Letty is independent, brash, and unafraid. Yet she also shows unexpected empathy and caring. In the second story, 'Sunset Key', Letty is far more insecure. She's a little whiny, in fact, and I missed her badass persona. The third story, 'Grab', gives us an over-the-top Hollywood B-movie feel. They are each fun stories in their own way, but combined Letty's character feels out of sync with herself. We're seeing snapshots of her life without a clear bridge from one to the next.At the end of each story, Blake Crouch shares his experience with turning Letty into a lead character on her own TV series. This was interesting, as we learn about the process of adapting a character and story to a TV show. Be aware though, that these segments are fairly long, so the page count is not necessarily a good reflection of story length. I do find Letty's character fascinating, with huge potential as a TV series. This book definitely has the feel of a promotional tactic for the series, and in that respect it works well. *I was provided with an advance copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*
    • 5/5
      Certainly not mind-boggling as was Dark Matter, his incredible quantum physics story, but these three stories of thief Letty Dobesh are compelling from start to finish. Crouch combines unexpected plot twists with great characters and action to provide something that is really fun to read, and in this case, not having your mind boggled isn't bad. After each story, he comments on it and its relation to the TV series based on the character, where much has been changed. It's interesting to see the author's perspective on the two mediums, and in at least one case, TV lets him and his co-screenwriter improve on the original story. And don't worry if you haven't seen the TV show--I haven't either, and without cable I don't even know if I can! This is proof that Crouch is a pretty amazing writer in any genre.
    • 3/5
      Good Behavior contains three independent novellas (The Pain of Others, Sunset Key, and Grab) all featuring Letty Dobesh. Letty is a convicted but highly dexterous thief, a recovering addict (kind of), and a down on her luck Mum who has lost her parental rights. She is the leading role in Blake Crouch's new TV show (coming to TNT on Nov 15). I think these stories could work well on screen, in particular, 'Grab', which is about a casino heist, but it won't actually be used until season 2 apparently. Due to the action scenes, I think it lends itself to watching rather than reading. I enjoyed these stories and can see how they could be made into a series as they all follow a certain pattern. The book contains supplemental information on the process of making the short stories into a screenplay and the reasoning behind changes being made etc. I actually found that quite interesting and I am looking forward to watching Good Behavior now just to see how the characters and the plot will be transferred to the screen.Obviously, this isn't anything like reading Crouch's novels Dark Matter or Pines but treated simply as an introduction to a character and to the forthcoming TV show it worked. Each story had a nice little twist and Letty was quite an intriguing character. Good, light entertainment.I chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
    • 5/5
      WOW! Simply WOW! I knew that if Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) was going to play Letty Dobesh, that this was going to be awesome! I loved these three short stories and if they are an example of what's to come GOOD BEHAVIOR will be a big hit. These stories were pretty much followed word for word in the TV version except for for a few twists. Thoroughly enjoyed them. There is a lot of suspense in them and the bantering of the characters will have you snorting with laughter. Read these before watching the TV series and then sit back and be amazed at the acting ability of Dockery. We ain't at Downton anymore ladies!
    • 5/5
      Really really good. Best Blake Crouch work. Highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      Blake Crouch is one of my favorite authors so I just had to read this book. Letty Dobesh is a master thief and a drug addict. She is trying hard to quick the drugs, but not so hard to stop getting involved with various criminal escapades. She wants to get back to her son that she lost custody of some time ago. This is not one long novel, but a book of short stories about Letty and I enjoyed each one. What I didn’t know that this was a television show and now I have to watch it!
    • 3/5
      I’ve been looking forward to the new TV show, “Good Behavior”, starring Michelle Dockery, which will premiere on TNT on November 15, 2016. So I was quite excited to be reading Blake Crouch’s three novellas that comprise his work centering on the character, Letty Dobesh. Also, this is the tie-in to the TV show and has photos of the cast at work and also the author’s notes about each of the stories and how they were incorporated into the TV show.Letty Dobesh is out of prison and is back to being a thief and con-woman. She’s an alcoholic and a drug addict. The only way she seems to be able to keep from the alcohol and drugs is to have the excitement of a heist going on. There are three novellas about Letty. The first is “The Pain of Others” which is my favorite of the three and which is apparently going to be included in the first season of the TV show. That one is about Letty’s intervention with a hitman in doing his job. The second, “Sunset Key”, involves Letty’s attempt to rob a man who is being sent to prison the next day for fraud. The longest of the three novellas is “Grab”, which is about a casino heist.From the advertisements I’ve seen of the upcoming TV show and from my reading of other books by this author, I expected to have sympathy for Lettie. That wasn’t the case at all. I had a hard time connecting with her or sympathizing with her life. She has a 6-year-old son who she has lost custody of and throughout the books, she longs to set things right with him and become the mother he needs. However, it just seems that her love of the excitement of thievery overcomes her maternal instincts so I had a hard time liking her. When things don’t go well for her, she feels she has two choices – do a heist or do drugs. I just hope that Michelle Dockery can instill some sympathy into this character on the TV screen because these stories didn’t for me, though other readers have said that they did have sympathy for her. As always, the author has written very entertaining stories, which are exciting and suspenseful, with quite a few surprise twists. It was a fun read, especially in light of the upcoming TV show.This book was given to me by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This book was sent to me by the publisher Thomas and Mercer via Net Gallery. Thank you.Blake Crouch, author of the spectacular Dark Matter and the Pines series, has gathered his three stories about Letty Dobesh into one volume. What is interesting about this book is that Crouch who is writing a tv series based on his character explains how the stories and the tv series differ. Before each story, he points out what aspects are used in the tv episode and how certain things have changed. This is a fascinating look at how stories are adapted and worth the time to read.Letty is a complicated, deeply flawed heroine. She is an ex-con who gets a buzz from two things: stealing and crystal meth. When she isn’t on a job or high on drugs, she suffers from depression and drinks way too much. Even so, she has a sort of ethical outlook. She will not work on a robbery that involves guns and she loves the young son she was lost custody of. Most of her life has been spent in cheap motels, working at fastfood restaurants or greasy spoons. And, apparently, she is easily manipulated or puts her trust is the really wrong people.The first story is interesting because, fresh out of jail, she is working a hotel, entering rooms with a master pass key to steal cell phones, laptops, cash. While hiding in a closet she overhears the occupant finalizing a deal with a hitman to kill his wife. Letty has to decide if she should just walk away with her loot or try to stop the hit. And if she chooses the latter does she call the cops and risk revealing how she got the information which could send her back to jail or does she find another way to help the victim.I found the second story Sunset Key the least satisfying. Letty is hired to steal a Van Gogh from a billionaire who is one day away from a life sentence for swindling his clients out of millions of dollars. Her cover is a woman who will make his last night of freedom enough to last him for the rest of his life. I thought this story just too far-fetched.I enjoyed third and longest story Grab the most. This is a classic heist. Letty is hired to steal and then return a cell phone that contains information about a 30 million dollar cash move at a Las Vegas casino. It is really fun, especially the ending.These are enjoyable and Letty is an interesting woman. I will probably give the tv series a chance to find out if she can stay clean and dry and free.
    • 4/5
      I definitely enjoyed this collection of three novella-length stories. I might even have a bit of a crush on Letty. She's a complicated, flawed woman who is damn good at what she does and wish there had been a few more stories because I didn't get my fill.

      There were some things I didn't like about the writing - the non-white characters speaking in culturally stereotypical ways and being the only ones identified by their color or race being top on the list - but the stories were good.

      I'd definitely read more Letty Dobesh stories.
    • 3/5
      Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley, but I listened to the audiobook version.

      Good Behavior is simultaneously the definitive collection of Letty Dobesh stories by Blake Crouch and no longer the definitive story of Letty herself.

      These stories were originally published as three separate novellas over the course of a few years. As of 2016, they are also the basis for a TNT series starring Michelle Dockery in her first post-Downton role in an ongoing series. This volume collects the stories along with author commentary.

      However, unlike other book adaptations, I think I might recommend watching the show before reading Good Behavior. These stories read a hell of a lot like the rough draft of the show, and might best be appreciated with that in mind.

      Crouch’s commentaries reinforce this impression. He discusses how he and the show’s co-creator adapted and cannibalized each story for the show, and it’s obvious that he thinks the adaptation is an improvement.

      He points out more than once how the stories as written didn’t match the tone of the show or how tweaking events and characters for the adaptation opened things up in new and exciting ways.

      As I listened to the audiobook, I oftentimes found myself thinking “Letty wouldn’t do that” or “this isn’t a Letty story”. Michelle Dockery’s portrayal is so compelling that I couldn’t picture the character any other way.

      That said, I did enjoy reading Good Behavior. That’s especially surprising after I gave up on Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy after two books. I just couldn’t work up the energy to care about the finale, and I barely enjoyed the second book.

      It helps that Letty is a much more interesting and likable protagonist than the main character in Wayward Pines, who spends most of his time hitting his head and blacking out. Also, it felt like Crouch had a better handle on style and language in these stories. He pulls off a few clever turns of phrase here and there that add a nice noir flavor.

      Ultimately, I do recommend picking up Good Behavior, but only as supplemental material for the show and not a true standalone work. In fact, this collection is entertaining enough that I’m willing to give Crouch another chance, especially since he had a hand in writing the show.

      Originally published at Full of Words
    • 4/5
      A collection of three short stories plus some behind-the-scenes commentary from the author on what inspired the characters and stories and how they were adapted for the television show.

      The stories themselves were suspenseful and surprising. The characters were well-drawn and engaging. Letty is at times difficult to love but I did root for her.

      The author commentary was enlightening and it was refreshing to hear that he enjoyed collaboration and how material has to change when it changes mediums. (At times I get rigid about that but his reasoning was sound.)

      Although the second story was very reminiscent of The Most Dangerous Game.