The Giveaway

Burn Notice #3

by Tod Goldberg

Burn Notice The Giveaway by Goldberg, Tod. Published by Signet,2010, Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Espionage, Media Tie In, Tv

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books of fiction, notably the acclaimed Gangsterland quartet: Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize; Gangster Nation; The Low Desert, a Southwest Book of the Year; and Gangsters Don’t Die, an Amazon Best Book of 2023 as well as a Southwest Book of the Year. Other works include The House of Secrets, which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer, and Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His short fiction and essays have been anthologized widely, including in Best American Mystery & Suspense and Best American Essays, and appear regularly in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Alta. Tod Goldberg is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, where founded and directs the Low Residency MFA program in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts. His next novel, Only Way Out, will be released this fall from Thomas & Mercer.

Reviews

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you were a blogger your biggest concern would be content, then content, and then after that content. To have that content you would have to have really good novels appear in your blog. I definitely have that today in The Giveaway a Burn Notice novel based on the USA Network series. Tod Goldberg has added yet another great chapter to this series. Personally I was getting tired of hearing my son and a few of daughters ask me if I was done with it yet. The only pleasure in that, was watching them plead their case as to who would get it next. Competition amongst those in the herd is good once in a while. But I digress.
The Giveaway has all the right elements in it if you are a big fan of the show, as many in our family are, an occasional viewer or have never seen the show or heard about it. The key here is the well-crafted plotline, the incredible wit and humor of Tod Goldberg, and the way in which he crawls into the heads of the show’s characters and gives us their perspectives. I think that given the show’s popularity, Goldberg could at times mail it in and assume many things throughout the novel. He stands tall in not doing that and making this not just a supplement to the series but I think a necessary read. The way he fleshes out Sam and Fi make this worth the read plus. Michael Weston is always front and center in the show, here we get to see sides of the characters that we wouldn’t otherwise. No spoilers here, but Fiona gets a lot of ink in this novel and it really works.
In summation, this novel is a fun summer read. It is quick, light, full of action, and downright funny. Michael, Sam, Fiona, Ma, & Nate are all accounted for in the novel. If you haven’t met them yet, don’t hesitate to friend them. Pick this novel up and introduce yourself to them. Who doesn’t want to meet an ex-spy, former Navy Seal, an IRA bomber, a bank robber, bikers, skanks and a bunch of smelly geriatrics. Fun, right? Don’t miss it, put this on your Goodreads to read list at the very least. What is your favorite Burn Notice episode?
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and also look for our posts on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this novel reminded me of reading Charles Willeford, in all the right ways. Tod has taken the characters from the TV series and created an original (and highly entertaining) caper around them. If you love great pulp fiction, this book will entertain you even if you've never even heard of the show before now. And if you have, you'll be impressed with how perfectly Tod nails Michael's voice.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good tie-in. Better than the last one I read in the series, but still not up to par with the show itself. Goldberg is a good writer, but this feels rushed and some of the chapters do very little to move the story forward.

[Pygmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just became addicted to Burn Notice, pleasantly surprised that the tie-in novel is pretty decent and mimics the tone and voice of the show fairly well. Not perfect, but all-in-all, nice for a light read.

[Dwayne Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, highly enjoyable. the characters are exactly like the tv show. Well worth reading.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody would expect this book to be amazing or groundbreaking--it isn't--but you might hope it's fun to read. And guess what? It is. 4 stars.

This is a novel based on the Burn Notice TV series. Mike is a disavowed spy stuck in Miami; until he clears his name, he uses his expertise to help people in trouble. One of his friends brings him a case of a man in real trouble with a motorcycle gang, and Mike agrees to help him out.

Without going into more detail, this is a typical plot, and it works fine in novel form. Speaking for myself, I want to read a book with a new story but familiar characters doing the sorts of things I'd see them do on the TV show, interacting in a familiar way, and this is it. I like encountering their regular banter; I like "hearing" the characters' voices in my head; I like the jokes and light tone with the explosive action, just like the show always had. And I like having it in print. To me, books are always the better version of a story.

So, it's a fun novel, and because the reader knows the setting and characters even before the first page, the fun starts right away. No exposition, no introductions, no wasted effort.

Recommended if you liked the show.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you're burned, you've got nothing: no cash, no credit, no job history.

This third tie-in novel spends even less time focusing on Michael's burn notice than book #2, which actually makes it a more enjoyable read. It also has the most straightforward plot of the three so far, and none of the side characters having confusing motivations. It feels more like a book anyone could pick up even without really knowing all of the history and background of the show. It was good fluff to read in the middle of some other, heavier non-fiction books I'm tackling. Real rating, 3.5 stars.

Everyone's favorite money launderer, Barry, enlists the trio's help when his old mentor accidentally steals from a motorcycle gang's stash house. They act as a rival gang (somewhat unconvincingly) to essentially start a gang war and save the mentor from certain death. Fiona has more of the focus in this book, and gets some highly entertaining action scenes, including beating up several bikers, and stripping an SUV outside of a grow house.

It was more difficult to place this story in the overall timeline. Based on Nate not being married, and his being in Miami and not Las Vegas, I think it's likely late season 2.

[Randy Grossman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual story line was VERY GOOD...the most like the way Burn Notice was presented on the television series. But I will NEVER give Mr Goldberg a higher score because he ruins MY concept of the series by using gutter language that NEVER would be on the television series. Maybe it is more "realistic" in your mind, sir....but the people who wrote novels for Psych and Monk (including your brother Lee) don't stoop to that type of vulgarity. If my family had not bought me the Burn Notice book series as a gift, I probably would not have read more than one of them.

[John DiBiase]

It played out like an episode from the show - which I basically hoped for - but it took FOREVER to get anywhere with the story. It's super slow. The climax of the story ends up feeling rushed and is over pretty fast... just when it's actually interesting. Overall, it's okay, but I wouldn't read it again.

Also, I was surprised to find about 5 - 7 uses of the "F" word from random characters (none of the main ones) and about as many uses of the "S" word - since the show, being on TV, doesn't contain any of that.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge Burn Notice fan, I can not *not* keep reading this series... It makes me smile to have a couple more stories in book form, but I think it's really challenging to perfect the tone and the heart of these beloved characters without the same team of writers... The format felt like a real episode of the show, but I didn't think the main characters were always accurately portrayed or that the story had the same nuance as a regular episode. Still a fun, easy read!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, now THIS is more like it. The gang trying to protect a bank robber from a biker gang that he ripped off to pay for his octogenarian mother's radiation treatment. The bickering is golden, nothing goes according to plan, everything falls apart in the middle of act three, and everyone has to scramble to pull off a Hail Mary at the eleventh hour.

HIGHLY entertaining.

[Jerry Peace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a really fun book. Don't worry; you're not getting the keys to heaven or nirvana or anything like that. Weston and company are great characters, the dialogue's snappy as all get out and the action seduces the rebellious, the larcenous, the back alley in all of us.

[Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've watched the show, you know what to expect from the novels. Someone has a problem and they can't go to the police, so Michael Westen, Sam, and Fiona figure out a way to help that person.

This is an easy read though some of the ideas seemed a bit too silly even for Burn Notice.

[Hannah⚡️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was decent. Michael, Sam, Fiona, and everyone was written like they are in the show which was great (or what I remember of the show…I haven’t watched Burn Notice in nearly a decade). The job definitely felt like one that would’ve been in the show and ahaha now I wanna go rewatch Burn Notice.

[Monica Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read to feel back into the TV series which I miss.

[Gloria Ready · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these characters! Like that cousin you love to hear about but can't get involved with

[David Hibberd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael, Sam and Fi are pitted against two rival motorcycle gangs. What could go wrong? A typical Michael Weston story and enjoyable.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you’re a tie-in novelist, you’re always going to lag behind the TV show you are writing about. That’s certainly the case with Tod Goldberg’s The Giveaway, based on the USA show Burn Notice. His book has the unfortunate luck to use Biker gangs and Safety Deposit box robbing, both of which have played large roles in Season 4 episodes that weren’t a glimmer in the show producer’s eye when this book, just released, was written at the end of season 2.
Burn Notice revolves around a Michael Westen, spy who has been “burned” by his bosses and left to pick up the pieces on his own in Miami. Although recent episodes have made certain aspects of “The Giveaway” redundant, Goldberg does a great job capturing the unique voices of the different characters on the show and giving them a fun little case to work.
Burn Notice uses its lead character voice-overs to good effect and that lends itself to a first person book. The only moment the book falters are the few times the book strays from that first person narrative and in a surprisingly lackluster ending.

Last words: If you enjoy the show, this book is a fun diversion that will get you through those long months before the new season starts. Serious spy fans will want to take a pass.

More spy news and reviews http://www.spywrite.com

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free at a used book store. I thought it would be a fun little read since I miss Burn Notice so much. It's written fairly well for a TV-show-based novel. Goldberg has a good feel for the characters, but he does miss the mark with Fiona and Michael a few times. The plot is fairly basic for a Burn Notice, and it is similar to an few episode themes.

It's a nice book for Burn Notice fans who are missing the show. I wouldn't recommend it as a spy thriller or great work of literature.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite well written for a book about a TV episode (or was this written before episodes with this theme? - if yes, then it's definitely nailed the style). While on the TV the story moves too fast for you to question all the holes in the plot line, in a book you have to explain more. He did explain more, but not quite enough. Some aspects of Fiona and Sam work better on TV. I'll stick with the TV series, which is great.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Westen takes on the case of former bank robber Bruce Grossman who needs to return some items stolen from a vicious biker gang. The plot was wonderful and the characters were spot on to their TV selves. Great read, but a must read for fans of the series.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Muriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun entry into this series inspired by the television show. Tod Goldberg really has a handle on the characters and the humor of the show so the books truly feel like an extension of the tv series. Most of the book is told through Michael's POV although a couple of chapters are handed over to Sam and Fi which is loads of fun.

[Jessica Halley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this TV show. While reading the book my husband kept asking me, "how is it" my response was always the same, "it's like an episode in a book!" So...if you like the show, you'll be entertained by the books. Same mixture of cheese, intrigue, sexual tension & humor. Good ol'fashioned mindless entertainment.

[Sharkparty]

This book does a decent job with the TV show's penchant for having the gang occasionally pull some Yojimbo stuff, tearing up underground criminal organizations from the inside and whatnot... but the main client in this book is a little unsatisfying. He seems a little Mr. Magoo. I found it hard to imagine the team actually wanting to help this guy out.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book was good but I felt it was a bit dragged out. More language then there would be in the show, which I didn't like. Overall, alright book but I don't think I'll read any of the others.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the show? You'll probably like this. It works out to be pretty much like an episode, though the tension wasn't really there. In a typical episode there's a wrench in the plan, but the one in the book didn't have quite the same impact.

[Phyllis Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Burn Notice anyway! Michael's friend Barry has a friend Bruce Grossman who is a gentleman thief but he's gotten caught. he's trying to take care of his elderly dying mother and give back the stuff he stole from amotorcycle boing, but he needs Michael's help.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael, Fi and Sam help a friend of Barry's when he gets himself into some deep do-do bikie gang. This reads like the perfect episode: action packed, twists and turns at every corner and a great big healthy dose of humour. I love Burn Notice and The Giveaway is no exception.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the show, you'll enjoy this.

[Starfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, silly, totally in line with the TV series - generally enjoyable bubble gum :-)