Friday, December 20, 2013

Capers, Heists and Cat Burglars: The Good Thief's Guide series

Book five in Chris Ewan's 'Good Thief's Guide' series finds cat burglar Charlie Howard taking a mysterious assignment for the British Embassy in Berlin. He is asked to break into four apartments to find an important item stolen from the embassy. While gazing out the window of his first break-in, he witnesses a murder in the apartment building across the street. His 'easy money' heist takes a serious turn for the worse at this point.
Each book in this 'caper' series of mysteries has a different city as the backdrop. Peripatetic thief Charlie finds himself in Amsterdam, Paris, Las Vegas and Venice, always one step ahead of the law, before landing in Berlin. Where will he go next? It doesn't look good at the end of the book for Charlie, but we will have to wait for the sixth in the series to catch up with him wherever he lands.
Recommended for fans of light, humorous mysteries and caper style heists like Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series and Donald Westlake's Dortmunder series. 'The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin' is a little darker than the rest of the series and not as madcap as Westlake and Block in style because Charlie seems to be developing a conscience about his life's work. 'GTG Berlin' ends with a cliff-hanger and leaves readers ready for Charlie's next city and next caper.

Related links:
Our  2009 blog review of the first two books in the Good Thief's Guide series and author Chris Ewan's comment!

Take a look at author Chris Ewan's website and blog for more information about his' Good Thief's Guide' series and his stand-alone thrillers, 'Safe House' and "Dead Line' (the latter not yet published in the U.S.)

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