Good Thief Mysteries
5 primary works
Book 1
Charlie Howard doesn't just write books about a career thief, he also happens to be one. In Amsterdam working on his latest novel, Charlie is approached by a mysterious American who asks him to steal two apparently worthless monkey figurines from two separate addresses on the same night. At first he says no. Then he changes his mind. Only later, kidnapped and bound to a chair, the American very dead and a spell in police custody behind him, does Charlie begin to realise how costly a mistake he might have made. The police think he killed the American. Others think he knows the whereabouts of the elusive third monkey. But for Charlie only three things matter: Can he clear his name? Can he get away with the haul of a lifetime? And, can he solve the briefcase-shaped plot-hole in his latest novel?
Book 2
Charlie Howard - mystery writer and professional thief - is flush with the success of his Paris book reading when he agrees to show a novice the basics of the trade by breaking into the man's own apartment. Trouble ensues when it turns out the apartment belongs to someone else. The next day, Charlie's fence hires him to steal an ordinary-looking oil painting - from the same address.
Mere coincidence? Charlie reckons there's no harm in finding out - until a dead body turns up in his living room.
Hiding in a Montmartre hotel, Charlie tries to work out how to save his skin, while also placating his agent Victoria, who has arrived unannounced in the mistaken belief that Charlie actually looks like the author photo he provided.
Mere coincidence? Charlie reckons there's no harm in finding out - until a dead body turns up in his living room.
Hiding in a Montmartre hotel, Charlie tries to work out how to save his skin, while also placating his agent Victoria, who has arrived unannounced in the mistaken belief that Charlie actually looks like the author photo he provided.
Book 3
Charlie Howard - mystery writer and incorrigible thief - is in for a tough vacation in Las Vegas. Losing heavily at poker is one thing, but to find his literary agent, Victoria, being charmed by the Fifty-Fifty casino resort's star magician, Josh Masters, is another irritation entirely.
Still, Charlie's not one to hold a grudge, least of all when he could be holding Masters' wallet. With access to the magician's deluxe suite now tantalizingly at hand, a spot of burglary seems to be in order and Charlie's only too happy to oblige. Problem is, everything's bigger in Sin City - including the fall-out from petty crimes - and it isn't long before Charlie and Victoria find themselves threatened with a one-way trip into the Nevada desert unless they can conjure up a small fortune in twenty-four hours.
For Charlie, there's only one viable course of action: break into as many hotel rooms as he can, steal as much as possible, and just hope that Victoria can summon Lady Luck to the gaming table of her choice.
Mind you, it would all be a lot easier if Charlie hadn't stumbled upon a dead woman, and if Josh Masters hadn't vanished in the middle of his act...
Still, Charlie's not one to hold a grudge, least of all when he could be holding Masters' wallet. With access to the magician's deluxe suite now tantalizingly at hand, a spot of burglary seems to be in order and Charlie's only too happy to oblige. Problem is, everything's bigger in Sin City - including the fall-out from petty crimes - and it isn't long before Charlie and Victoria find themselves threatened with a one-way trip into the Nevada desert unless they can conjure up a small fortune in twenty-four hours.
For Charlie, there's only one viable course of action: break into as many hotel rooms as he can, steal as much as possible, and just hope that Victoria can summon Lady Luck to the gaming table of her choice.
Mind you, it would all be a lot easier if Charlie hadn't stumbled upon a dead woman, and if Josh Masters hadn't vanished in the middle of his act...
Book 4
Charlie Howard - struggling crime-writer by day, talented thief by night - has gone straight. But holing himself up in a crumbling palazzo in Venice to concentrate on his next novel hasn't got rid of the itch in his fingers. And to make matters worse, a striking Italian beauty has just broken into his apartment and made off with his most prized possession, leaving a puzzling calling card in its place. It looks as though kicking the habit of a lifetime will be much more of a challenge than Charlie thought. Sneaking out into Venice's maze of murky canals, Charlie's attempts to tame a cat burglar embroil him in a plot that is far bigger and more explosive than he could ever have imagined.
Book 5
