Something Missing: a review

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Martin is not your typical smash and grab burglar. He is an unusual thief with an unusual business plan: he repeatedly steals from the same people for years on end, only he takes things that no one in their right mind would ever miss. A cup of sugar here, a plate there, forgotten jewelry, a half roll of toilet paper…it is in this manner that he is able to cultivate a long list of “clients” who are visited by him on a regular basis yet are never the wiser. Martin is extraordinarily careful and proud about his craft, taking the time to study his clients to the point where he feels like he knows them.
Ultimately it is this familiarity he feels with them that leads him to intervene in their lives: saving a marriage here, preserving a surprise party there all without ever revealing himself.

At 292 pages, the first 50 or so are very careful to explain the premise of Martin’s job as a thief, and then after that point the novel moves into the incident that change his role from burglar to odd guardian angel, one you might not even mind having visit your house. It moves along in spite of having large sections which occur in his head, with no dialog. It might not work for a movie, but in a novel, it works. When Martin starts down the path of intervening in client’s lives, he begins to break his many rules that he has developed to avoid detection. And it is in breaking these rules that Martin’s life begins to change.

I warmed up to this book after what I thought had been a slow start, because when it got going, I was really invested in Martin, who is easily the most sympathetic thief I’ve encountered on the page. While I’m not sure if the author intended this to have a sequel, I would certainly welcome it if it ever happened.




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