The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam / Chris Ewan - 4****

[Book Concierge]

The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam – Chris Ewan
4****

Charlie Howard is a successful mystery author, writing a series that features a professional burglar, Faulks. As a sideline he – and I guess you could call it research – he also occasionally accepts a commission to steal certain items. When a stranger offers him an unusually high fee to steal a couple of seemingly worthless monkey figurines, his instincts tell him to decline while his curiosity urges him to comply. Before long he’s embroiled in a major intrigue, and a suspect in a murder.

This was a highly entertaining mystery. I couldn’t help but think of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series, but the comparison is a good one. The pace is quick, the characters interesting, and the charms of Amsterdam (a city I have visited) evident. I didn’t really like the way he revealed the culprit; bringing everyone together and having a long speech to lay out the crime and point out the responsible party (or parties) seems a bit tedious. Still, I was charmed by Charlie and want to read more of this series.

[Olivermagnus]

I have a couple of these but haven't tried one yet. I loved Bernie so I'll move them up the TBR.