The Good Thief's Guide to Venice

Chris Ewan

This 4th title in The Good Thief’s Guide series is the 1st that I’ve read; it works well as a stand-alone novel and has made me want to read the others. Crime novelist and career thief, Charlie Howard’s life is disrupted by a mysterious woman who draws him into a frantic, eventful, caper involving bombs, assassins, and casinos. This is quick, witty, funny, bursting with suspense and surprises, and has a wonderful sense of place.

Extract

I turned and glanced over my shoulder, but all that was behind me was rain and darkness and silence. Strange. Things had been going pretty well so far, but I couldn't shake an odd sense of foreboding. I wanted to tell myself that it was just Venice - the peculiar way the city had of lending menace to an unlit canal, a deserted street or the echo of your own footsteps. But for all my efforts, I was afraid it was something more than that, and as I pulled my balaclava down, eased the mighty door open and stepped inside, I couldn't help but wonder if I was making a horrible mistake.

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