A cunning thief is on the run for her life in a breakneck thriller from the New York Times-bestselling “master of nail-biting suspense” (Los Angeles Times). Elle Stowell is a young woman with an unconventional profession: burglary. But Elle is no petty thief–with just the right combination of smarts, looks, and skills, she can easily stroll through ritzy Bel Air neighborhoods and pick out the … neighborhoods and pick out the perfect home for plucking the most valuable items. This is how Elle has always gotten by–she is good at it, and she thrives on the thrill. But after stumbling upon a grisly triple homicide while stealing from the home of a wealthy art dealer, Elle discovers that she is no longer the only one sneaking around. Somebody is searching for her.
As Elle realizes that her knowledge of the high-profile murder has made her a target, she races to solve the case before becoming the next casualty, using her breaking-and-entering skills to uncover the truth about exactly who the victims were and why someone might have wanted them dead. With high-stakes action and shocking revelations, The Burglar will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they barrel towards the heart-racing conclusion.
“The fact is, there are probably only half a dozen suspense writers now alive who can be depended upon to deliver high voltage shocks . . . Thomas Perry is one of them.” –Stephen King
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This was very interesting and intriguing.
I was putting off reading The Burglar by Thomas Perry because I was a little concerned by the low average and ratings on Goodreads, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about! I loved this book and was just completely fascinated by it.
I know she’s technically a criminal, but Elle was such a great, badass character and I loved her so much. She was very smart, clever, and methodical which I appreciated and even though the book is very detailed and heavy on specifics it really worked for me. I would say the pace is slow but steady, and once she starts trying to figure out who committed the triple murder and who is following her, it picked up a little more and there was a decent amount of action. It also had a highly satisfying ending that I loved.
I listened to the whole book on audio and was glad I did. The narrator, Christina Delaine, was absolutely fantastic and I loved her voicing Elle. I think I would recommend the audio over the book just because it’s good at a high speed and it will easily get you through all the details that you may not be interested in. Personally, I loved the amount of detail Perry choose to include, and it really brought Elle the burglar to life for me.
The Burglar is clearly not going to be for everyone, but if you are looking for a suspenseful slow burn and don’t mind all the details you could definitely love this book like I did.
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I enjoyed this book until everything started to come to light. I don’t know why but it felt really drawn out and I found myself skimming most of it. Then then ending was unbelievable to me. It wasn’t bad, it was worth the read. I would be willing to try another book by this author.
Probably the mist intense book I have ever read. Wow! I don’t usually do suspense or edge of your seat type reading, but thus was really good. You remain engaged to find out what happens and it dies no disappoint. The reader is pulling for the protagonist from early, she is basically a good person and the rest of the characters are nowhere near innocuous. She is no goody two shoes but man some of those other characters are greedy & murderous. Good book!
Elle has a cute house she loves, a car, good friends and a career. Elle’s job is a special one that only a few of her closest friends know about. Elle is a burglar.
She has worked hard to hone her burglary skills and she is very good. She does her research, plans her jobs carefully and works with precision. She is very selective in the homes she breaks into and the items she takes. She is a professional. But even the best laid plans can often go awry.
For her next job, Elle chose a house in Beverly Hills. She has cased this home carefully and worked her plans out down to the last detail. Everything is going along according to her plan until she enters the master bedroom in the house. What she finds there is not what she expected. Instead of cash and jewelry Elle finds three dead bodies.
The first thought that hits her is to get out quickly. But as she prepares to leave the room she sees a video camera. She works her way over to the camera, shuts it off and takes it with her. She knows that the camera is evidence that the Police will need but there may be images of her on the recording.
When Elle watches the film the murder unfolds in front of her eyes. The killer does not come into the room so only a hand and gun are visible. Elle is relieved to see that her hat brim and shoe is all that shows in the recording. But she erases all evidence of her from the film. She knows she must return the camera to the scene of the crime but first she makes a copy for herself. If the Police do happen to find her then the film will prove that she was at the house after the murders took place.
Elle drives back to Beverly Hills, enters the house and puts the camera back where she got it from. Just as she is preparing to leave she hears the Police arrive. As Elle is driving away more police cars are coming in.
Safely back at home Elle hopes that this is all over now. What she doesn’t realize is it has just begun.
Suddenly Elle has become the victim. Someone is searching for her with deadly intent. Elle must find out why and who they are before they find her.
The author keeps your interest from the beginning to the end. His attention to details, surprise twists and turns make this book one you don’t want to put down.
This is my first book by this author but definitely will not be my last. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this great book.
Thomas Perry’s latest is an example of the old saying, “It takes a thief to catch a thief.” When Elle sneaks into a house looking for jewelry, she finds bodies.
From there on, Perry carefully gives Elle reasons to help the police solve the murders without of course identifying herself and revealing why she was in the house. Along the way, the reader learns a lot about the craft of burglary.
The Burglar is written with Perry’s usual impeccable craft.
This was a well written and engrossing read. I enjoyed the attention to detail by the main character, Elle, a burglar, who only bothers to rob the very finest of homes. As a direct result of her chosen profession, she is privy to information about peoples lives which is usually very private. On the occasion on which the story is based, Elle breaks into a house where a triple murder has been committed and the crime scene is as the murderer left it. No one has called the police. Thus begins a somewhat harrowing period of Elle’s life. She anonymously alerts the police to the triple murder and from this point on she has several instances where she begins to wonder if she is not being hunted by someone who knows what she knows about the triple murder. Very enjoyable, right up to the end. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.
This was a real-page turner, and I especially liked the heroine being small statured and using that to her advantage. Cunning can win out over size, particularly if one cheats. There were points where I was worried the heroine might be making choices that moved her into the TSTL column, but I hung in there and was rewarded for my patience with a rousing tale of burglary, friendship, justice and street smarts.
I’m a huge fan of Thomas Perry and he’s come through again for his legions of readers.
Thomas Perry delivers, as usual, with a thrilling story and interesting female characters. While not as engaging as Jane Whitefield, Elle Stowell shows us what it takes to be a safe and professional “practitioner” of burglary.
You’ll find yourself rooting for the good guys and for the bad guys. Great fun!
The premise for The Burglar has been written in both books and movie scripts. What sets this one apart from all others is Elle – a woman, obviously – and the skillful, methodical writing of Perry that takes what could be a ho-hum mystery to the next level of edge-of-your-seat thriller. Yes, this is a game of cat and mouse, but Perry works in so many twists and little puzzles throughout the book so that the reader stays engaged from start to end. I also thoroughly enjoy books that feature an anti-hero rather than focusing on the same cop-detective-gumshoe theme. In all, The Burglar is one of the best suspense/crime/thrillers I’ve read in quite a long time. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy any of these genres.
Elle Stowell is someone that readers should not like; after all, she steals things, expensive things, and personal things. She is a burglar. Perry positions readers alongside Elle as she climbs, hunts, and takes. Readers sense the tension, the excitement, the fear, the anxiety, and finally the relief. One of the difficulties with being a thief is that Elle could wake up any morning to the sound of police officers banging on her door to arrest her. That, however, does not turn out to be her biggest problem. Something she finds in a “targeted house” consumes her life and changes things forever. There is something odd going on and there is a camera. Who did this horrible thing, and do they know that she was there? She finds herself withholding evidence that might help police solve crime, and to save herself she becomes not a burglar but an investigator.
Perry pulls readers into the story through Ellie. Readers learn about her from her actions, reactions, and interactions with supporting characters. She reacts quickly to threats, thinks clearly, and runs, hides, or even fights. We do not want to like her, but we do. We follow her every move, listen in on her every plan, and share her every fear. Elle knows what the police know about the crime and more, much more. She pays a high price for keeping things to herself, and she is driven to solve this crime. Methodically she collects piece after piece of information, but the answers do not fit. Finally, with a little twist and rearrangement of the information, she knows everything. However, has the killer somehow found out about her as well?
“The Burglar” is a tense story, and Elle is a likeable character despite her inappropriate occupation. I was given a review copy of “The Burglar” by Thomas Perry, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley. It is a story with lots of questions and eventual, unexpected answers. The clues are there both for readers and for Elle. This book keeps readers guessing, revising, reconsidering, and turning the pages.
A unique story and character by Thomas Perry. Elle Stowell is a burglar. She was taught to steal at a young age and now does so when she needs cash. She steals from high end houses where she knows the owner’s insurance will cover the loss. Elle jogs through the neighborhoods in order to “fit in” and case the houses, avoiding those with dogs. She has never been caught, but she has never walked in to the aftermath of a triple homicide…now she has. She gets out safely after stealing a camera that may contain video of the crime. When she cases the same house, after the police have left, someone must have seen her return visit. Now she has men in black SUV’s following her and she knows they are not the police. Her home is ransacked and she is on the run. Elle must stay one step ahead of those who are looking for her and try to find out why the three people were killed, before she becomes victim number four. After a close friend of hers is murdered, Elle is determined to bring the murderer to justice. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the action-packed writing of Mr. Perry. Elle is a very complex character who may be a thief, but she is a thief with a conscience. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
Elle Stowell is a thief. She chooses the houses to steal from carefully. She looks at wealthy neighborhoods, studies the inhabitants until she knows their schedules by heart, and tries to destroy nothing on her forays. She goes for the small items …money and jewelry mostly.
She’s been highly successful .. until tonight. While exploring the house chosen for tonight she experiences something she could never have imagine. In the mater bedroom, 3 bodies are laying on the bed. Two women and one man …each with a bullet hole in the head.
What she also sees is a camera … and it’s running. Thinking quickly, she grabs the camera and gets out the same way she got in …barely ahead of the black vans screeching to a halt in front of the house. They aren’t cops .. or if they are, they’re using very different transportation and cops don’t usually have silencers on their guns.
Thinking quite clearly, she knows they have come for her. Somehow, they know she’s there and is a kind of witness. Later, when her best friend and her date are killed in the same manner, Elle decides to fight fire with fire.
She’s going to find the killers ….. before they find her!
This story moves at the speed of light and is a real page turner. Elle is a stupendous character .. young, quick-witted, intelligent, even has a sense of humor at times. Her chosen profession seems to fit her perfectly.
The ending was a little let-down for me. It came abruptly and leads me to believe either the author got tired of writing .. or … maybe this is the start of a series.
Many thanks to the author / Grove Atlantic / Netgalley / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A glimpse inside high stakes burglary
Elle Stowell is 24 years old and has been making her living as a high end burglar for years. She was out on her own at 14 years old, after living a few years with her grandmother, aunts and cousins after her mother died. She learned the burglary business and made the decision to go after rich victims. She fit into their neighborhoods and knew what NOT to take.
One day, after doing her research on a target house, she made her way inside and found the victims of a triple murder. She ends up getting the wrong kind of .attention and is soon on the run for her life.
This was an interesting story to read about burglary techniques but I wish the author had expanded on Elle’s life story and her backstory more.
The story went in a lot of different directions, which was confusing at times, but it all tied together at the end.
This was a good story, just not a great one.
I received this book from Mysterious Press through Net Galley and Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.