The Good Thief's Guide to Venice
Good Thief's Guide • Book 4
by Chris Ewan
Why You'll Love This
A thief-turned-crime-writer in Venice gets blackmailed into one more job — and his beloved Maltese Falcon first edition is the ransom.
- Great if you want: classic caper wit with a charming, self-aware protagonist
- The experience: breezy and playful — Venice atmosphere, comic timing, light stakes
- The writing: Ewan keeps the banter sharp and the plotting cleverly self-referential
- Skip if: you're new to the series — Charlie's charm builds over earlier books
About This Book
Charlie Howard has sworn off burglary. He's in Venice, nursing a losing streak from Las Vegas and trying, with limited success, to write crime fiction instead of committing it. Then a woman steals his prized first edition of The Maltese Falcon right out from under him, and suddenly the reformed thief finds himself blackmailed into pulling off exactly the kind of job he promised himself he'd never do again. The stakes are personal, the city is labyrinthine, and Charlie's moral compass — always a bit wobbly — is about to get tested in ways he never anticipated.
What makes this series tick, and this installment in particular, is Ewan's light touch with a premise that could easily tip into farce. The first-person voice is sharp and self-deprecating without becoming tiresome, and Venice itself is rendered as more than a picturesque backdrop — it's a city built for secrets, ideally suited to a man who keeps too many of them. Readers who enjoy their crime fiction with wit, a knowing nod to genre tradition, and genuine narrative momentum will find this an easy book to lose an afternoon to.