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One Step Ahead: Memoirs of a Gentlemen Thief
Fresh off the expose´ of an organized crime syndicate, an award winning investigative reporter lives in fear for his life. Relocating to Detroit under a new government issued identity, Nathan Davies finds himself dealing with the underbelly of American society once again.
America’s most notorious thief, Zachary Landon, thrives upon the wealthy residents of the Motor City. Only targeting those who oppress the weak, Landon has become known as a modern day Robin of the Hood.
Davies quickly becomes enamored with the legend of Landon and soon his desire to learn more pushes aside the fear that has kept him alive. After a chance meeting, a bond begins to form and Nathan finds that Zachary Landon truly deserves to be glorified, not persecuted.
As truths are told, drawing Nathan in even further, he learns that when it comes to the gentleman thief, nothing is left to chance.
America’s most notorious thief, Zachary Landon, thrives upon the wealthy residents of the Motor City. Only targeting those who oppress the weak, Landon has become known as a modern day Robin of the Hood.
Davies quickly becomes enamored with the legend of Landon and soon his desire to learn more pushes aside the fear that has kept him alive. After a chance meeting, a bond begins to form and Nathan finds that Zachary Landon truly deserves to be glorified, not persecuted.
As truths are told, drawing Nathan in even further, he learns that when it comes to the gentleman thief, nothing is left to chance.
- GenresFiction
134 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2016
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 23, 2018
This was a great read. Will be looking for other good books by this author
August 29, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. One of the main characters, Zachary Landon, really minded me of Sherlock Holmes - not that he was a detective (he was the thief), but in the way of his thought processes, and the way his mind worked. He is very observant, and sees things going on that most people would miss. He develops a bond with a reporter named Nathan Davies, and shares his insights with him. What I found odd, though, was that he is always guarded and doesn't seem to fully trust Davies, even though he has taken him into his confidence. I listened to the Audible audio version of this book narrated by Rich McVicar. I don't think I've ever listened to anything he's done before, but I was rather pleased with the narration and the different voices he gave to the characters. I would definitely check out more books that he has narrated. And the story itself was engrossing, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
October 11, 2018
Sadly, I didn't like this book at all.
Landon's genius felt way too artificial, the mysteries were boring, and the writing was tedious.
I felt that I could have appreciated the story more if Landon had been an ordinary man in cleverness and in his speeches.
Though I liked the idea of a gentleman thief, I wasn't sold on that book at all...
Landon's genius felt way too artificial, the mysteries were boring, and the writing was tedious.
I felt that I could have appreciated the story more if Landon had been an ordinary man in cleverness and in his speeches.
Though I liked the idea of a gentleman thief, I wasn't sold on that book at all...
July 10, 2016
Not what I expected from the description.
This - "Fresh off the exposé of an organized crime syndicate, an award-winning investigative reporter lives in fear for his life." - led me to expect there would be some action and suspense. There isn't any. It's a group of short stories about the same character that have been retold and strung together to resemble a novel, but not very successfully. I truly think it would be more successful in ebook or print format, but in audio, it is very jarring how one "story" just stops and another starts with no warning. I kept rewinding thinking I'd missed something. In print, this might be more obvious with chapter headings. If they'd left the stories as separate you'd have story titles to alert you that they are not going to start talking about something totally different. It just didn't work for me. Also, I didn't care much for either main character. The narrator did a great job (I'd listen to other work by him) but I do think this particular book would be somewhat better in print.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."
This - "Fresh off the exposé of an organized crime syndicate, an award-winning investigative reporter lives in fear for his life." - led me to expect there would be some action and suspense. There isn't any. It's a group of short stories about the same character that have been retold and strung together to resemble a novel, but not very successfully. I truly think it would be more successful in ebook or print format, but in audio, it is very jarring how one "story" just stops and another starts with no warning. I kept rewinding thinking I'd missed something. In print, this might be more obvious with chapter headings. If they'd left the stories as separate you'd have story titles to alert you that they are not going to start talking about something totally different. It just didn't work for me. Also, I didn't care much for either main character. The narrator did a great job (I'd listen to other work by him) but I do think this particular book would be somewhat better in print.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."
July 29, 2016
"Elegant surprise"
Written as a series of shortish stories held together by a theme, this delightful book is perfect to pick up when reading time is limited Set in a period of earlier elegance and politeness, the 'Gentleman Thief' is that and more - in particular, suave and very clever. Think a combination of Raffles and Sherlock Holmes. The stories reflect this, being most unusual crimes solved (or initiated) by the man of the title.
The narration is excellent. Rich McVicar's voice is easy to listen to, beautifully modulated and perfectly fitting the subject matter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am grateful to the publisher, author or narrator who sent me a complementary copy, via Audiobook Boom, in exchange for an honest review
Written as a series of shortish stories held together by a theme, this delightful book is perfect to pick up when reading time is limited Set in a period of earlier elegance and politeness, the 'Gentleman Thief' is that and more - in particular, suave and very clever. Think a combination of Raffles and Sherlock Holmes. The stories reflect this, being most unusual crimes solved (or initiated) by the man of the title.
The narration is excellent. Rich McVicar's voice is easy to listen to, beautifully modulated and perfectly fitting the subject matter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am grateful to the publisher, author or narrator who sent me a complementary copy, via Audiobook Boom, in exchange for an honest review
August 1, 2016
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.com
I have such mixed feelings about this book. It is set up to be a novel comprised of short stories. The only real good transition between the stories to create the feel of a novel was between the first and second stories.
I also wasn't sure about the story narrator (not the narrator of the audiobook). It seemed that he or she was sometimes with the main character and sometimes being told the story, but within the same story.
I did like the individual stories though, and the audiobook narrator was good for the story.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. It is set up to be a novel comprised of short stories. The only real good transition between the stories to create the feel of a novel was between the first and second stories.
I also wasn't sure about the story narrator (not the narrator of the audiobook). It seemed that he or she was sometimes with the main character and sometimes being told the story, but within the same story.
I did like the individual stories though, and the audiobook narrator was good for the story.
July 7, 2016
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."
The storyline could have been very interesting but I found it to be confusing. It was hard to tell at times whether or not the narrator was in the room during certain events or merely retelling a story.
The storyline could have been very interesting but I found it to be confusing. It was hard to tell at times whether or not the narrator was in the room during certain events or merely retelling a story.
July 1, 2016
“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”
An interesting twining of short stories to pull together a full length book. It seems to work.
The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed.
An interesting twining of short stories to pull together a full length book. It seems to work.
The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed.
April 27, 2017
One Step Ahead: Memoirs of a Gentlemen Thief by W.C. Hoffman. Narrated by Rich McVicar
The narrator was great. He is someone I would listen to again.
WC Hoffman is an interesting author to say the least. This book is so different from the other one we listened to. You can tell some authors have a formula they follow to tell a story or they write the same type of stories - not so with this author.
Each chapter is a short story by itself. Zachary Landon is not your typical thief. The stories he tells Nathan Davies about his adventures in crime are well thought out crimes. Listen to this book but make sure you listen to the second book too. The last chapter in the second book was my favorite.
The narrator was great. He is someone I would listen to again.
WC Hoffman is an interesting author to say the least. This book is so different from the other one we listened to. You can tell some authors have a formula they follow to tell a story or they write the same type of stories - not so with this author.
Each chapter is a short story by itself. Zachary Landon is not your typical thief. The stories he tells Nathan Davies about his adventures in crime are well thought out crimes. Listen to this book but make sure you listen to the second book too. The last chapter in the second book was my favorite.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews