a qui se fier

by Peter Spiegelman

Ex-CIA Carr is the reluctant leader of an elite crew planning a robbery of such extraordinary proportions that it will leave them set for life. Diamonds, money laundering, and extortion go into a timed-to-the-minute scheme that unfurls across South America, Miami, and Grand Cayman Island. Carr's cohorts are seasoned pros, but they're wound drum-tight - months before, the man who brought them together was killed in what Carr suspects was a setup. And there are other loose ends: some of the intel they're paying for is badly inaccurate, and one of the gang may have an agenda of her own. But Carr's biggest problems are yet to come, because few on his crew are what they seem to be, and even his own past is a lie.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense, Adult, Mystery Thriller

Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Peter Spiegelman is a twenty-year veteran of the financial services and software industries. He retired in 2001 to devote himself to writing. He lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thick As Thieves is a densely plotted heist novel that locks you in quickly at the beginning of the story and then continues to ratchet up the tension as it races to a startling climax.

At the center of the story is an ex-CIA agent named Carr. He's the new leader of a small band of elite criminals who are planning a huge score. The mark is Curtis Prager, a former hedge fund manager who fell from grace and who now launders huge amounts of money for various criminal enterprises. Carr and company intend to relieve Mr. Prager of many of the millions of dollars he's holding for his various clients.

It won't be easy. Prager lives on a huge estate in south Florida and is protected by a network of top-flight, virtually impenetrable security, both physical and electronic. Breaking through those barriers will not be a job for amateurs or for the faint of heart.

If the job weren't tough enough already, Carr has problems with members of his own team. Their last leader, a man named Declan, was killed when the team's last job went south. This is Carr's first time at the helm and other members of the team worry about his ability to get the job done. They all have pretty massive egos of their own, and some of them may have plans of their own that don't exactly dovetail with Carr's. Especially interesting is the beautiful, sexy Valerie who is the team's honey trap and who appears to have fallen hard for Carr.
Or has she? Inevitably in a crew like this, there's always the issue of honor among thieves.

This is a riveting story that travels from Florida to the Caribbean, to Latin America and elsewhere. The details of the planned heist are extremely intriguing, as is the cast of characters. And every time you think you've just figured out what's going on, the story races off in a different direction.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes crime fiction, and I'd especially recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Richard Stark's Parker series. While there are obvious differences between this book and the Parker books, they have enough in common that Parker fans might well want to look for this one.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thick as Thieves is a slowly plotted novel that never fails to keep you interested and delivers one surprise after another. We start by getting to know Carr and his team of thieves, you are preparing one last big heist. Their target is scumbag Curtis Prager, a former wunderkind who now spends his time laundering money for more scumbags.
He is not going to be easy to get to, and on top of the job, Carr has his own problems within his team. Some of the members don't trust him as the new boss and he is still trying to piece together what happened at their last job, where two of the team members died. And add his troublesome father, with whom he doesn't get along well.
Carr is in for quite a few surprises and us the readers too. Every time you think you know what's happening, Spiegelman surprises you again. Carr is a very compelling lead and you root for him to succeed.


This book I can recommend to everyone who likes to be surprised, crime-genre lovers and everyone who wants to be in for a treat.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little backstory on this one if you’ll bear with me…

Peter Spiegelman lives in Connecticut. A few of our patrons have told me they really enjoyed his fast paced heist thriller, Thick As Thieves.

My mind begins to work. I’m looking for an author for our 4th Annual Connecticut Author Trail. Spiegelman’s from Connecticut. This author, this book sounds like a marriage made in heaven. Not so fast, CarolK. You’ve got to convince Mr. Spiegelman to visit. Well, that’s another story. Keep your fingers crossed for our small library folks!
Considering the above, I thought perhaps I should read Thick As Thieves even though the recommendations were from those I trust. So read it I did.
And l loved it! It’s got all the things I like in a thriller. It’s smart, has a believable plot, great characters that work, intelligent dialog, really bad but cool thieves, and tension, tension, tension. I was on the edge of my chair throughout. A real cliffhanger.
Mr. Spiegelman’s background in financial and software industries give his story credibility. He knows of what he speaks.

Ok, I know I didn’t outline much of the plot but hey, you can read. I hope you do. This is one of the best heist capers I’ve read in a long time.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love suspense and thrillers and Spiegelman's style of writing grabbed me right at the start. I wish I could say it held me throughout. The plot has a great premise and the characters came alive on the pages. But soon the flashbacks started and I was continually transported out of the immediacy of the story, as Carr lost himself in his past. A few of these flashbacks would have added substance. For me, the repetition far surpassed necessity and grew to be irritating.

The plot at times became a little difficult to follow. We'd be given an abundance of detail on a job they were planning, only to then jump into something totally unrelated. I felt there was too much detail on some things and not enough on others.

I did like the characters, though I would have enjoyed this more if the story had been better organized.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author takes a break from his John March PI series with this stand-alone “heist caper”. Our hero, Carr, is the new leader of a high-end, professional and very skilled burglary team. These seasoned criminals target other criminals, which keeps this merry band of thieves outside the purview of law enforcement, but within the gun sights of their victims, who tend to take the law into their own hands.

The “team” is what you’d expect – some muscle, a techno wiz, a beautiful mysterious chameleon-like female who is usually the “bait” and Carr, who is the brains and obsessive master planner – with all the associated intrigue, romance, personality conflicts and trust issues. The gang is “funded” by a “quasi-legitimate” money-man, who demands/expects high returns on his investments. The back-story is the death under mysterious circumstances of Carr’s much beloved and respected predecessor, whose demise Carr is trying to solve while filling his big shoes as team leader.

This seemingly intriguing plot outline caught my attention, but unfortunately didn’t pan out in the telling of the story. Literally within the first few pages of this novel the reader quickly grasps who the characters are, i.e. their “roles” and the team’s dynamics. Utilizing flashbacks – a lot of them – and the planning in between “jobs” – in painstaking detail – the character development becomes repetitive - eye-glazing so. These lulls are compounded by the excitement/tension in the well-written and at times, gut-twisting heist scenes.

This uneven pacing of the story is similar to what I encountered in the author’s John March series and is much like driving in rush-hour traffic. There are spurts of open highway, but unfortunately too many frustrating instances of being stuck bumper to bumper, the reader impatiently waiting for the next “break’.

A So-So book.

[Wanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't get it. This book was very well reviewed by a number of publications -- NYT, WSJ. So I ordered it from the library. It was so disappointing. There were a gazillion flash backs glued together by tedious descriptions and characters straight out of central casting. Think Ocean's Eleven. The heist scenes were fast paced, but otherwise the book was dreadfully boring.

[Иван Величков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Даже ми клони към 4,5.
Отлично написана история за обир. Многопластов, изпипан и лишен от романтичните представи за крадци джентълмени, тежки, пълни с пачки сейфове, охранители идиоти, танцуващи между лазери на алармена система клоуни и прочие холивудски простотии.

Кар има сериозни проблеми. След един неуспешен удар, шефът на малкия им екип е убит. Покровителят им го слага на чело, за да завършат най-големият си и сложен обир. Колегите му не признават авторитета му, информацията за задачата е проблемна, има и съмнения в истинността на твърденията им от нощта на проваления удар, а на всичкото от горе и проблеми със семейството си. Той упорито се справя с проблемите един по един, благодарение на параноята си, манията си по втренчване в подробностите и малко неочаквана помощ от големия шеф. Накрая се оказва обаче, че всеки си е правил собствени планове и нищо от внимателно планираната схема няма да стане така, както му се иска.

Авторът е работил дълги години в сферата на банковото дело и софтуера. Благодарение на това имаме много добра охранителна система на банковите сметки на престъпника(йей, няма сейфове, няма долари, добре дошли в 20 век най-сетне), както и безумен, но логичен план за преборване с нея. Обратите следват един след друг, заблудите на читателя са перфектно изпипани и не увисват във въздуха и всяка подробност от повествованието си пасва на мястото, когато всичко става ясно.

Доста дразни описателния стил в началото. Главният герой е вманиачен на тема подробности и обрисуването на пейзажите, диалозите, дори спомените му от детството са кошмарно наслагване на елементи страница след страница, но дори това намира място в авторовият план, а последната четвърт от книгата е безумен екшън, който компенсира за всичко.
На едно място имаше малко Бог от машината, и макар да не се спусна в гърмящата си колесница, понамигна на Кар, но дори това успява да влезе в голямата картинка.
На финала американщината ми дойде малко в повече, може би за това падна последната звезда.

Не мога да разбера защо "Бандата на Оушън" се води някакво знаме в този жанр, чесно. Не бих сравнил тази книга с онова недоразумение.

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good crime novel keeps you guessing, keeps you questioning everything you read and wondering when the twists are going to come. And even better, a good crime novel delivers on the guesswork, leaves you wondering how you didn't see some of the twists coming, even if you might not be exactly happy with the ultimate outcome of the book. Peter Spiegelman's Thick as Thieves is definitely a good crime novel.

Carr is the leader of a group of thieves planning a gigantic heist, involving money laundering, diamonds, financial espionage, and extortion, which unfolds across Miami, Mexico, and Grand Cayman. The ultimate payoff of this heist will allow each of them to be set for the rest of their lives—if they don't kill each other or walk away from the person bankrolling the operation first. While Carr's crew are all professional thieves, they are still reeling from the after-effects of an operation gone wrong several months ago, which claimed the life of their original leader, Declan, the man who brought Carr into the crew in the first place. No one knows exactly who to trust, and several of Carr's cohorts aren't quite sure that he's the one to lead them if the going gets tough. And Carr, juggling a personal crisis on top of bewildering uncertainty about who to trust, just wants to finish things once and for all.

Spiegelman has significant experience in the financial industry, so he brings a great deal of detail and authenticity to the plot. The action truly crackles—so often I found myself reluctant to put the book down because I was completely wrapped up in the story. The characters are fascinating; some surprise you even after you think you know how they'll act or what type of person they are. My only criticism is that sometimes there is so much going on I found certain moments difficult to follow, so I wound up re-reading a few passages. But then I caught some nuance I missed previously, so I don't consider that a bad thing. Thick as Thieves is a book that will keep you guessing while it hooks you completely. Definitely a great read.

[John Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possible spoiler alert! I've enjoyed all Peter Spiegelman's books in the John March series which I would highly recommend by the way, this one took a bit longer for it to truly engage me. I think this was probably due to the first half of the book being a little slow moving and repetitive as Carr reminisces about his mother and Declan - the former leader of the criminal crew he now leads and probes the circumstances of his death while dealing with the deteriorating health of his father and how to care for him. The energy ramps up considerably in the latter half as they set about relieving money launderer extraordinaire Curt Prager of $100 million. With zero honour amongst thieves everybody needs to watch their backs and while the re-emergence of characters considered dead doesn't exactly surprise the circumstances in which they do so do. All in all maybe not his best but it succeeds in cranking up the tension and your heartrate when it needs to.

[Rita Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspenseful plot with lots of surprises right up to the end. I would have liked to give this book a higher rating but found my interest and concern for the characters waning as the book progressed. The main character, Carr, supposedly a brilliant planner, seemed unbelievably naive considering his background and training. I also was not satisfied by the ending. Overall it could have been so much better.

[Veeral · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never would have guessed that a crime caper novel could be this boring.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This proved to be an unexpectedly enjoyable noir-ish thriller about a unit of thieves who specialize in ripping off kingpin criminals. Like a Tom Clancy "techno-thriller" (whatever the heck that means), this caper globe hops from Miami to the Caribbean to South America as our thieves - a hacker, two muscle men, a femme fatale, and a failed intelligence officer - slowly weave their spiderweb to heist a moneylaunder par excellence who fields his own army of security specialists. Twists and turns abound as our protagonist, former security consultant and failed CIA operative Carr must deal with dangerous individuals with shifting loyalties both within his pack of thieves as well as without. What results is a true page-turner that will keep you up late at night reading "just one more chapter."

One thing that I really liked about "Thick as Thieves" is the protagonist Carr. Like most noir-inspired stories, Carr is a loser at life, a man who was given the best education and best opportunities in life, but blows every employment opportunity because he won't play ball with corrupt clients, won't abide bullying by superiors, and refuses to treat people as disposable commodities, something that serves to make Carr particularly endearing, especially as we get to watch Carr try to help a man reform his life even though Carr originally had every intention of using him as a patsy in his elaborate heist plan. Carr, like all reluctant heroes, can't help doing the right thing no matter what difficulties it creates for him over the long term. As a result, he comes across as a noble Jack Ryan type of character, but without the Mr. Perfect backstory that Clancy conjured up for his protagonist.

Another thing I found very enjoyable about Carr was how he was a man of few words. While Carr says very little in the book, we are constantly privy to his insightful thoughts as he constantly analyzes everyone and everything in his life, both professional and private. What results is a believably understated character who gets the job done not with flamboyant charisma, as is often the case with spy types, but with careful observation, precise calculation, and by keeping his cards close to his vest. Very refreshing!

I also have to commend Mr. Spiegelman's prose. While he does not possess Raymond Chandler's knack for whipping out memorably wry quips, Spiegelman's prose is wonderfully vivid and emotionally evocative, something that is crucial for a book where most of the action takes place inside the moody mind of the protagonist. "Thick as Thieves" was a pleasure to read, something I haven't said about a recent book in a long time.

If I have a complaint about "Thick as Thieves" it is merely this: there is no sequel! Why is it when I finally discover a character I really like, that turns out to be the one book in the world without a pre-planned trilogy in the works? Frustrating!

[Adam Dabachil · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
Vous voulez lire un roman inoubliable, avec une intrigue prenante et des personnages drôles et attachants ? Alors ne lisez surtout pas ce livre !

Dans ce livre au suspense digne de Titanic, Carr (dont on ne connaîtra jamais le prénom puisqu’il s’agit d’un patronyme) agent de la CIA reconverti en une sorte de « Robin des bois », accompagné de sa bande de lascars composée d’un gros ne pensant qu’à manger(encore un cliché grossophobe), d’un mexicain aussi obéissant qu’un ado en pleine crise, d’un geek passant sûrement la majorité de son temps à jouer à Fortnite (ou à acheter des enfants sur le dark web, qui sait ?) et d’une femme aux multiples facettes souhaitent voler le très méchant Curtis Prager, un banquier coupable de blanchiment d’argent, une sorte de délinquant à col blanc (ça fait bien plus classe que « voleur »). Mais malgré ce résumé alléchant (on aurait dit une vidéo de Lama Fâché tellement il est trompeur et putaclic), le récit était laborieux et ennuyant. En plus de cela, je n’étais pas trop emballé par le style de l’auteur, qui me donnait l’impression de regarder un vieux feuilleton américain, et les personnages m’étaient quasiment tous détestables, surtout Mike, le mexicain, que j’avais envie de tuer pour le faire taire à jamais. Pour ce qui est de la fin, c’était une escroquerie sans nom. Désolé monsieur l’auteur mais tuer quasiment tous les membres de l’équipe d’un seul coup ne nous aidera pas à nous attacher à eux. D’ailleurs, quelle est la réaction de Carr ? Eh bien rien, nada, walou, même pas une larme, c’est une vrai coquille vide (de toute façon, ça fera moins de personnes avec qui partager la somme d’argent colossale). Et surtout, le truc qui m’horripile au plus haut point, c’est ce deus ex machina. Vous voyez cette solution qui sort du chapeau comme par magie, genre depuis le début c’était un rêve ou encore le majordome qui n’a pas eu une seule réplique était le coupable depuis le début ? Eh bien là, pouf le gars qui est censé mourir des années plus tôt est enfaîte vivant et n’est pas aussi gentil qu’il n’y paraît. Enfin bref, en un mot, c’était nul. Mais malgré toutes ces énormités abracadabrantes, j’ai réussi à trouver des points positifs (je sais, c’est un miracle). Et ce miracle s’appelle Bessemer : malgré le fait qu’il travaille pour ce chenapan de Prager, c’est un personnage attachant qui respire une sorte de naïveté enfantine et qui apporte un peu de légèreté dans ce monde de brute.

P.S : Désolé pour toutes ces longueurs entrecoupées de parenthèse mais j’avais vraiment besoin d’exprimer le fond de ma pensée

[Susan Grossey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As ever, I read this book from the perspective of someone who spends her working hours battling money laundering. “Thick as Thieves” by Peter Spiegelman has as its hero Carr (like Morse, he never uses his first name), an ex-CIA man now working as the organiser for a gang of thieves. I enjoyed this finance-based thriller - lots of twists and turns, and enough back story about the hero to give him three dimensions.
Carr’s moral compass is a bit off-kilter, thanks in no small part to the influence of his (now dead) boss Declan: “Declan laughed. ‘I don’t touch banks. I don’t touch payrolls or cambios either, not armoured cars not safe deposit boxes – no official money for me. Too much official firepower looking after that stuff, and anyway, who wants to crawl into bed at night with images of sobbing widows in his head, and big-eyed orphans turned out into the cold? Takes the joy from living, don’t it? So it’s black money only I go for. There’s plenty of that lying around, and it leaves you with a nice clean conscience afterwards.’ Carr peered at Declan through smoke and his own drunken haze, still waiting for the punch line. ‘So you rob from the rich and give to…?’ ‘Myself, Mr Carr. And it’s rich shites I rob from – drug runners, gun runners, whore runners, human smugglers, kidnappers – the very worst swine. I’ve lightened the till on all of them.’”
Carr’s current target – the last before he retires, he swears – is former hedge fund manager turned money launderer Curtis Prager, who provides “a comprehensive list of services: bilk cash processing, foreign exchange, electronic funds transfer, access to a network of overseas correspondent banks, provision of fully-documented shell corporations, asset management, even tax consultation – everything a crime syndicate might require to launder large sums of money, move them around the world, invest them, and bring them home clean”. But the closer Carr gets to Prager, the more he starts to feel that the launderer is always one step ahead of him. Could it be that one of Carr’s own gang has gone over from the dark side to the even darker? “Thick as Thieves” is well-written and intelligent – I recommend it.

[Jacki (Julia Flyte) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a gang of top notch criminals who are planning a major heist. They have worked together for a number of years. Their previous job went badly wrong and two of their members were killed, including their leader, Declan. Carr, a former CIA operative, has stepped into Declan's shoes and is co-ordinating the team for one final heist: a big job that will set them all up for retirement. However the team are restless, paranoid and don't necessarily like Carr. Carr himself is increasingly suspicious that Declan may have been set up in the job that cost him his life - but by whom? Can he trust his team and can they pull the job off?

It took me a while to get into this book. There were lots of flashbacks, it seemed to be taking its time to get anywhere and I was thinking it would only rate 3 stars from me. However in the second half it really takes off - lots of twists, double crosses, rapid action, genuine suspense. At least one of the big twists is somewhat predictable - but not all of them are, by any stretch. Carr was a terrific character, as were several of the others. I enjoyed the portrayal of the mundane aspects of pulling a sting like this together, the games the crew played to entertain themselves, the bickering between them - and then the professionalism when it comes time for action.

Ultimately this is one of the better thrillers I've read in some time. If you like films like The Bank Job and The Italian Job, you'll probably enjoy this too. If you're finding it a little hard to get into it, stick with it - it all comes together in a terrific way.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Spiegelman writes smart, original thrillers steeped in contemporary issues and mores. According to his bio he worked in both finance and IT, which accounts for the air of insider savvy pervading his books.
This one focuses on an ex-CIA officer named Carr, who possesses an array of clandestine skills and an uncertain ethical compass. He has inherited the leadership of a crack team of professional thieves after the death of the group's founder in a disastrously botched heist in Argentina. Bankrolled by a shady tycoon, the group only takes on the most high-stakes jobs, requiring months of preparation and big capital outlays. The current target is a big-time money launderer based in the Cayman Islands, a possible hundred-million dollar score. Carr has to earn the trust of his team while juggling the complex intelligence gathering, bribery and choreography required to pull off the heist. If he fails, he's on the hook for the front money. Complications include his romantic involvement with the femme fatale member of his team and his relationship with his father, rapidly succumbing to dementia back in Massachusetts. Carr starts to realize he's been lied to, things get messy...
It's an intriguing caper which doesn't romanticize the world of the professional criminal; the threat of violence is a constant undertone and no, there really isn't any honor among thieves. It kept me turning pages and there's a great final twist I didn't see coming. I found the subplot with Carr's father and his complicated family history a little distracting; the book could have done without it. But that's a minor quibble; if you like heist yarns with their essential amorality, you'll enjoy this.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by this caper-thriller by Peter Spiegleman. What could have easily devolved into an Ocean's 11 or Mission Impossible type gang caper played for laughs, was instead a tautly designed complex thriller with twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages. There are no real hero good guys here - only bad guys and even badder guys. And instead of heisting a casino these guys are after the bank accounts of a big time money launderer.
Carr is a washed out CIA operative with a damaged past from his relationship with his father who was expelled from the U.S. Foreign Service. Carr has fallen in with a group of con-man-thieves as the planner/architect apprentice to their charismatic leader Declan. After one of their caper-heists goes bad, Declan is mysteriously eliminated and Carr takes over the crew consiting of a couple of hard ass tough guys, a computer nerd hacker, and a female shape shifter who can deceive prospective targets to get inside their defenses.
The group is bank-rolled by a powerful controller named Boyd and they contract with him to break into the financial network of a major money launderer named Prager. Carr struggles between the unknown loyalties of his gang members and his father who is dealing with the onset of dementia. There are numerous glitches in their plan and a seeming conspiracy to betray Carr.
Spiegleman's writing and plotting are well above most writers of this genre and the reader will be hard pressed to put this book down.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 5 out of 5]

As standalone novels recounting tales of thefts go, this story of a gang that shows little trust in each other, despite huge paydays, is so riveting and well-written that it deserves a sequel. It tells the story of Carr, drummed out of the CIA for a temperament not deemed suitable for supervising agents or informers, but has a talent for planning and watching the slightest details during an operation, is recruited to join a band of thieves who undertake grand monetary thefts.

The bulk of the novel centers on a plan to steal $100 million from a money laundering operation running several Florida banks headquartered on a Caribbean island and headed by a man named Prager. It is meticulously planned, but when it appears that prior intelligence is faulty, Carr has to improvise. And complications also include mistrust of his co-workers, who show no hesitation at double-crossing or stealing from him and the sponsor who fronts costs. At the same time, Carr has to solve his own emotions about his father and his care as he is slowly dying.

The novel is so well-written and plotted, with a conclusion so unexpected, that this reader wished it would continue. Needless to say, there isn’t much more one could add to encourage another reader to pick it up. So giving it a strong recommendation is an easy decision.

[Sumit Banerjee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comes recommended as one of the best heist books on the market. However, the book failed to grip me throughout. The plot was good but was too predictable. Any heist should have the same elements as a magic trick. However, this book fails to evoke any thrill to continue reading. It failed to grip me so much that I am failing to write a good review here.

P.S. If you want a good heist book, DO NOT read this one.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good heist caper. Not as good as his Spiegelman's regular series, though. The final reveal left me a little cold, for spoiler-ish reasons I won't discuss. As always, great characters, and I love the way that Spiegelman incorporates family history into the narrative here as well. The plot is very Elmore Leonard, but the prose is much more conventional. Definitely worth reading, but if you're only going to read one Spiegelman I'd start with Black Maps.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been sitting on my "to read" shelf, both literally and figuratively, for months now. It surprised me for several reasons and yes, the comparisons to 'Ocean's Eleven' are somewhat deserved. 'Thick as Thieves' starts to distinguish itself very quickly as Carr, the lead character, tries to unravel why he's so nervous about an upcoming job. It will take you in many different directions and to many different destinations. Enjoy the ride.

[Cloda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good heist tale. It was slow to begin and I wanted more character development of the minor players. A lot was left to the reader's imagination, and not always in a good way. The end made up for the beginning and even though I somewhat guessed how it would end up, the ride there was satisfying enough.

[Sam Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Spiegelman's book gets off to a slow start, and initially it is hard to find any sympathy for its main characters, the book soon takes off, offering twists and turns that are both surprising and logical. An excellent thriller!

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

bunch of criminals plan a heist, things go wrong, etc. an entertaining read, with something of a twist at the end, but no great piece of literature. reminded me of the tv show "leverage"

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the audio version of this book.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a really hard time getting into this one. Disappointing.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it to chapter 6 and decided not to finish. Reading it felt like hanging out in a seedy motel with cigarette smoke baked into the walls - not my idea of a good time. The book has a gritty, slightly depressing feel that fits well with the characters I met and the overall plot. The writing was great and the story was shaping up to be a suspenseful, twisting mystery. If grit, grime, and crime are your thing, give this book a try.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twisty, high stakes robbery that takes everything the crew can give. But something's just not right and Carr is unsettled. What I like about Spiegelman's writing is the protag's interior dialogue and how the protag is centered and observant. Wish there were more of the John Marsh series, but Carr is good too.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first physical books I’ve read in a very long time.

It is a story of a group of thieves that are working their way up to the big score, but as the story progresses you can’t be sure who they can trust within the crew.

I’ll admit that I didn’t pick the who was responsible for the double cross at the end, and it was a good ending, but otherwise the story was ok but not great.

[Nabilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spiegelman started the plot quite slowly.. too slow for my liking... but as the plot builds, he managed to keep the tension going till the last page.. kept me gripping to my seat... overall this is a crazily awesome book. I will definitely find another book from Spiegelman!