''Thick as Thieves'' is a 2011 novel by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Peter Spiegelman Peter Spiegelman (born 1958) is an American crime fiction author and former Wall Street executive. He is most known for his series of books following the cases of the Manhattan-based private eye, John March, winning a Shamus Award for the first n ...

. The book is the fifth novel by Spiegelman and was released on July 26, 2011 in the United States through

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

. The story surrounds a group of thieves following their reluctant leader Carr as he plans a million-dollar heist of a criminals compound. The novel was well received.

Plot

''Thick as Thieves'' follows a group of high-end criminals and their reluctant leader Carr. Carr was inducted as a thief by the group's previous leader, Declan (aka "Deke") who died during the getaway from their previous job, and feels that he is not the right person to take over the role, despite this having been Declans overall intention for him. The group plan to steal millions of dollars from a former

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...

manager named Curtis Prager, who is now engaging in large amounts of illegal activity.

Publication history

*2011, USA, Knopf , pub date July 26, 2011, Hardback *2011, Dreamscape Media , pub date July 26, 2011,

Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

*2011, UK,

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

, pub date September 1, 2011, Hardback

Reception

The book was well received, with reviewers praising Spiegelman's prose and ability to create an interesting story using a clichéd premise. Tom Nolan, for the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', stated that "there's no dearth of heart-pounding, pulse-racing, stomach-dropping moments" in the novel. He also praised the prose, stating that "Mr. Spiegelman describes things with flair", finding that "Such prose creates a special tension and pictorial vividness, to add to the book's intelligently structured thriller plot", concluding that "readers may find themselves lingering over many of these well-wrought phrases before racing to the final exciting page." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' also praised Speigelmans writing, finding the novel to be "Character-driven with a protagonist as enigmatic as he is compelling. But what really sets this apart is the quality of Spiegelman's writing"; "it's not every day genre prose gets that kind of polish." Bruce Tierney, for ''BookPage'', called the story a "genre-defining heist novel", concluding that "''Thick as Thieves'' is a superbly crafted tale, pulsing with tension, twisty as a corkscrew and positively demanding to be read in one sitting." Rob Brunner, for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', awarded the novel a score of "B+", stating that while the novel features "some stock characters and a premise as clichéd as its title", it is also a "well-constructed crime thriller". Brunner goes on to state that he found the novel to be "a complex, satisfying tale" and praised "Spiegelman's sharp prose and deft plotting".

Awards and nominations

The novel was recognised Kirkus Reviews editor Elaine Szewczyk as one of the "Best Fiction novels of 2011".

References

{{reflist 2011 American novels Novels by Peter Spiegelman Alfred A. Knopf books