The Sacred Art Of Stealing by Christopher Brookmyre Paperback Book

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Their eyes met across a crowded room. But the room in question was crowded with hostages and armed bank-robbers, and his eyes were the only part of him she could see behind the mask. Her job is to hunt him to extinction; his is to avoid being caught and he also has a secret agenda more valuable than anything he might steal.

FORMATPaperback CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

Their eyes met across a crowded room. She was just a poor servant girl and he was the son of a rich industrialist. Er, no, this is a Christopher Brookmyre novel, although the eyes meeting across a crowded room part is true. Where it differs from the fairy tales is that the room in question was crowded with hostages and armed bank-robbers, and his eyes were the only part of him she could see behind the mask. He is an art-thief par excellence and she is a connoisseur of crooks. Her job is to hunt him to extinction; his is to avoid being caught and he also has a secret agenda more valuable than anything he might steal. There are risks he can take without jeopardising his plans. He can afford to play cat-and-mouse with the female cop who's on his tail; it might even arguably be necessary. What he can't afford is to let her get too close: he could could end up in jail or, even more scary, he could end up in love . Visit the author's website at

Notes

Smaller format paperback publication of the latest offering from Scottish crime satirist, Christopher Brookmyre. This book sold over 40,000 copies in the larger C format, and the major National Press campaign accompanying this release should see his profile rise still higher. "Exhilarating linguistic fluency and keenly subversive intelligence" Scotland on Sunday

Author Biography

Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full time novelist with the publication of QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING. Since the publication of A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY he and his family decided to move away from Aberdeen and now live near Glasgow. Oh, yes.

Review

'A thriller, love story, social satire and a warning against taking absurdism too seriously..' TIME OUT 'Chris Brookmyre is a genius.' DAILY MIRROR 'Brookmyre has no equal.' MAXIM 'Exhilarating linguistic fluency and keenly subversive intelligence' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'Brookmyre pulls out all the stops in this one. His talent for creating bizzare situations, unlikely relationships and complex characters has never been more in evidence. Illusion is paramount in this novel. And it is achieved with an impressive literary sleight of hand.' WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY 'Brilliant.' GLASGOW HERALD 'Home-grown thrillers as fun and funky as this come along all too rarely, so make the most of it.' SUNDAY TIMES 'If you enjoy intelligently written crime thrillers with a healthy dollop of satire, then this will be the answer to your prayers.' MORNING STAR 'Raw, obscene, irreverant, punchy and sarcastic, this is a clever, off-beat story-line handled with funky dexterity.' GOOD BOOK GUIDE 'Brookmyre finds a rich vein of satire when pondering whether cops and robbers (or even Celtic and Rangers fans) can ever really be friends.' DAILY MAIL 'All in all, it's a cracking read, and one that's likely to make you say 'Aaaahhhh' at the end. Result.' HEAT 'I found myself laughing my way through this exhileratingly funny tale, and found his intelligent observations refreshing.' ABERDEEN PRESS AND JOURNAL 'An entertaining read.' NEW WOMAN

Kirkus UK Review

With one of the most baldly obscene opening paragraphs of any modern novel, The Sacred Art of Stealing slaps its way into orbit with more expletives than prepositions. But get through the gang-rap obscenity nonsense and there's a clever, off-beat storyline handled with funky dexterity. 30-year-old Detective Sergeant Angelique de Xavia is taken hostage in a bank robbery, run by a bizarre quintet of robbers dressed as clowns who entertain the bank staff by creating artworks on the blanked-out windows. De Xavia connects uncannily with Zal, one of the gang, and there is a mutual magnetism, even though the only part of him she can see through his mask is his fearsome blue eyes. Siege over, robbers on the run, they meet up face to face and she is much taken by the art-loving Las Vegas criminal. He understands her, the pressures of her job - well, he would, wouldn't he? The author casts his dry eye over the police, whores, the art world - and he always seems to come from a spiky new iconoclastic angle. The plot spirals slowly through gangland killings, revenge, art fraud and theft plus a sting operation. By now Angelique's in love with Zal, and he lures her into his world. She has to make a choice between collusion and honesty. If she catches Zal - and she has to try, he told her to - he'll be in prison, but if she lets her heart rule her head she'll lose him anyway as he goes to ground. Raw, obscene, irreverent, punchy and sarcastic, this is a book that smart young things will skip lunch over. (Kirkus UK)

Long Description

Their eyes met across a crowded room. She was just a poor servant girl and he was the son of a rich industrialist.Er, no, this is a Christopher Brookmyre novel, although the eyes meeting across a crowded room part is true. Where it differs from the fairy tales is that the room in question was crowded with hostages and armed bank-robbers, and his eyes were the only part of him she could see behind the mask. He is an art-thief par excellence and she is a connoisseur of crooks. Her job is to hunt him to extinction; his is to avoid being caught and he also has a secret agenda more valuable than anything he might steal. There are risks he can take without jeopardising his plans. He can afford to play cat-and-mouse with the female cop who's on his tail; it might even arguably be necessary. What he can't afford is to let her get too close: he could could end up in jail or, even more scary, he could end up in love ...Visit the author's website at

Review Quote

Exhilarating linguistic fluency and keenly subversive intelligence

Promotional "Headline"

A robbery in Glasgow might not seem an unusual background for a crime novel - until it's put into the hands of Britain's leading satirist ...

Description for Sales People

THE SACRED ART OF STEALING sold nearly 40,000 in C format and his sales are increasing by over 30% each year.

Details ISBN0349114900 Pages 416 Publisher Little, Brown Book Group ISBN-10 0349114900 ISBN-13 9780349114903 Format Paperback Imprint Abacus Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 823.914 Media Book Year 2003 Publication Date 2003-09-04 Edition New edition Author Christopher Brookmyre Birth 1968 Series Angelique De Xavier Audience General/Trade UK Release Date 2003-09-04 NZ Release Date 2003-11-23 AU Release Date 2003-11-23 We've got this

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