#Book #Review...The Burglar by Thomas Perry

From Thomas Perry comes a new thriller about an unlikely burglar--a young woman in her 20s--who realizes she must solve a string of murders, or else become the next victim 

Elle Stowell is a young woman with an unconventional profession: burglary. But Elle is no petty thief--with just the right combination of smarts, looks, and skills, she can easily stroll through ritzy Bel Air neighborhoods and pick out the perfect home for plucking the most valuable items. This is how Elle has always gotten by--she is good at it, and she thrives on the thrill. But after stumbling upon a grisly triple homicide while stealing from the home of a wealthy art dealer, Elle discovers that she is no longer the only one sneaking around. Somebody is searching for her.

As Elle realizes that her knowledge of the high-profile murder has made her a target, she races to solve the case before becoming the next casualty, using her breaking-and-entering skills to uncover the truth about exactly who the victims were and why someone might have wanted them dead. With high-stakes action and shocking revelations, The Burglar will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they barrel towards the heart-racing conclusion.

The Sexy Nerd ‘Revue’

I’m a little on the fence with this story. I didn’t dislike the story and I didn’t like it—if that makes any kind of sense? 

Let’s start with what I liked about the story. Elle Stowell certainly wasn’t your average run-of-the-mill thief. Elle had some boss ass skills to say the least. Balancing scaffolding like a true gymnast to landing on her feet as quietly as a cat, her skills were masterful which made her being a burglar a true destiny. Unfortunately, that’s not an occupation anyone should aspire to be, but Elle came into the profession like a trooper and some unfortunate circumstances that helped catapult her to this level. 

On one of her heists, she got a whole lot more than what she bargained for—three dead bodies shot execution style lined together in a row. Hmm, immediately Elle knew this wasn’t what she was expecting. To steal money and jewelry is one thing, but dead bodies, that’s a completely different matter altogether. It was then that she realized a camera was standing at attention on a tripod. Uh-oh! Was she on the camera? Was someone watching these dead bodies? And if so, what purpose would it serve? To Elle’s knowledge, dead bodies certainly didn’t get up and walk around—this was not that kind of story. So, what was she to do? You’ll have to read the story to find out the rest. And if you think that sounds exciting, you’d be correct, except the story fell completely flat and that’s why I’m on the fence.

For one thing, Perry did an exceptional job detailing Elle’s skills and level of intelligence, but after the first and second robbery, I didn’t find it necessary to continue explaining that to the reader. The details became somewhat overkill and that drove me a little crazy. And not only the detail of Elle’s situation, but the area of Los Angeles. If you didn’t know much about the lay of the land, when you finish this book, you most certainly will. It was like the reader was following a GPS of everything Elle was doing and that agitated me tremendously. I don’t need to know every direction a character is driving or landmarks and things the character is seeing. That’s doing way too much and that got on my nerves to the point I began losing interest in the story because it was more of the same. I also felt there were a few continuity issues wherein Elle was doing one thing and then the story jumped to something else. Or characters were introduced that didn’t make much sense to the story at that particular time.

So, readers, now you understand my dilemma. I really did enjoy the story as a whole. It had some really great moments, but with the detail it grated a little on my nerve. This is the first time I read Perry’s work, but I wasn’t overly excited as I thought I’d be, which is unfortunate. 

The Burglar isn’t a bad read. It is very well written and if you’re the type of reader who enjoys a very detail-oriented story, you’ll most definitely enjoy this novel.