This book was good. It was different and fun, despite the 10 dead people. I really liked it and I LOVED Elle! There were parts that need some smoothing out, but this was an ARC from NetGalley and the author, so I trust this will be really good by publish date. I just wish the ending was different or better somehow after such a detailed story. Idk how bc it isn’t my creation, I just am not super excited by the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book. It was pretty good, but Elle seemed just a bit too lucky to get through all of the challenges she does. Still worthwhile and recommended.

This is an interesting addition to the world of crime and thriller novels. We are rooting for a criminal, beset by other criminals. They are chasing her only because she entered their crime scene before they were finished with it.
Elle, our criminal, is the child of a family of grafters, con artists and petty thieves. She supports herself by burglarizing the rich and very well off living in Bel Air and other parts of the L A area. She stumbles on a triple murder and becomes the prey of a not so proper security company. The crime they want to cover up is not the murder they are involved with. They are not even concerned with covering up their extra-legal method of dealing with burglars and other petty distractions. The crime they want kept secret may not even be a crime, technically. I won't spoil your fun by telling you just what that is. You'll have to read the book yourself.
I read my copy of this book for this review on Netgalley.

While I've heard good things about the author, I wasn't overly impressed with my first experience. Sure, it's interesting to see crimes from the side of the perpetrator (haven't we all watched movies where we were rooting for the thief?), but I didn't care a lot for her as a person. And there were facets of the story that didn't really add up to me. This doesn't mean that I won't try Thomas Perry again some day, but I do a LOT of reading and wasn't thrilled with this particular presentation.

Thomas Perry's The Burglar is his latest stand-alone mystery and unfortunately was not for me. I loved his Jane Whitefield series and have enjoyed a few others between then and now so I was excited to get to read and review this one. Elle Stowall is a very petite woman who makes her living as a burglar. During one of her burglaries she comes across three people who have been murdered in the house. As the story progresses she end up investigating these murders on her own and I found that many things she did were just not believable so I had a hard time really enjoying this one. If that is not the kind of thing that bothers you in a book you may really like this one because there is pretty good mystery and intrigue and a very strong female main character!

Elle Stowell is a burglar. While burglarizing a Beverly Hills home she finds two women and a man shot to death on the bed in the master bedroom. She doesn’t take anything from the house, but very shortly thereafter she learns she is being followed by people who may or may not be law enforcement. She begins her own study of what happened (up to an including the murder of her best friend and a young man she was dating). Elle uses her talents as a burglar to learn who was behind all these murders and why and then to develop evidence against them. It is extremely well written and fast reading. Definitely not a book to start in the evening. Thanks to Net Galley and The Mysterious Press for an ARC for an honest review.

A unique story and character by Thomas Perry. Elle Stowell is a burglar. She was taught to steal at a young age and now does so when she needs cash. She steals from high end houses where she knows the owner’s insurance will cover the loss. Elle jogs through the neighborhoods in order to “fit in” and case the houses, avoiding those with dogs. She has never been caught, but she has never walked in to the aftermath of a triple homicide…now she has. She gets out safely after stealing a camera that may contain video of the crime. When she cases the same house, after the police have left, someone must have seen her return visit. Now she has men in black SUV’s following her and she knows they are not the police. Her home is ransacked and she is on the run. Elle must stay one step ahead of those who are looking for her and try to find out why the three people were killed, before she becomes victim number four. After a close friend of hers is murdered, Elle is determined to bring the murderer to justice. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the action-packed writing of Mr. Perry. Elle is a very complex character who may be a thief, but she is a thief with a conscience. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

The characters and story line are very interesting and I read in one sitting. The thrills are great and kept me glued to the book.

A fantastic mystery told in a most unusual manner. A young cat burglar happens upon a triple homicide scene while committing a home burglary. She discovers a camera which has recorded the entire crime. After taking precautions to not be on the recording she takes the camera and departs the scene just as private security arrives. From that point it becomes a matter of surival from whomever is chasing her. The story takes several twists and turns before the entire scheme is resolved. The story is told from the burglars point of view which is quite a bit different from a police view. I enjoyed the book from start to finish and recommend it if you enjoy a mystery with a different view point.

I have rated this book 5 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion.

The Burglar by Thomas Perry- Elle is a burglar. She prowls at night the rich and well to do vacant homes around LA. She prepares well and is careful. She owns nothing in her own name and rarely does anything illegal outside her chosen profession. But one fateful night, she enters the master bedroom of a wealthy art dealer and finds three bodies on the bed, all shot in the head. In the corner of the room is a video camera that captured the murders. She takes the camera and runs. Before long, she is being followed by a black car. She thinks maybe by the police, but there are no sirens. She hides at a friend's house, and finds her body the next night. And she runs...
Thomas Perry keeps the pressure on and things are non-stop throughout. This is one you can't put down until you finish.

I am generally a fan of Thomas Perry’s books, so I was happy to get a copy of The Burglar from Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review.

As the story opens, we meet the protagonist, a petite blonde named Elle who is a successful burglar in the rich neighborhoods around Los Angeles. As she is in the middle of her latest job, she discovers three corpses in a bedroom, set up with a video camera. Realizing the camera probably caught the murder (it definitely caught her), she takes the camera and gets out (just in time). She learns that the murder is on film, along with a bit of what led up to that. She deletes herself from the footage and returns the camera for police us in their investigation.

Weird things start happening, and Elle becomes aware of being followed as bodies of people around her start piling up. There is an ending that didn’t occur to me (but then, to be fair, I am the WORST at figuring out mysteries), lots of action throughout, and good character development. I never really liked Elle, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying the experience of reading this one. Thriller fans in general and Thomas Perry fans in particular will love it. Four stars.

The Burglar by Thomas Perry is a unique crime drama which looks at robbery from the burglar's point of view. Unique and gripping story, fascinating and complex characters and plenty of surprises bring this who done it to life. At times gripping, scary and titillating, I highly recommend this read for thriller and crime novel fans.

I love Thomas Perry’s characters. They are just a little left of the law. Elle Stowell makes her living by being a bulglar and has done so for many years. She is not the common bulglar but one who only “shops” in the better neighborhoods. One day she happens upon a murder scene and now she is the hunted one. She works to solve the crime before she become the next victim

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Elle Stowell is a thief -- a burglar to be precise. She's careful, methodical, careful -- she doesn't use weapons, she focuses on cash and things that are easy to sell. You really can't call anyone in her profession "risk averse," but she's as close to it as you could possibly be.

She's a cute, petite blonde working in some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in LA. Her appearance gets her over-looked by those who ought to find her suspicious and her size and athletic ability help her get into places that she shouldn't be. She makes enough to finance her lifestyle -- and a little more. But primarily, she lives this way for the thrill.

All that changes one day when she breaks into a home and finds three bodies in the bedroom, clearly the victims of a shooting. She also notices that a video camera in the room which probably caught the murder -- it definitely caught her. So she steals the camera from the scene and runs. She verifies that, yes, it shows the murder and a little bit of what led up to it. After making a few copies -- and removing her self from the footage -- she returns the camera for the police to use the footage.

Soon after this, she begins to hear of three people looking for her at some of her usual haunts. She's told that they seem like cops, but she's not sure. Cops or not, she wants nothing to do with them. Once bodies start showing up -- bodies that are related to her in some way -- she knows that she has to find the murderers or she'll never be able to stop looking over her shoulder.

I don't really think that I got to the point that I liked Elle -- she's a criminal, not one driven to it or forced to steal or anything. She made a choice at some point to steal and has stuck with it. She's not particularly flamboyant about it -- like Jim DiGriz or Nicholas Fox or anything. Her approach is clinical, serious, no-nonsense. So there's none of the typical fictional trappings that make you like a thief character.

However, it wasn't that far into the book when I realized that I was really invested in what's going on with her -- how is she going to escape the ramifications of what she's seen? Is she being paranoid, or is there someone actually after her? Will she be able to bring them to justice without incriminating herself? How did they figure how who she was? Why were the original murders committed? Why isn't anything happening with that video she left the police?

There are other characters -- a couple that you get to spend some good time with, too. But this book is all about Elle. Like I said, I don't think I ever liked Elle, but I appreciated her as a character. The other characters that are around for more than a few paragraphs are just interesting enough to justify their presence. Some bring out some interesting sides of Elle's character or past. Others help us understand just what kind of mess she's fallen into.

This is my third Thomas Perry book in the last year, and I was far more invested in the events of this than I was in either of the others -- he kept reeling me in page by page. The pacing of this is great -- just like Elle herself, Perry knows when to slow down and let you catch your breath and then when to dash off and leave you hanging on by your fingertips.Perry's been at this for a while and it shows -- he knows how to write a thriller.

Unlike many crime novels (including the other Perry novels), you don't get to know anything about the murderers until the ending -- you have an idea about them before the ending, but it's not until the closing chapters that you actually learn anything. I loved that, I was just as much in the dark as Elle was. Perry didn't get into the killer's mindset or motivation at all. They were just out there, threatening Elle until she's put the pieces together.

This was a fun read. It was gripping, it was unique, it was complex -- and come to think of it, the motive for the killing and the crimes surrounding the murder aren't like anything I remember in Crime Fiction. That alone makes it worth your while. Perry really delivered the goods with this one, and I encourage you to give it a shot.


Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Grove Atlantic via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

The Burglar recounts the tale of Elle, a young female burglar, who comes across a triple murder in the course of her work. She leaves the scene but becomes involved in discovering who was responsible when the killers make it personal. This is an excellent plot-driven page turner. The protagonist is smart and resourceful and uses her impressive observational skills to assess people as well as potential burglary targets. The book’s weakness, which really didn’t detract from the book overall, was any attempt to include personal relationships and Elle’s back story. Those fortunately few moments felt largely gratuitous. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable, fast, suspenseful read.

thomas perry has a wild imagination, and it's on display in his latest book, 'the burglar', which i read as an advanced copy provided by netgalley. i've read every one of perry's novels, and i've never been let down. it's downright exhilarating to dive into a perry novel- the plot will be original; the characters believably quirky; and the
subject (in this case, how to succeed as a burglar) well researched. perry's characters are seldom portrayed simply- they might be a criminal, but we learn to understand and often sympathize with them by the end of the story. . such was the case here, about a young woman who burgles the houses of rich people and gets into more trouble than she could anticipate. if you want a fresh approach to a thriller, you can't do better than reading a thomas perry novel.

Seriously?? This teeny tiny petite girl (she's described that way repeatedly) out-shoots, out-thinks, out-surveils, out-spies, out-everythings EVERYONE ELSE throughout the course of this story, yet somehow couldn't figure out that she was putting her best friend in danger?? This started interesting - I liked the premise and was curious to see where it would go. But it went off the rails fairly early on and I struggled staying with it for the rest of the ride... Elle was not particularly sympathetic (she's no Robin Hood, just a thief financing her life). Her childhood/family situation did not, to me, render her life choices somehow magically acceptable. And her skill set and decision-making was simply too unbelievable to keep the story credible for me. This was my first Thomas Perry; based on the other reviews of his work, I am thinking this is a one-off - I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, just not right away...

Elle had a difficult childhood, raised by the women of the family after the early death of her mother. She learns to look after herself and other family members early on, stealing from the houses in the wealthy neighbourhoods of town. On a routine burglary, Elle discovers three people murdered in a gallery owner’s house. Soon thereafter, Elle is being chased by professionally trained men in black SUVs and she plans to leave town. But after people close to Elle are murdered, she decides to stay in LA and solve the original murders at the gallery owners house to end the killing spree once and for all.

Overall I enjoyed this thriller and the smart and skilled protagonist, though I feel like it was drawn out and it is only in the last third of the book that Elle can make sense of the events and gets closer to the true reason behind the first murders. The weapons descriptions were completely over my head, but it makes sense to describe them due to their sales value. At times Elle’s car manoeuvres to escape potential followers were described in unnecessary detail, including names of the streets and turns. At the beginning it was fun to trace them as I am familiar with some of the LA areas, but then it became tiring. I very much liked the unexpected handsome stranger. I particularly liked the clearing up of the murders, which was very unexpected, however I wish Elle would have discovered this due to her sleuthing, rather than overhearing a conversation. I’d most likely read another book from this series.

Elle Stowell is a young woman with an interesting occupation; she’s a residential burglar. For a living, she breaks into the homes of rich people and steals stuff. However, one day she breaks into the wrong house and sees something she was not meant to see. It will change her life in drastic ways.

This novel is well-written and exciting. Readers will enjoy the various plot twists in this one. I love how the author doles out the clues slowly and builds up the tension until the very end. Who are the mysterious people in the black SUVs that seem to be following Elle? How can she catch them without getting caught herself?

The character of Elle is described in detail. The reader learns a lot about her background and how she gained her skills. She’s a very astute observer of human nature and behavior. In her profession, she has to be. But, her background also contributes to her knowledge of people. You find yourself wondering why such a smart and skilled woman doesn’t get into a safer field? She seems to enjoy the challenges that she encounters though.

The supporting characters are all perfectly suited to their roles. The mystery man who says he’s from Canada is well-done. Elle’s friend Sharon also helps move the plot along in her own way. The other characters are mostly peripheral ones. The conflict in the story builds up gradually and was done at a steady pace. I didn’t feel like the narrative had any slow or dragging parts to it. The pacing was pretty even.

The ending was interesting and creative. I liked how things resolved at the end, but don’t want to give spoilers.

The story seemed quite believable and so did the characters. The author did a great job on this novel. It’s suspenseful and nail-biting at times. The story is really original and the main character is not someone whose perspective we usually see. Although Elle makes her living as a criminal, she is a sympathetic character and you find yourself rooting for her to come out on top in the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and found it to be an engaging and suspenseful story that held my interest throughout the book. As a reader, I was drawn into this world the author created and was able to suspend reality for a time to get into the world of Elle and her friends and acquaintances. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys suspense, mysteries, or just a really good read.

I really liked the blurb for this book and it started off really fast paced, with Elle the lead character stumbling upon a triple murder...unable to call the police, because she happened to be committing a crime herself by breaking into the property to steal from the owners, she finds herself in a bit of a pickle.

Like I said, it started off really promising and then in the middle it seemed to lose it's way a bit, I felt it was becoming a bit over explained, for example detailed descriptions of each time Elle broke into a property (which was a lot) and yes, I know it's called the burglar, but I ended up skimming these descriptions, it also felt like a lot of 'tell' was happening, for instance - Elle knew there must be a way in through the pipes for the bathroom, every building had a bathroom and pipes were needed for the bathroom - or words to that effect.

I found myself wishing I was at the end, just to find out if it picked up at the end, I'm sad to say it didn't.

I normally don't leave reviews if I haven't enjoyed a book as I know you can't please everyone all the time, but obviously as I was given this book to review I can only give my honest opinion. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.