Man on the Run is a crime novel with lots of suspense and humor, immersing the reader in guessing until the end. This is a fast-paced book focusing on three characters Dakota Richards, a Crime Podcaster from LA West Hollywood, Charles Floyd, a former Connecticut state investigator and Francis Hoyt, Master Burglar, the thief who is on the run. Dakota wants to interview the career thief Hoyt, who is the best in the Burglary business. She feels much more ambitious about interviewing Mr. Hoyt. Dakota is a journalist who loves researching crime and digging into people's lives for her podcast. Dakota owns a regular podcast named Prime Time Crime where she used to be a crime reporter for the Albany Times and most recently the Sacramento Bee.

Hoyt's mission is to stay free. That's when he is approached by a lawyer named Vincent who is also a stranger, to do business that involves crime. Vince hires Hoyt by paying him advance cash to break into a warehouse, a mob bank and liberate cash and valuable items for an anonymous client not being exposed to Hoyt. It's a dangerous mission for Hoyt.

Loved the pace and excellent writing by Charles, the author. Highly recommended read for crime novels and suspense readers. There is thrill, intrigue, danger, and surprise.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley and Partners in crime tours. Thanks to the Publishers Down & Out Books for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Man on the Run (April 2023) is a follow-up to Second Story Man (2018), a cat and mouse game pitting the world's greatest cat burglar (who specialized in silver) against two dogged determined police detectives (one from Connecticut -Charlie Floyd and one from Miami -Manny Perez). Now, we return to the story with Francis Hoyt on the run (thus, the title) from the law and other people, taking a cross-country trip to Los Angeles where he can start over with a new fence. Francis is more self-assured now and his reputation has grown so legendary that a true crime podcaster with nothing else to do career-wise, Dakota Richards, has decided to a podcast series delving into his legend. In fact, her podcasts have been so compelling that Francis cannot help but contact her to her excitement and perhaps unnerving. He will tell her his story from his point of view at a time of his choosing. Meanwhile, Francis is pursuing bigger fish and may end up getting himself tangled up in more trouble than he wants. The story is told in alternating points of view between Francis and Dakota with an occasional guest appearance by Charlie Floyd later in the novel after Dakota contacts him. The narrative voices used are spot-on, although you might think the build-up would result in more action.

Good stuff. This has been around a while and knows how to create a good story. This one has mystery and humor and I stayed engaged.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

Francis Hoyt is a compelling anti-hero, who will engage and annoy in equal measure. I love this author’s style - he creates vivid images with economical language. Definitely a bit different from the average mystery and well worth reading.