Hmmm. Chris Ewan and his books may be the literary equivalent of seeing a bunch of infinite selves in a couple of mirrors. Ewan's main character, Charlie Howard, is a thief who writes caper novels about a thief. Of course, very few people know that Charlie is a thief. His fence knows. And his literary agent, Victoria. And not too many people in-between. Charlie likes keeping his legal and extra-legal selves separated. He even submitted a false picture for his dust jacket.
Charlie is in Paris trying to write his next novel. Victoria may know that Charlie is a thief, but she does not know what he looks like. She thinks he is a suave, sophisticated world-traveler. What would make her think that? Why, the picture on his dust jacket, of course.
So, let's pause for a minute and ask what's the story with Chris Ewan? Have you seen his author's picture on his website? It screams suave, sophisticated world-traveler, if you ask me. And is Chris Ewan a burglar? Perhaps only his fence and literary agent know the answer.
What I do know is that this book is amusing, highly creative, and enjoyable reading. And instructive. There's even a lock-picking tutorial at the end.
In the book there are break-ins, a dead body, double-crosses and double-double-crosses, lots of Parisian atmosphere, and a charming protagonist.
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