Good Thief's Guide To Amsterdam

Loved this but it triggered a memory of another writer I used to love reading. I went through a serious teenage sci-fi phase and then for reasons I couldn't figure out I stopped reading altogether. Then I came across the Lovejoy books by Jonathon Gash, Lovejoy is a shifty antiques dealer and his mis-adventures kept me entertained over the whole summer The Judas Pair being one of my absolute favourites. The Good Theif's Guide made me want to dig them out and re-read them but they never survived the move to the US.

Anyway here's the review

Charlie Howard, writer and sometime career criminal is approached by a mysterious American in an Amsterdam bar and asked to steal a couple of worthless objects from two separate men on the same night. Charlie says no way to start with but ends up doing the job out of curiousity but when he goes to meet the American he finds him dead. The police think Charlie killed him but can't prove it so Charlie goes up against the seedier side of Amsterdam to find the 3 wise monkeys who could prove his innocence. All the while trying to fix a huge plot hole in his latest novel and meeting con men, corruption and diamonds along the way an entertaining read and a character I hope to read more of.