The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin

By: Chris Ewan

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Charlie Howard, part-time writer, part-time thief, has been engaged in a veritable spree of larceny and misappropriation since moving to Berlin. He’s supposed to be working on his next novel. But high rent and a love for thrill-seeking has been hard on his word count.

But Charlie’s larcenous binge is interrupted by the call to duty - on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government. Four embassy employees are suspected of stealing a sensitive item. Charlie is to break into their homes, find the culprit, and recover the stolen property. But there’s a catch. The item is so sensitive, Charlie isn’t told what he’s looking for. Not its size, not its weight, nothing. He’s only told that he’ll recognize it when he sees it.

Charlie has been a successful thief because he follows his own rules, the first being “Don’t get caught.” Well, after he enters the first suspect’s home, he has to add a new rule: “Don’t admire the view.” As Charlie stares across the street, he sees something he really wishes he hadn’t - a woman being murdered. And that’s just for starters. What follows is a wild adventure in the former cauldron of spies.

©2013 Chris Ewan (P)2013 AudioGO

Not the old Charlie, not the old Chris Ewan...

I thoroughly enjoyed the other 4 "Good Thief..." books, but this was a disappointment when compared to them. Charlie was more of a jerk, and more careless, in this book. This seemed out of character, but some plot elements depended on this.

What really bothered me was the basic premise; Charlie was hired to steal something, but he wasn't told anything about what he was supposed to see, "You'll know it when you see it." After the big reveal, I couldn't figure out why he couldn't have just been told from the start. There was no logical reason he couldn't have been told, but the plot revolved around him not knowing.

I very much appreciate Chris Ewan's attention to detail, and I hope we've not seen the last of Charlie, but Chris was off his game this time. Maybe, like Charlie, he was facing a deadline...😞

1 person found this helpful

Typical Charlie

This is a good story about the further adventures of Charlie Howard. It was well conceived and written. If you enjoyed the previous books in the series, you will like this one. That said, I hope the author is not going to leave Charlie where he ended up here....another book one of these days?

1 person found this helpful

I adore Ewan's thief--but this had no ending!

I was so excited to find another "Good Thief's Guide", as they are always a delight. As always, the narration was flawless, entertaining, and spot-on. The story was a bit convoluted, but a typical inadvertent misadventure for our honorable thief.

The end made me back up the iPod to see if something was skipped--it wasn't! About all that it accomplishes is letting the reader know that there has to be another book. Just because this sort of non-ending worked for the Sopranos, doesn't make it a satisfying way to end a book.

Nonetheless, I'm a Ewan devotee, and will read anything he writes, as long as Vance narrates. Pure excellence!

1 person found this helpful

too much going on bruh

the narrator was ready good tho. too many issues for one book imo but still ok