Forty Thieves

Thomas Perry is one of my husband’s favorite authors, so when our library system got hit by ransomware and I couldn’t pick up my holds, he suggested I read Forty Thieves.  I’d read some of his other books before, so I was game for his suggestion.  

This was a pretty solid detective story.  I liked that there were moving pieces in the story that kept shifting until you figured out how they fit together.  The basis of the story is an unsolved mystery.  A man’s body was found in a storm drain during a days-long rain storm in California.  A year later, the police are no closer to finding the murderer, so the man’s company hires Sid and Veronica Abel, married ex-cops who now run their own detective agency.  The Abel’s start their search into the murder only to find themselves targeted by Ed and Nicole Hoyt, a husband and wife assassin team.  Throughout most of the story, you only know they are connected by the initial murder, however, things get complicated when the Hoyt’s contact to their employer dies.  Yes, there are actually thieves in the book too, like the title suggests, however, don’t expect them to show up until later in the book.

My only caveat was the first and last chapters seemed a little fragmented.  There are multiple characters in the first chapter that don’t show up again in the novel (like the professor that suggested the company find the Abels).  The ending ties up most of the loose ends, but I still felt like it was missing some parts, like what about the company’s contact man?  Or the murdered man’s many mistresses?  And how do the thieves…well, I’ll leave this question out for suspense.  

If you’re looking for a good “who done it” with tame language and not too much gore, then this will be a hit.  It’s very easy to read and get into the story, and you can’t help but like the Abels and their banter.