Good Thief's Guide Series by Chris Ewan

Charlie Howard travels the globe writing suspense novels for a living, about an intrepid burglar named Faulks.To supplement his income---and to keep his hand in---Charlie also has a small side business: stealing for a very discreet clientele on commission. When a mysterious American offers to pay Charlie 20,000 euros if he steals two small monkey figurines to match the one he already has, Charlie is suspicious; he doesn't know how the American found him, and the job seems too good to be true... moreCharlie Howard travels the globe writing suspense novels for a living, about an intrepid burglar named Faulks.To supplement his income---and to keep his hand in---Charlie also has a small side business: stealing for a very discreet clientele on commission. When a mysterious American offers to pay Charlie 20,000 euros if he steals two small monkey figurines to match the one he already has, Charlie is suspicious; he doesn't know how the American found him, and the job seems too good to be true. And, of course, it is. Although the burglary goes off without a hitch, when he goes to deliver the monkeys he finds that the American has been beaten to near-death, and that the third figurine is missing. Back in London, his long-suffering literary agent, Victoria (who is naive enough to believe he actually looks like his jacket photo), tries to talk him through the plot problems in both his latest manuscript and his real life---but Charlie soon finds himself caught up in a caper reminiscent of a Cary Grant movie, involving safe-deposit boxes, menacing characters, and, of course, a beautiful damsel in distress. less

Chris Ewan's The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas is the next caper in a series that's being called "impressive… comic…fresh" ( Publishers Weekly-- starred review).Charlie Howard isn't only a part-time crime writer and part-time thief; he's also a magician. For his next trick, he'll relieve Josh Masters, the famous illusionist vying for the affections of Charlie's agent Victoria, of a fortune in casino chips stashed in his hotel safe... moreChris Ewan's The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas is the next caper in a series that's being called "impressive… comic…fresh" ( Publishers Weekly-- starred review).Charlie Howard isn't only a part-time crime writer and part-time thief; he's also a magician. For his next trick, he'll relieve Josh Masters, the famous illusionist vying for the affections of Charlie's agent Victoria, of a fortune in casino chips stashed in his hotel safe. Revenge would be sweet―if there weren't a dead redhead floating in Masters' bathtub and Masters himself hadn't just disappeared in a puff of smoke after cheating at roulette. Convinced that Charlie is in on the scam, the casino's owners give him an impossible pull off an elaborate heist to reimburse the house for every dollar his "accomplice" made off with, or enjoy a one-way trip into the desert. less

Charlie, a gentleman thief to rival Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief,†gallivants around Venice in the next caper in this “sparklingâ€* series.   After a particularly bad streak of luck in Vegas, Charlie has retreated to Venice, having vowed to give up a life of crime to write crime fiction full-time. But inspiration has yet to strike... moreCharlie, a gentleman thief to rival Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief,†gallivants around Venice in the next caper in this “sparklingâ€* series.   After a particularly bad streak of luck in Vegas, Charlie has retreated to Venice, having vowed to give up a life of crime to write crime fiction full-time. But inspiration has yet to strike. And to make matters worse, Charlie’s agent Victoria shows up at his door just as his prized first edition of The Maltese Falcon flies out the window with a femme-fatale burglar. Blackmailed into committing a dastardly crime in order to get his book back, Charlie is catapulted into yet another adventure, this one even more explosive than the last. less