The Burglar by Thomas Perry

Elle Stowell is young, pretty, and just what you’d expect to see jogging through the upper-class neighborhoods of Los Angeles. This is part of what makes her such a good thief in The Burglar by Thomas Perry. While she is robbing the home of a wealthy financial services executive, she discovers him naked and dead in his bedroom. Next to him are two wealthy women, neither his wife, all of them shot through the head. To top it all off, she finds a running digital camera which has recorded everything, from seduction to sex to murder, as well as Elle’s entrance.

Now Elle has a dilemma on her hands She intends to remove her own image from the recording and send it to the police. Elle soon discovers that either the murderers or the cops know about her and she makes plans to leave town. Before that can happen, she discovers that the killers are after her. Now leaving town and waiting for the police to solve the crime isn’t an option. Elle is going to have to solve it herself if she wants to keep breathing.

Thomas Perry has written an exciting mystery/thriller with a compelling character in Elle Stowell. The early part of the book, as Elle describes in detail her methods of casing targets, breaking into them and selling the proceeds is illuminating. Her brushes with danger and a rising body count as the killers see Elle as a loose end to tie up add to the thrills. This momentum carries the book through about two-thirds of the story. The final act, as Elle becomes the pursuer instead of the pursued lacks some of the punch of the early part of the story but still carries enough thrills to make for a satisfying read.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

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