The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002)

A bank robbery staged as an extravagant performance catches the attention of a police officer who recognises that the apparent job cannot be the whole story. Brookmyre makes the audience’s expectations part of the criminals’ material, giving misdirection a theatrical pleasure. This is the second Angelique de Xavia novel, after A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away. Expect lengthy comic argument, attraction between pursuer and thief, strong language and violence alongside the mechanics of the scheme.