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Doors open
416 pages
A sharp, darkly funny heist caper that explores what happens when bored intellectuals decide to play a very dangerous game.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like sitting in a dimly lit Edinburgh pub, listening to a brilliant but terrible idea unfold over too many pints. It trades the typical hardened criminals for a trio of restless, comfortable men whose midlife crises manifest as a high-stakes art heist. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging clip, balancing the meticulous, almost gleeful planning of the caper with the creeping, cold-sweat dread of its execution. The prose is sharp and laced with dry Scottish wit, perfectly capturing the friction between high-society art circles and the city's gritty underworld. It is an exhilarating, wryly observant ride that delights in watching clever people realize they are entirely out of their depth, perfect for anyone who loves a sophisticated thriller with a dark, comedic edge.
- Mood
- atmospheric
- tense
- exhilarating
- gritty
- Tone
- wry
- cynical
- sharp
- suspenseful
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- midlife restlessness · the illusion of control · class friction · art as commodity
- The writing
- Sharp and observant, laced with dry Scottish wit and a keen eye for the contrasting layers of Edinburgh society.
- The arc
- Moves from the restless ennui of comfortable lives into a spiraling, adrenaline-fueled panic as the reality of the criminal underworld sets in.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love clever, character-driven capers where ordinary people get dangerously out of their depth.
Content notes
- violence
- strong language
- criminal enterprises
About the book
Three friends descend upon an art auction in search of some excitement. Mike Mackenzie-retired software mogul, bachelor and fine art enthusiast-wants something that money can't buy. Fellow art-lover Allan Cruickshank is bored with his banking career and burdened by a painful divorce. And Robert Gissing, an art professor, is frustrated that so many paintings stay hidden in corporate boardrooms, safes and private apartments. After the auction-and a chance encounter with crime boss Chib Calloway-Robert and Allan suggest the "liberation" of several paintings from the National Gallery, hoping Mike will dissuade them. Instead, he hopes they are serious.As enterprising girlfriends, clever detectives, seductive auctioneers and a Hell's Angel named Hate enter the picture, Ian Rankin creates a highly-charged thriller, a faced-past story of second guesses and double crosses that keep changing the picture, right until the harrowing finish.
Description from Open Library.
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