Cover Art by Keith Draws https://keithdraws.wordpress.com/
Two years ago, I wrote Thief’s Odyssey from a sense of frustration with Hollywood movies that depict thieves. Often they were bang-bang bank robbery stories (tons of them), had overly elaborate stories relying on a magical hacker to open the vault (Die Hard), the steps involved in breaking in somewhere were impossibly timed (Hudson Hawk, Oceans 11-25), or the breaking-in relied on a lot of messy destruction and vandalism (The Score).
By the way, I loved Hudson Hawk and The Score. But I wanted to write the kind of story that really fleshed out the myth of the “Master Thief.” Someone who looks at what he does as almost an art, does it for the challenge alone, and isn’t constantly promising his girlfriend, “This is the last job, baby, I swear…then we’ll get that white picket fence.” I also wanted to show realistic depictions of safecracking, lock picking, the bypassing of alarms, hacking, identity theft, and even smuggling.
Fans of Kick will enjoy the loner main character, and the first person narrative (though somewhat more hard-boiled than Dan Jenkins). And if you’ve ever flushed with excitement after swiping a grape at the grocery store, you might enjoy all the cool crime going on, too.
One of my big inspirations when writing Thief’s Odyssey was Bill Mason’s non-fiction memoir, Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief — highly recommended.
John L. Monk 
Congrats!! Isn’t it awesome to hit publish?
Thanks — it certainly is 🙂
This sounds like a fantastic premise. I’ve already gone and got my copy and added it to my TBR. Can’t wait to read it. 🙂
Thanks Johanna, hope you enjoy it 🙂
Got it!
Wow, thanks Linda, hope you enjoy it as much as Kick.
Reblogged this on Carol Ervin's Author Site and commented:
Can’t wait to read this one!
Reblogged this on Belly-up! and commented:
John L. Monk has done it again!
Looks like a fantastic idea for a book! Just got my copy.
Steve, I’m honored — thanks, and hope you enjoy it.
An uncommon thief hones his art, but do his foster home mother and siblings steal the show? I love the way you deliver another antidote to Hollywood cliches — a safe-cracking, lock-picking, hacking burglar whose motive is like climbers of Mt. Everest (“because I can”). It’s the process, not the product. But, John, you’ve GOT to say more about his foster mother on that back cover. She’s a priceless gem. 🙂
Thanks Carol, this blurb is just what I have right now. I expect the blurb to change several times before I’m completely happy with it 🙂
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