This enigmatic noir thriller from New Zealand author Taylor (Heaven
) opens on a friendly pool game between disarming narrator Mark Chamberlain and property developer Rory Jones at an Auckland billiards parlor. After the two men part company, Chamberlain admits, "the following night I broke into his apartment and stole everything that wasn't nailed down." Chamberlain, we learn, is a professional burglar. In the apartment, to his surprise, he discovers that Jones is the father of Caroline May, a high school classmate who disappeared many years earlier. Taylor brilliantly interweaves clues concerning Caroline's disappearance, including some implicating Chamberlain himself, with the thief's insightful reflections on appearance and reality. The narrator's secret criminal life comes under threat of exposure after someone slips an old poster seeking information about Caroline into his apartment. Taylor, who compares favorably with Russell Banks and Paul Auster, should appeal to readers who appreciate sophisticated plots and fully human characters. (Apr.)
