Foolproof

Succinct and effortless plotting mixes with several crafty twists in this slick variation on the hunt for the proverbial easy score. London investment expert Jeremy Newton comes to accomplished criminal Charlie Hurst with a plan that just can't fail: Charlie stages fake burglaries during which he photographs the financial secrets that are the real targets of his illegal intrusions. Then Jeremy shrewdly invests based on the purloined info. But the caper-that-can't-miss does. Jeremy has a mistress and a nosy, jealous wife. Charlie has ambitions for a new lifestyle, and two of the muscle men in his employ are getting bored silly waiting for a score of their own. While readers might wish for additional detailing of the financial manipulations (we are forced to take Jeremy's expertise as a given), for the most part Daniels (Goldmine-London W.1) packs a lot of greed, lust and feverish upward mobility into a brief, attention-gripping tale. (Aug.)