Retired art thief Michael St. Pierre (star of Doetsch’s debut The Thieves of Heaven
) tests the limits of his skills and of reader credulity as he breaks into... the Kremlin. It’s been a year since Michael’s beloved wife, Mary, died and he’s still grieving when a good friend makes a dying wish: Michael must steal a painting from a shady Parisian dealer, then destroy it before it falls into the hands of Julian Zivera, an evil and powerful lunatic. Just when Michael believes the task is completed, Zivera enters the picture and presents Michael with a choice: either Michael will break into the vaults of the Russian capitol and steal a gold box that is said to contain the secret to eternal life, or Zivera will kill Michael’s long-lost biological father. Michael chooses door number one and enlists his widowed sister-in-law, Susan, and ex-cop buddy, Paul, to help. Over 400 pages the trio endures so many crosses (double, triple, you name it) and close calls that one wishes the plot’s destruction were part of Michael’s bargain, but Doetsch injects a welcome lightness throughout. (Jan.)
