Customer Reviews

Once a Thief

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have to agree with those readers who are insulted by the poor writing in this latest effort by Kay Hooper. In addition to there being very little plot we are expected to shell out [more of our hard earned cash] to find the conclusion of this story. If Hooper wanted to receive [profit] for her book it would have been more honest had she produced one volume and allowed readers to decide wether to pay for her story. She might also have let readers know that this is a reissue. I will not pay for the second installment of this reissued garbage.

This is typical Kay Hooper material which I normally like. Strong-minded females meet equally strong-minded males, you know what happens. What really ticked me off was the fact that this is only HALF a book. In order to find out what happens to the storyline - thieves are trying to steal Max Bannister's priceless collection of jewells - you have to buy the next book - Always a Thief. The book just ends with no resolution, just in the middle of the story...

I am one of the number one Kay Hooper fans but even that couldn't salvage me reading this book. I finished it quickly because I couldn't wait to get started on the second book. I assumed ( Once A Thief ) would be tremendous and the start of a wonderful series. I was wrong. This book doesn't even seem like Kay Hooper wrote it. The characters are one-dimensional. The plot was half-done and skipped. She started off moving smoothly with Morgan and Quinn, but ended up basing the entire story on a romance between Wolff and Storm ( two characters that had no chemistry ). We end up hearing about Storm's boring Louisiana up bringing and Wolff's constant whining. Once Kay started dwelling on the scenes with Storm's cat Bear I knew she must have run out of a decent plot. To me it was like she tried to make a sequel out of a book that should have only been done once. Once A Thief went nowhere with a bunch of endless dialogue. I still don't understand why Storm and Wolff took up the first book because you hardly heard about them in the second. It all made me go; " Now what's the point of this? " If you don't understand why I've said that, read the book. I can guarantee you'll say that to yourself at least five times. The sad thing is there wasn't a point to the characters or the entire story. Quinn was the most interesting, yet arrogant character. I also didn't buy him as this world famous cat burgular because he put his life on the line for too many stupid things. Kay what happened?

I am a Kay Hooper fan and have read and enjoyed most of her books. I was looking forward to reading "Once A Thief," and now that I completed it, I find myself disappointed with both the novel and the author. Ms. Hooper writes, in an Author's Note, that ten years ago she wrote various short novels for Bantam's Loveswept Romance series. She became attached to one of her Loveswept heroes, Quinn, A Cary Grant-like cat burglar, right out of "To Catch A Thief," and felt that she would like to work with him again. This book is a rewrite, and supposedly an improvement over the first attempt, where the author felt limited by the series' restrictions.

There is very little about Quinn in this novel. Neither he, nor his love interest, nor his capers figure prominently. He appears briefly, to meet and rescue Morgan, the exhibit director of a priceless collection scheduled to be featured as the "Mysteries Past" exhibit at a prestigious San Francisco museum. Morgan stayed after hours to catch up on work, and, as she was leaving she interrupted a robbery in progress. Quinn, who had been casing the premises, was also present to observe the robbery. He saved her from being discovered and they discover there is strong mutual attraction. They meet again on a few minor occasions, where he kisses her and steals her favorite necklace. Another time she rescues him from a kidnapping. That's it, that's about all for Morgan and Quinn, in this book that supposedly features him. The characters are just dropped, as are the readers, and told to wait for book two, the sequel. I do not mind sequels. I do mind buying a book to read about a character, and then being told that I have to buy another to get what I originally paid for. I take exception when a book does not stand on its own merit. I do not believe that "Once A Thief" is a complete novel. It is more like Part #1...to be continued.

The main story revolves around Wolfe Nickerson, the collection owner's half-brother. He is a security expert at Lloyd's of London, and responsible for supervising the security of "Mysteries Past." He is not even featured in the book's synopsis on the back cover. He gets involved with Storm Tremaine, (Who thinks up these names? And how can a character with a name like this be believable?), a computer expert from Ace Security, installing a super-system for the super exhibit. She is really working for Interpol, however, and attempting to bait Quinn to rob the collection so that he can finally be captured.

A ho-hum, predictable plot, cardboard characters, except for Quinn...but we don't have too much of him to sink our teeth into...metaphorically, of course. So what we get with "Once A Thief" is one-half of a book...and not the right half to boot. I refuse to buy the next installment, on principle alone. It is a shame that Ms. Hooper did not accomplish what she stated in her Author's Note. Quinn is fascinating, and I do understand why she wanted to write more about him.

For those of you Kay Hooper fans, Once A Thief may seem a
bit confusing. There is a reason for this, this story is a kind
of repeat. Kay Hooper wrote FOUR stories for Loveswept Books in 1993. She called it the "Men Of Mysteries Past" series. These
book titles were "The Touch Of Max", "Hunting The Wolf", "The
Trouble With Jared", and "All For Quin".
Once A Thief, Is a kind of combination of the first two books.
This is not a reprint exactly. There are just different in-depth
details that you did not get in the origial publication.
I really enjoyed this book because it expanded on a story that
I really love to read. I hope this helps to explain the confusion
of more than one sub plot, because there are several there to keep you guessing. By the way you will love the ending!!!!

I couldn't wait for the opportunity to write this review!!! I travel a lot in my job, so I keep a book with me for airport waits & to fill time between meetings. I made the mistake of buying 'Once A Thief'. Not only did it contain characters that were never developed (there is great potential), but a story line that was left dangling as well. I am a bit resentful about having purchased a book with no conclusion. The fact that it was a two part story should have been made obvious so that I could determine whether it was a reasonable purchase at the time. Better yet, why not just wait until the characters are developed and there is an ending and put it all in one book?

At the end of the book I sat in the airport feeling unsatified and tricked.

other reviewers have covered the storyline well, so I'll add just a few points.

1-almost no storyline-just jumping between the TWO couples interacting, or fighting, with each other. There was not enough story for one couple, much less two. Even with that, none of the characters worked together-they just argued, and then made out, of course.

2-inconsistencies-for supposedly modern, intelligent characters, the author has them doing implausible, immature actions. The biggest wrong move-the heroine-whose the exhibit curator, who says she'll do anything to protect the exhibit, but she immediately falls for the thief who plainly states he's going to ransack the exhibit? Save me from stupid heroines!

not recommended-1.5 stars.

There is no plot, just to clarify for the later readers of this review. Alas, this is the first of Hooper's books I've read and it might be the last the way was written.

Oh yeah, a plot summary: The main idea is that there's this woman who's a curator for a museum, and she has this nagging "feeling" that something is amiss. Call it intuition if you wish. She might be feeling spooked because she has this giant exhibit quickly approaching and that there is a lot at stake if something gets messed up. So about that "feeling"...She goes on a date w/ this guy who, coincidentally is also a curator for a museum (no!) and along the way, her date gets knocked out and she suddenly comes face-to-face with the very debonair superthief Quinn.

Now, I might be a party pooper or something around those lines, but the way the story was written it absolutely posivitely did not, in any way, shape, or form, follow the back of this book. When the book says: she meets a thief and finds secrets, everyone is like, alllllrighty then and moves on. But the plot doesn't even follow that. In short, she meets the thief and falls in love with him, which doesn't make sense because he IS a thief and he IS after her museum.

I guess that the Quinn thing was annoying because the dialouge did not follow a sense of realism. If you were racing down a darkened museum hallway running from someone w/ a gun and suddenly someone just grabbed you, chances are minutes later you would not be having a fine and festive and suggestive conversation. This book, says "Realism, what's that?" and goes about its unrealism anyway. It just didn't seem real that what was happening in this book was happening. I guess what I'm saying is that if my review is confusing (which it is, even I have trouble following it) than it is because this book is confusing. The plot drifts. It drags. It all but throws itself off a building to get your attention. And maybe it succeeds. I must admit, I did read this book in one day, but most of the time I'd stop on a page and skim forward to see if anything, anything at all, had a spark of action. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. However, this book just didn't add up.

It tried to be a mystery, but wound up being a poorly done romance, and I must say, that genre is something I despise... which might be why the grade is 2**, not even one, mind you.

So, if there are better Hooper books, then please, suggest them to me and spare me from this. This is one of her books that just does not add up and, as a result, leaves very befuddled readers in its wake.

I was a little confused at first but after reading the review posted before mine, now, I understand it all better. So, I re-read the book again and just loved it! I suggest that anyone who felt confused at first with this story after reading it to re-read it. You will understand!

Couldn't put the book down. I read both Once a Thief, and Always a Thief in two days, I just wish Kay Hooper would write more books about Quinn.