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Prince of Thieves: A Novel [Hardcover]

Chuck Hogan
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)


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Book Description

August 10, 2004

The men wear masks. Their guns are drawn on the bank manager. She nervously recites the alarm code, and the tumblers within the huge vault fall. The timing and execution are brilliant. It could be the perfect heist. But as the huge sum of cash is stolen, so too is one man's heart -- and that man is the Prince of Thieves...

Charlestown, a blue-collar Boston neighborhood, produces more bank robbers and armored car thieves than any square mile in the world. In this gripping, intricately plotted thriller, Claire Keesey, the branch manager for a Boston bank and one of an influx of young professionals chipping away at the neighborhood's insularity, is taken hostage during a robbery. She is released, but Doug MacRay, the brains behind the tough, tight-knit crew of thieves, can't get her out of his mind. Tracking her down without his mask and gun, Doug introduces himself, and as soon as he and Claire meet, their mutual attraction is undeniable -- as are the risks of a relationship.

Meanwhile, Doug's crew pulls off another audacious, meticulously planned job. Frustrated by their ingenuity and brazen ambition, FBI Agent Adam Frawley begins to zero in on Doug and his pals -- and against his own better judgment, he, too, develops more than a professional interest in Claire.

Under pressure from Frawley's ever-closer investigation, Doug imagines a life for himself away from bank robberies and Charlestown. But before that can happen, the crew learns that there may be a way to rob Boston's venerable baseball stadium, Fenway Park. It's a magnificently dangerous and utterly irresistible opportunity -- yet for Doug, pursuing his former hostage may be the most dangerous act of all...

Chuck Hogan's brash tale of four men -- thieves, rivals, friends -- being hunted through the streets of Boston by a tenacious FBI agent, and the woman who may destroy them all, is a spectacular, stylish, heart-pounding thriller.



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The dark third novel by the author of The Standoff isn't the fast-paced thriller it's marketed to be. It is, rather, a story of doomed love focusing on Doug MacRay, a Boston-based career thief (he comes from Charlestown, "a breeding ground for bank and armored-car robbers") who becomes enamored with the manager of the bank he and his pals have just robbed. Claire Keesey, who has been badly traumatized by the robbery, later begins to develop feelings for him as well, unaware that a masked MacRay was the lead perpetrator in the heist that turned her life upside down. Hogan then leads readers through a long-winded labyrinth of inner reflection as Doug spends much of the book pondering whether he should quit the criminal life in order to pursue a deeper relationship with Claire. This undermines the suspense that crime fiction requires, and the novel is overlong by more than half. Although some characters are quite lively, most of them (including Doug) are not very sympathetic, and the end brings tragedy for many of them. All the same, the author's original writing style and knack for unusual metaphors can make for engaging reading, and the book's cinematic quality and grittily realistic action sequences bode well for its day on screen (it's been optioned by Law & Order producer Dick Wolf).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* If Blood Artists (1998) was a weak follow-up to his crackling 1995 debut Standoff, Hogan is back on track in this moody, resonant thriller that cleverly begins and ends in the same place. Doug, Dez, Jem, and Gloansy have been tight since childhood, growing up tough and street-smart in a rough, working-class Irish enclave where "bringing home the bacon" means stealing it from a local bank. Like his father, Doug is a thief, planning ever more sophisticated gigs for his buddies--as much for the high as for the money. The local bank should have been a piece of cake, but Doug's falling in love with bank manager Claire Keesey wasn't part of the plan. Nor did Doug expect a romantic adversary in the person of robbery investigator Adam Frawley. It's not entirely clear why both men fall for Claire, who's barely on stage. But there's no doubt about Hogan's ability to blend weighty emotions with riveting shoot-outs as he depicts a complicated man, noble and villainous by turns, trapped in a life he desperately wants to change. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 364 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (August 10, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 074326455X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743264556
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chuck Hogan is the New York Times bestselling author of several acclaimed novels, including THE TOWN (aka PRINCE OF THIEVES) and DEVILS IN EXILE. THE TOWN was awarded the Hammett Prize for excellence in crime writing, and made into the movie starring Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, and Jon Hamm. He is also the co-author, with Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, of the internationally bestselling STRAIN trilogy: THE STRAIN, THE FALL, and THE NIGHT ETERNAL.

Customer Reviews

I'm the kind of person who likes to read the book before the movie. Ethan  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
The crafting of this story is masterful. John R. Linnell  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic psychological thriller! August 23, 2004
Format:Hardcover
A couple of years ago I picked up Hogan's debut-novel The Standoff and put is away after 150 pages because it was just plain boring and unbelievable. After that I tried again with The Blood Artists because of its interesting premise, but this time I also lost interest very quickly and decided that Hogan just wasn't it for me. But two weeks ago I found myself at Logan Airport in Boston when Prince of Thieves had just hit the stands. Because of its interesting storyline, the glowing reviews by King, Deaver and McBain and especially the fact that the story took place in Boston (which I had just visited) I bought the book on a whim and never regretted it!

Prince of Thieves is not your typical action thriller but a wonderful psychological profile of some very disturbed young men. It describes wonderfully how the protagonist tries to get out of a criminal life because of the love for a woman (that he met during his last criminal caper). The internal struggle he goes through is very believable and presents a wonderful perspective on human nature.

All in all, a very satisfying story that rises far above the numerous summer beach thrillers. I have no doubt that the story of Doug and his friends will stay with me for a long time (and that's a compliment coming from someone who reads app. 100 books a year). Wonderful book, Chuck, and I will definitely keep my eye open for your next one!!!
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30 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Charlestown, a blue collar Boston neighborhood, produces more bank robbers and armored car thieves than any square mile in the world." So begins Chuck Hogan's compelling novel "Prince of Thieves".

The day after the 100th running of the Boston Marathon, Claire Keesey, a branch manager for a Boston bank, walks into her bank to start her day. And what a start it is! She is met by four men in horribly scarred masks and told to open the vault. She does this reluctantly, and in the midst of the robbery she is able to initiate the silent alarm. However, one of the robbers has a wire into the alarms and alerts the others. They finish taking the money; leaving the top layers of monies that are marked and take Claire as a hostage. On the way out one of the robbers beats the assistant manager thinking he was the one to set the alarm. All of this is registered in Claire's memory. Claire is released unhurt but with residual psychological damage.

The robbers are four friends, born and brought up in Charlestown. Three have violent backgrounds and have spent time in jail. The leader is Doug MacKay. Jimmy "Jem" Coughlin and Freddy "Gloansy" Magloan are the toughies- Mirth or Menace they are called. Des Elden is the brain of the group, recruited by Doug. Des works for Nynex, a lineman who knows how to connect to anything and anybody. They all have a history, date the same girls, drink at the same Irish clubs, and all agree that the influx of young professionals into Charlestown is not a good thing. They are pricing the locals out of their mother's homes and succeeding where the British have failed- driving them out of their neighborhood.

Doug MacKay, the leader can't get Claire Keesey out of his mind. She is lovely, intelligent and wouldn't back down until she was threatened. He develops a relationship with Claire and they fall in love. How can this work? These two so very different souls. Claire has no idea that Doug is one of the robbers and that is how the suspense builds. Into the midst comes FBI agent Adam Frawley, in charge of all bank robberies. He too becomes fond of Claire. Agent Frawley is smart and he is intent upon "getting his man". It is not until the robbers look at taking on Fenway Park, a magnificently dangerous opportunity that leaks and clues becomes apparent.

Church Hogan has written a marvelous book. The characters are richly drawn and you can see them in your mind-the action, and the mystery all come alive. The old neighborhoods of Boston and Charlestown are engraved in memory. And to top it all off, we learn about effective, studious robbers versus lazy robbers. The "ins and outs" of the robbery world, so to speak. A book to be read in one sitting, if you can, it is hard to put down.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 08-24-04

The Killing Moon: A Novel

Devils in Exile: A Novel
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book March 15, 2009
Format:Paperback
I won't go into detail on what this book is about, since other reviewers have done so. An excellent read. If you like Dennis LaHane you're gonna love this one. One of those books I didn't want to finish it was so good.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Slow start
Slow to get started, but seriously picks up towards the middle. Interesting insight on Boston bank robbers, better read than the movie.
Published 4 months ago by Janine Ellenbeck
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book ever
Way better than the movie, which was also really good. Literally the best book ever written. Read the book and then watch the movie. Its better if you read the book first.
Published 4 months ago by Readerrabbitt
4.0 out of 5 stars Crime drama, character study, and all-around awesome book!
I took a chance on this book, even though I'm not usually a fan of crime novels or mysteries, and was very pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jennifer Buchanan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Arrived quickly. I liked the book, but the movie is also great! The movie ending is a bit different, but I liked them both equally.
Published 5 months ago by D. Flores
4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, particularly for Boston fans
I bought this book and read it without realizing it was the basis for the Ben Affleck movie, "The Town. Read more
Published 5 months ago by W. Carlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Macray on the outs
Charlestown Massechuttess, a cradle of freedom in America is home to the East coasts armed robbers its also the home of Doug Macray a once promising hockey star turned armed robber... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Arctos
3.0 out of 5 stars The Town
I saw the movie first and I would have to say that I liked the movie more than the book. Don't get me wrong this was a good book, but I just thought the movie was better.
Published 6 months ago by Timothy E. Eickholt
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, different details than "The Town"
This is a very well-written and interesting book about a four-man crew of robbers pulling heists in the general vicinity of Boston, MA. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ammason_at_gmail
3.0 out of 5 stars practically bio of anthony Shea and no name game
Anthony Shea and the No Name Game (the real charelstown gang look em up). all his heists and getaway methods with switchs and cover ups reads just like he copied the case files... Read more
Published 7 months ago by shea
5.0 out of 5 stars this is a gr8 read
this book is such a great read from start to end, u can just picture every sentence in your head like playing a movie. you can see why this book was chosen for a motion picture. Read more
Published 11 months ago by chino
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