Customer Reviews

Reluctant Burglar (To Catch a Thief Series #1)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jill Elizabeth Nelson's novel, The Reluctant Burglar, is a fast paced, tightly written mystery that will intrigue the reader from the first little bit of trickery to the final disclosure. Desiree Jacobs is a character you will come to love as she uses all her wiles and tricks as a security expert to uncover the truth. The clues lead in directions she doesn't want to go, but her search for truth pulls anyway. Not even able to trust her best friend or her growing feelings for FBI agent Tony, Desiree finds herself in a situation after situation that tests everything she has ever learned. Was her father a thief? Is her best friend actually her worst enemy? Does Tony return her feelings for him? Read about these and other escapades as Desiree doesn't wait on help from authorities, but takes matters in her own hands and almost winds up a victim herself. It's all here, romance, intrigue, comedy, high-stakes thrills, stirring mystery, and fast-moving action. Don't miss it.

Desiree Jacobs is an art thief. She steals rare and valuable paintings for a living--and then returns them. The daughter and protegee of security company guru Hiram Jacobs can do no less. Each successful heist, whether it be from a museum or a private collection, proves the need for the security their company can provide. Hiram has built an international business of loyal clients, and Desiree is fast following in his footsteps. Her father means everything to her. And her greatest goal is to emulate his skills, integrity, and faith.

But when her father is found murdered in his Rome hotel room, Desiree's bubble bursts. Could her father really have been involved in a professional art theft ring? The FBI certainly things so, and now their sites are set on Desiree. Like father, like daughter. Surely they were in it together. How can she convince them of her innocence? And how can she right her father's wrongs without the FBI knowing?

I was compelled to read Reluctant Burglar for its premise. What suspense fan wouldn't salivate when art theft, museum security, FBI investigations, and murder all appear in the same novel? And the art aspects of the book really do steal the show. Not only does Nelson impart interesting facts from the art world, but she actually shows us some of the techniques Desiree uses to remove the paintings rather than glossing over the details.

Desiree Jacobs is a plucky heroine who reminds me of a grown up (and slightly more vulnerable) Nancy Drew. She's independent and adventurous but still shows her human side when doubts surface. And her attraction to special agent Tony Lucano is something she can't fight, as much as she might want to. Admittedly, there were a few times Tony's attraction for his prime suspect strayed from what I would expect from a professional FBI agent, but this is what you'd expect in a romantic suspense novel.

There's never a dull moment in Burglar (thriller readers applaud), but this is definitely a romantic suspense novel. If you're a romance fan and have been looking to branch out, Burglar would be a great selection. Its violence is minimal and for the most part kept "off screen", and there's a nice mix of humorous banter with the more serious plot aspects.

A fresh, exciting, and fun novel, Reluctant Burglar will break into your life and steal your time and sleep. But that's a good thing.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk

Add Jill Elizabth Nelson to your list of favorite mystery authors. Her RELUCTANT BURGLAR sparks your curiosity with the first page, where she introduces a very questionable heroine, and then she seizes you with a hole-free plot that zooms along. Nelson's characters are both easy to believe in and easy to like, though they'll keep on surprising you even after you think you have them figured out. Nelson also delivers a big plus in today's anything-goes world--a fun-to-read book you can recommend without a single caveat about language or values.

This is a wonderful book. From the beginning I was drawn in to Desiree's desire to clear her father's name. Having good-looking FBI agent Tony chasing after her made this a difficult situation.

Jill Nelson has done a superb job weaving a growing romance into an excellent mystery. I had no clue who the bad guy was until I had nearly reached the revelation in the book. I love it when the mystery is just that.

This is a terrific book and a must have for every mystery reader!

"Reluctant Burglar" has mystery, romanse, suspense, humor, and even some cool educational facts! And Jill allows God's miraculous personality to shine throughout it all. Definitely a must read!

I have to agree with one of the other reviewers--I stayed up way past midnight to finish this book. Desiree Jacobs and Special Agent Tony Lucano both seem very real to me. I enjoyed their capers vicariously and can't wait for the sequel. This book is a satisfying love story that grows amid mayhem and murder with so many twists you don't know whom to trust! Don't be "reluctant" to buy this book--you'll be glad you did.

When I read this book, I thought I'd enjoy it, but I really didn't expect to be unable to put it down. From the first chapter, Jill Nelson does a great job of sucking you into the world of art security, but more importantly of making you care about Desi Jacobs. Through all the twists and turns that make it a caper ala The Thomas Crown Affair, I hoped that somehow Desi would find a way out of what looked to be an impossible situation.

She's surrounded by trouble on all sides, from FBI agent Tony Lucano, who has been bent on exposing Desi and her father for months, to a coworker who may not be what she seems. Who can Desi trust as she tries to make the right decision? The faith elements in this book flow very naturally from each of the twists. And the point of view shifts quickly so you know what each key character is thinking as the action picks up. That alone kept the pace of the book moving. Then you have more twists than a tornado slide in Kansas.

If you buy this book, and you like a good mystery with lots of twists, I think you will enjoy it. I'm already looking forward to the next installment in the series!

Reluctant Burglar lures the reader in with an intriguing, albeit recycled plotline:

Single, thirty-something Desiree Jacobs, runs a well respected security company, with her father Hiram Jacobs. But after just having successfully secured a new client, Desiree learns that her father has been murdered. Before long, the truth about her father is revealed. Hiram Jacobs was in fact an art thief, who for years had been replacing priceless antiquities, with cunning forgeries.

Unwilling to go to the authorities with this information and destroy her families' business, Desiree sets out alone to try and uncover her father's killer.

It became clear by the second page however, that I was in for an unpleasant ride. Rarely does one come across a published work that is so poorly written. I was so distracted by the various grammatical mistakes and stylistic fumbles by the end of the first chapter that I found myself unable to concentrate on the storyline.

Each paragraph is so stuffed with unnecessary periods, misplaced and missing punctuation and fragmented sentences that one has to wonder if the manuscript ever saw an editor's red ink. I am inclined to think that it hasn't, since most of the problems are something that the average computer word processor can catch.

The writing style is equally amateurish, giving one the nagging feeling that they are reading something penned by a reasonably literate ninth grader, as the book trips over the most basic points taught in a creative writing class.

The two main protagonist; Desiree and FBI agent Tony Lucano, are lifeless, one dimensional characters, who fall for each other with a rapidity that's ridiculous even for the romance genre. They do so while ultimately failing to undergo the character growth that is the cornerstone of fictional literature.

An earlier reviewer stated that Desiree's character reminded her of a "grown up" Nancy Drew. I'm inclined to agree, but not with the same fondness that the other reader did. Desiree Jacobs is indeed very similar to Nancy Drew. Similar that is, in her overblown naiveté and general lack of normal human emotions and reactions.

A similarity can also be found in the fact that, although the author usually denies us any description of the characters' surroundings, we are constantly given commentary on the heroine's costume changes. Not details that are strictly necessary in a book centered on anything other than the modeling industry.


Then we have Agent Tony Lucano, who is easily the most laughable part of the entire book. Dear Tony is the ultimate cardboard cutout of the Disney brand, manly man hero. He would perhaps have seemed slightly less ludicrous, if the author had resisted the urge to let us in on the working of his brain. Many female authors fall victim to a lack of understanding on the workings of the male brain, this case is no exception. Clearly the author meant to keep this book "squeaky clean" as far as sexuality was concerned, but doing so while giving commentary on a man's thoughts was dare I say, not a wise choice. Under the circumstances it would have been better to leave what was going through Tony's brain, up to the reader's imagination. Instead we are tortured with page, after page of something that sounds like the thoughts of a sexually stunted preteen girl, rather than a grown man.

One is also left wondering how our hero ever made it through Quantico, as time and time again he stumbles over law enforcement procedure and demonstrates a general lack of understanding as to how the FBI operates. Clearly this is not an aspect of the storyline that any real research went into.


The background characters are equally underdeveloped. Each a more flamboyant caricature than the next: Be it Desiree's friend, the stereotypically "southern" southerner or Tony's partner, who is the spitting image of every bitter, drunken, police detective to have ever graced the movie screens.


The unbelievable Characters, coupled with the flaccid, typo ridden writing style and the smattering of random hokey dialog, had me simultaneously laughing aloud and wanting to throw all three hundred, fifty-two pages worth of book, against the wall.


Ultimately, Reluctant Burglar fails on all fronts.

It spends too much time repetitively bludgeoning the reader with religion, to actually be religiously inspirational.

For Romance, it's too vanilla to draw so much as an "aw" from even the most romantically minded of readers.

As for being a thriller, well...let just say that somewhere, Robert Ludlum is turning over in his grave.

[...].

I had been wanting to read 'Reluctant Burglar' for awhile, but never got around to reading it until just recently because I finally had the time.

I found the plot very interesting - Desi's father is accused of stealing expensive art, but Desi didn't believe it until her father is murdered and she finds the stolen art. She then decides to return the stolen art to the rightful owners - by secretly swapping it with the frauds that had gone unnoticed.

Combine that with a handsome FBI agent and a hint of romance between Desi and him, and 'Reluctant Burglar' looked to be a promising read.

I enjoyed the book, but I think it started out a bit slow and took awhile to get to the main plot. When I was midway through, 'Reluctant Burglar' became very good.

I loved the characters and I kept trying to guess who 'The Chief' was, but I ended up being wrong. :( There were many twists, a lot of drama, little hints of romance, and suspense which kept me intrigued.

Jill Elizabeth Nelson wrote a great novel that I think would keep most mystery lovers happy! I thought I had the culprits figured out; but by the final revelation, I realized I only had one culprit slightly right.

Overall, I recommend 'Reluctant Burglar' if you enjoy mysteries.

Art stole her heart . . . Now can she return the favor? Desiree Jacobs faces a ring of cutthroat art thieves and accepts help from the man she most distrusts in her attempt to return priceless art to the rightful owners. An unusual twist to a clever plot. An entertaining read. I loved this story--in fact I loved the whole series. Well done Jill!