Love and Theft

Praise

“A dark jewel, polished and precision-cut, beloved faces reflected in each glossy facet: Don Winslow, Elmore Leonard, Nelson DeMille. Love and Theft pays tribute to classic capers — and rivals the best of them for verve and ingenuity. A breathless adventure both starry-eyed and cool-blooded, both charming and diabolical. More, please.”
–A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

“Tight, beautifully written, and crackling with full-throttle tension, Love and Theft knocked me out. An electrifying novel. Stan Parish has the stuff. For real.”
— Robert Crais, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“The story opens on a kaleidoscopic set piece worthy of a James Bond movie as directed by Robert Altman. . . Love and Theft is expertly and (a rarer accomplishment) artfully written. . . A precision-cut sentence can quicken the reader’s pulse as reliably as a surprise twist or a character’s excruciating dilemma. When a novel delivers all of the above — as Love and Theft ultimately does, its racecar engine revving to a smooth and satisfying purr — it can feel to the reader like a kind of miracle. In a word: thrilling.“ 
–The New York Times Book Review

“Hurrah! Love and Theft is pure pleasure from the first page to the last.”
—The Sunday Times (UK)

“Love and Theft . . . manages the alchemy of racing narrative momentum with plenty of style, street smarts, and truly fine prose.”
–Interview

“A slick, snappily written thriller. . . . What puts Love and Theft head and shoulders above the average thriller is that characterisation is never sacrificed in the cause of momentum: even the bit-part players are fleshed out, often in a matter of sentences, and by the time jeopardy looms for Alex and Diane we are entirely invested in them both.”
—The Guardian
 
“Some books leave you nervous with tension. Then there is Love And Theft, which cranks the anxiety up to 11. A chance meeting between a businesswoman and an armed robber sparks a relationship. But Alex Cassidy and Diane Alison don’t realise they have a shared history–one that could threaten everything they love. With one final heist thrown into the mix, there are thrills, spills, terrific characters and a plot to keep you guessing. 4 STARS.”
—The Sun
 
“Stan Parish’s caper just gets everything right: intricate plotting, a wonderful set of believable as well as often seductive characters and non-stop action with a gentle tongue in cheek attitude. All the right ingredients are present, but his gentle, unassuming touch turns what can sometimes be worn clichés into a most satisfying cocktail of likeable villainy that evokes Elmore Leonard at his best. . . . Escapist but unputdownable, this is a fast but rewarding read and an absolute pleasure.”
–Crime Time

“Well now! I just read the next great American crime novelist. Love and Theft is a smart, electric, totally original tale that I absolutely could not put down. To put it simply, this is a fast, fantastic, entirely satisfying read. Fans of Elmore Leonard rejoice. Stan Parish has arrived!” 
–Christopher Reich, New York Times bestselling author of the Simon Riske novels
 
“This terrific page-turner has it all: wonderful characters, frenetic pace, blood-curdling tension, cinematic action, and hugely satisfying twists. Highly recommended.”
–Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats

“An absolute knockout. Love and Theft is the tightly plotted, brilliantly entertaining, stay-up-all-night thriller I’ve been waiting for. Stan Parish delivers on every level.”
–Cristina Alger, New York Times bestselling author of The Banker’s Wife and Girls Like Us

“Love and Theft is the caper thriller we’ve all been waiting for—lean, sophisticated, ice-cold, endlessly surprising. What took it so long to get here?”
–Lincoln Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A suave thriller… Parish writes delicious dialogue, by turns droll, sexy and menacing, in this whip-smart, wild ride with no loose ends.”
–NJ Monthly

“Parish has crafted one of the strongest contributions in recent memory to a genre much-beloved here at CrimeReads: the heist novel… Parish manages to weave together genuinely compelling arcs of crime and complicated human entanglements.”
–CrimeReads

“…like Don Winslow, Parish is both a hard-bitten storyteller and a very good writer. A drug-altered scene “liquefies and darkens like sugar over heat.” And the plot heats up just right. A hard-boiled thriller that’s equally good at love and theft.”
–Kirkus

“Well-developed characters, relentless pacing, palpable levels of tension throughout, and a notable closing twist make this a winner. Parish is a thriller writer to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This is one of the best novels of the year thus far, worthy of your time, money and undivided attention . . . Love and Theft will make you want to be a thief when you grow up. It’s that good.”
–Book Reporter

“Old-fashioned escapism in the form of a classic crime caper. A high-octane Las Vegas jewel heist, a drug cartel closing in, hard-partying protagonists drinking away their pasts, all articulated in pacey staccato dialogue against a backdrop of pool parties, Mexican beach retreats and Mediterranean marinas. For those who like their beach reads hard-boiled and fast-paced.”
–Robb Report

“Love and Theft is the kind of thriller I was afraid people had stopped writing: a novel that’s as taut as it is elegant, as ruthless as it is big-hearted. Parish has brought back the ice-cold crime capers of decades past with panache. Try to put it down after ten pages—I dare you.”
–John Fram, author of The Bright Lands