# Recommend me a caper/heist novel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123 "2016-09-05T20:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/21 "2016-09-06T17:19:35Z")
The latest of the Dresden Files books, _Skin Game_, is a great heist novel. But it’s likely to fall rather flat if you aren’t already familiar with the series and the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/22 "2016-09-06T17:56:12Z")
Elmore Leonard wrote a few capers. [ul] [li]_Pagan Babies_ - a not-entirely moral missionary hopes to rebuild his Rwandan compound by enlisting the help of a comedienne in Detroit to swindle money from local wise guys.[/li][li]_Pronto_ and _Riding the Rap_ involve the character Raylan Givens, the US Marshall on which the series \*Justified \*was based.[/li][li]_Get Shorty_ - adapted into film, this story is about Chili Palmer, a loanshark who breaks into a horror movie producer’s home to lean on him and collect, but winds up pitching an idea for a movie to him based on his own rl experiences. The caper element is more how Chili manipulates underworld figures and DEA agents into encountering each other while making away with the spoils to finance his movie.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/23 "2016-09-06T18:51:18Z")
Fourth the recommendation for the Dortmunder series. The regulars at the OJ Bar & Grill. Here’s a sample: > **[Mery Xma’s at the OJ Bar & Grill — Daniela V Gitlin](https://www.danielagitlin.com/home/2011/12/17/mery-xmas-at-the-oj-bar-grill.html)** > > "I believe my subject is bewilderment. But I could be wrong." Donald E. Westlake 1933-2008 Yesterday, while doing time in the seasonally long checkout line at the supermarket, Christmas muzak forced itself in my ears: It’s the MOST wonderFUL TIME... > **[Don't Ask](https://books.google.com/books?id=-6jh6vmsoiQC&pg=PA280&lpg=PA280&dq=OJ%2Bbar%2Band%2Bgrill%2Bregulars&source=bl&ots=-EcHPVzUyV&sig=jOP-BXeKyFPcSnTklY4_qFGKBUE&hl=xx-bork&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF8-L7sPvOAhVL9WMKHX_2BAIQ6AEIOzAG#v=onepage&q=OJ%20bar%20and%20grill%20regulars&f=false)** > > Dortmunder has a job offer. He's been hired by third parties to pull off heists in the past, but never to lay his hands on anything this peculiar. Frankly, it's a bone. Not just any bone. A femur. Well, not just any femur, either. A femur which, 800... and one of my favorites: the OJ B&G’s version of Muslim heaven [http://www.donaldwestlake.com/watch-your-back/watch-your-back-chapter-one/](http://www.donaldwestlake.com/watch-your-back/watch-your-back-chapter-one/) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/24 "2016-09-06T19:02:48Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > I’m talking about movies like _Now You See Me_, \*Ocean’s 11+\*n, _Inside Man_, _The Italian Job_, _Who’s Minding the Mint?_, _Topkapi_, etc. > > And I realize that many of those films were based on novels, but I’m looking for more contemporary works. _Quick Change_, the '90s heist movie with Bill Murray, was based on an '80s novel. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/25 "2016-09-06T19:57:00Z")
Thank you all for the suggestions. Lots to go on here. > [@The\_Tooth](#): > > _Neuromancer_. Really? I’ve heard of it, of course, but had no idea there was a caper involved. > [@Xema](#): > > Not contemporary (it was written in 1971), but _The Day of the Jackal_ by Frederick Forsyth is highly recommended. It tends to be categorized as a political thriller, but can certainly qualify as an intricate “caper” novel. :smack: One of my two all-time favorite thrillers, but I’d never realized that what I love about it is what I love about good capers. Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/26 "2016-09-06T19:57:39Z")
The Woo and Durang novels by Ross Thomas are long con/caper novels, and his McCorkle and Padillo novels are rife with political intrigue, as are most of his other novels. I miss Ross Thomas (d.1995) and would appreciate any recommendations of similar authors by Dopers. What makes him distinctive are his complex characters, mood, and insider knowledge of back room, real world politics. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/27 "2016-10-05T18:12:37Z")
I just enjoyed Garth Nix’s short story “A Cargo of Ivories,” a clever magical-heist fantasy tale, in the collection _Rogues_, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. Left me with a big smile. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/28 "2016-10-05T19:09:38Z")
_Sexy Beast_. I remember it being a very cool movie. A “bank job” film. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/29 "2016-10-05T19:14:40Z")
The Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch - The Lies of Locke Lomora - Red Seas under Red Skies - The Republic of Thieves These are a combination of fantasy and caper/heist. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/30 "2016-10-05T19:43:01Z")
_Thirteen_ by Richard K. Morgan (this was published as _Black Man_in the UK) (This story is told from the perspective of the detective trying to figure out what happened; this is science fiction) _The Fractal Prince_ by Hannu Rajaniemi (this story is told from the perspective of the thief who is trying to figure out what happened; this is science fiction) _Ghostman_ by Roger Hobbs (debut novel; story told from perspective of a getaway driver) _Prince of Thieves_ by Chuck Hogan (this was made into the film _The Town_ by Ben Affleck a few years ago) _Thick As Thieves_ by Peter Spiegelman (ex-CIA guy organizes a massive planet-wide theft) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123/31 "2016-10-06T03:52:29Z")
Another vote for Westlake – _The Hot Rock_ was the first thing I thought of. _[Metzger’s Dog](https://www.amazon.com/Metzgers-Dog-Novel-Thomas-Perry/dp/0812967747)_, by Thomas Perry, isn’t exactly contemporay – I first read it thirty years ago – but it’s great fun as a gang of small-time crooks take on the CIA. It’s one that I reread every few years. ETA: _[Blood Money](https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Money-Jane-Whitefield-Book/dp/0804115419/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=A48DGCD9TA8BC5N99K6T)_, also by Thomas Perry. A former Mafia accountant who kept every transaction in his head, rather than on paper, istrying to get away from the mob. With the money – which he’s going to give to charity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-caper-heist-novel/765123.md?page=1)