House Of Thieves by Charles Belfoure

House Of Thieves by Charles Belfoure – 432 pages

Book Blurb:

In 1886 New York, a respectable architect shouldn’t have any connection to the notorious gang of thieves and killers that rules the underbelly of the city. But when John Cross’s son racks up an unfathomable gambling debt to Kent’s Gents, Cross must pay it back himself. All he has to do is use his inside knowledge of high society mansions and museums to craft a robbery even the smartest detectives won’t solve. The take better include some cash too —the bigger the payout, the faster this will be over.

With a newfound talent for sniffing out vulnerable and lucrative targets, Cross becomes invaluable to the gang. But Cross’s entire life has become a balancing act, and it will only take one mistake for it all to come crashing down —and for his family to go down too.

My Review: 4 stars

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House Of Thieves is an exciting novel by Charles Belfoure, author of The Paris Architect, which was one of my 2014 favorites. This novel differs from his prior work in both pace and its less serious tone, even though people are getting “knocked-0ff” with ease.

The story seemed quite believable in that your life circumstances can change within moments and the ease at which one can adapt to these unforeseeable changes. Additionally, this book shows us how our perception of others can differ immensely from what is really going on.

For me, the introduction of architecture from the late 19^th century in New York was wonderfully described and to whom the buildings were attributed was an added bonus. Honestly, until I started doing the architectural tours on Chicago River every summer, I hadn’t paid much attention to design characteristics, changes and facades of my beautiful city. Now, I’m much more attentive and I applaud Belfoure for bringing architecture design to the masses.

This book took me a while to get into but once it did, I was hooked. I found the inside look into the socialites decorum fascinating: from the dress, the dining, to the coming out parties. Of course, there were several scenes that felt far-fetched, yet I didn’t mind one bit. The goal of fiction is to take me out of my reality and this certainly did the job.

Quotes I liked:

“A girl’s beauty assures her brilliant future. It’s the most important possession a girl can have.”

“A girl like her doesn’t need college. She’s already too educated. Men don’t want a wife cleverer than they are.”

“He knew his wife thought her daughter’s literary aspirations a serious impediment to a successful marriage.”