BOOK REVIEW - The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket by Mark Nutter
Book Title: The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket by Mark Nutter
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 296 pages
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Publisher: BookBaby
Release date: June 2025
Content Rating: PG-13: Some language and a non-explicit post-coital scene
Frustrated novelist Danny is resigned to writing material for trade shows, promoting garage doors and non-stick cookware. His ex-wife threatens legal action for non-payment of alimony. Danny never dreamed the answer to his troubles could be larceny.
But then wealthy, charming Packard Hale III reenters his life. He was Danny's college roommate, and like Lupin and Raffles, he now fancies himself a gentleman thief. Packard hires Danny to write about his capers.
Danny follows Packard as they break into a mansion and steal, among other things, a priceless Chinese vase and a curiously valuable souvenir blanket from Branson, Missouri. However, it's not Packard who is pursued by the police, but Danny.
Simultaneously, he struggles to please his client, a lawn-and-garden CEO with an erotic attraction to lawnmowers. Danny also endures abuse from Soren, a boozy has-been Vegas magician. He tolerates the mistreatment because of Crystal, the magician's assistant. He's falling for her.
When he learns Soren screwed Crystal out of rights to magic tricks she's created -- and in spite of the cops on his tail -- Danny plots revenge. He and Packard attempt the daring theft of a state-of-the-art lawnmower—during a live performance in front of 400 people.
I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Mark Nutter and iRead Book Tours. I'm excited to be a part of this tour.
Mark Nutter’s The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket is a witty, fast-paced caper that blends satire, crime, and heartfelt character drama into one wildly entertaining read. At its center is Danny, a frustrated novelist whose literary dreams have withered into writing copy about garage doors and non-stick cookware. Between mounting financial woes and an ex-wife threatening legal action, Danny seems destined for mediocrity; until his flamboyant college roommate, Packard Hale III, reappears.
Packard is not just wealthy and charming; he’s a self-styled gentleman thief in the tradition of Raffles and Lupin. When he enlists Danny to chronicle his exploits, Danny finds himself swept into a world of daring heists, absurd stakes, and comedic misadventures. Their first escapade (a break-in at a mansion) yields not only a priceless Chinese vase but also a seemingly trivial souvenir blanket from Branson, Missouri. Soon, though, it’s Danny, not Packard, who winds up on the wrong side of the law.
As if dodging police weren’t enough, Danny must also navigate his peculiar day job: pleasing a lawn-and-garden CEO with an unsettling attraction to lawnmowers. Adding to the chaos is Soren, a washed-up Vegas magician whose cruelty is matched only by his alcoholism. Danny suffers Soren’s abuse largely because of Crystal, the magician’s long-suffering assistant and budding love interest. When Danny learns that Crystal has been cheated out of credit for her own magic tricks, his desperation gives way to determination, setting the stage for a climactic revenge heist involving a state-of-the-art lawnmower; performed live before hundreds of spectators.
Nutter’s prose crackles with sharp humor and clever dialogue, but it’s the balance between comedy and pathos that makes this story memorable. Danny is both hapless and endearing, a man stumbling toward redemption through the most ludicrous of circumstances. Packard, meanwhile, is equal parts charming rogue and chaos engine, embodying the temptation of a life less ordinary.
At once a send-up of crime fiction tropes and a quirky tale of second chances, The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket delivers both laughs and heart. Fans of comic capers, flawed heroes, and unconventional love stories will find themselves thoroughly entertained.
Verdict: A smart, funny, and oddly touching heist novel that proves sometimes crime really does pay; in character growth, if not cash.
MARK NUTTER grew up in a motel near Joliet, Illinois, which is not as glamorous as it sounds. He's the author of the humorous heist novel The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket. He wrote three collections of comedic short stories: Giant Banana Over Texas, Dancer on the Ceiling, and Sunset Cruise on the River Styx. He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and the LA Weekly Theater Award for the music & lyrics for Reanimator the Musical. Mark also wrote for television (SNL, 3rd Rock from the Sun) and feature film (Almost Heroes). www.marknutter.com.
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