Five criminals. Two forgeries. And one masterpiece of a heist.

Violet Winters—a professional thief born of a good, honest thief-and-con-artist stock— has been offered the heist of a lifetime. Steal a priceless Salvador Dali from the security-obsessed chairman of the Kilchester Bank and replace it with a forgery.

The fact that the “painting” is a signed, blank canvas doesn’t matter. It’s the challenge that gives Violet that familiar, addicting rush of adrenaline. Her quarry rests in a converted underground Cold War bunker. One way in, one way out. No margin for error.

But the reason Violet fled Kilchester is waiting right where she left him—an ex-lover with a murderous method for dumping a girlfriend. If her heist is to be a success, there will have to be a reckoning, or everything could go spinning out of control.

Her team of talented misfits assembled, Violet sets out to re-stake her claim on her reputation, exorcise some demons, and claim the prize. That is, if her masterpiece of a plan isn’t derailed by a pissed-off crime boss—or betrayal from within her own ranks.

In theory this should be one of the easier reviews to write. I could just proclaim “I LOVED THIS BOOK” and whack a 5 star comment onto Twitter.  Job done.

Not quite…that would be criminally understating how much I enjoyed Adam Maxwell’s fantastically fun crime caper The Dali Deception.  I hope “crime caper” is an acceptable description but I cannot find a more apt snappy description.  It was shades of Oceans 11 (though Violet’s crew are fewer than eleven), it had the gangster pizzazz of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the humour of Hot Fuzz.  I can only apologise that all my movie references are so out of date…I don’t see many films these days!

Violet is a crook (one of the nice ones).  She was forced to leave Kilchester after a planned robbery went wrong – well when her boyfriend sabotaged her plan. Now she is back and it does not take long before a new opportunity presents its-self – steal an original Dali and replace it with a replica so the crime goes undetected. Tricky, but Violet has a plan oh and if she should happen to cross paths with her treacherous ex then there may be the chance to put a few things straight there too.

This was an audiobook listen and I grudged the time that my commute ended and I had to pause the story.  Violet’s plan to steal an original (and most unusual) Dali from a heavily guarded underground location was brilliantly kept under wraps by the author who teased out clues as to how the heist would play out as the story unfolded.

She recruits a wheel-man, a computer expert, a con man and her muscle – all are wonderfully depicted in the story and they all clash, then bond and fall foul of calamity.  You cannot help but love them.

Every good story also needs a villain and Kilchester’s criminal underworld is certainly ruled by a big personality (even if that personality is not contained within a big body).

Always important for an audiobook – the narrator.  Big shout to RJ Alldred at this point, she was perfect and I hope to hear her narrate more stories soon – by far the clearest (and most pleasant) voice I have enjoyed listening to on my daily commute.

Did I mention that I loved this story?  It’s true – an easy 5 star read (or listen in this case).

The Dali Deception is available in digital, paperback and audio format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dali-Deception-Kilchester-Book-ebook/dp/B01G3VAEIW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530549957&sr=1-1&keywords=the+dali+deception