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The anti-hero always has a place in my crime fiction reading. I happily collected all of the Parker books, was tickled to discover Canada’s equivalent in Wilson, and now I find Wyatt. Wyatt by Garry Disher (Soho Crime, 2011) is the seventh book in this series about a professional thief in Melbourne but the first one published in the U.S. Wyatt is being driven out of his livelihood by technology. Few people carry enough cash these days to attract his attention, since they use their credit and debit cards instead. He lacks the skills to bypass the high-end security systems protecting large amounts worth the risk. Stealing art is not as easy as taking cash, and disposing of jewelry can be difficult. He’s begun taking on partners, which he really doesn’t like to do; they can be unreliable and create another item to be managed.

Eddie Oberin, a middleman in the underworld who passes information on for a fee, approaches Wyatt about the potential of a jewelry heist Eddie’s ex-wife Lydia told him about. A French courier visits a Melbourne jewelry designer periodically, bringing gems and watches he’s pinched in Europe. The Melbourne jeweler spreads the stolen goods among his many retail clients, who in turn market them as estate wares. The geographic distance between the theft site and the place the valuables re-appear almost guarantees they won’t be traced.

Wyatt is reluctant to work with Eddie and Lydia but really has no choice, it’s her score to begin with. They’ve included him because they need his experience and planning ability. He and Eddie smoothly steal the van the Melbourne jeweler uses to transport the stolen loot. They make their way to the park where they are supposed to remove the gems, leave the van, and meet Lydia, but the gig goes sideways at that point and Wyatt has to improvise madly.

The story is like a semi-tractor truck with failed brakes going downhill from there on. Wyatt struggles to escape capture, contain the fallout, and determine what went wrong. The plot is complicated, and Wyatt is a great character, smart, quick-witted, and decisive. The repeated references to how technology has changed the life of the ordinary thief are thought-provoking. I am adding the earlier books in the series to my TBR list.

2010 Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing, Best Novel. Starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

·         Hardcover: 288 pages

·         Publisher: Soho Crime; 1 edition (August 9, 2011)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 1569479623

·         ISBN-13: 978-1569479629

Aubrey Hamilton ©2019

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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