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The Sacred Art of Stealing

By: Chris Brookmyre
Narrated by: Caroline Guthrie
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Summary

Their eyes met across a crowded room. She was just a poor servant girl, and he was the son of a rich industrialist.

Er, no, this is a Christopher Brookmyre novel, although the eyes meeting across a crowded room part is true. Where it differs from the fairy tales is that the room in question was crowded with hostages and armed bank robbers, and his eyes were the only part of him she could see behind the mask....

©2002 Christopher Brookmyre (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd
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Critic reviews

"A thriller, love story, social satire and a warning against taking absurdism too seriously." ( Time Out)
"Chris Brookmyre is a genius." ( Daily Mirror)

What listeners say about The Sacred Art of Stealing

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story/errible accents.

The narrator did fine with the Scottish accents (she's Scottish) - but can't do an American accent to save her life .. This had the unfortunate result of constantly ejecting you from the narrative.

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  • Overall
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great story as always

great story and good performance - let down by poor American accents. everything else great and to be recommended - but there are few whole can nail both Glasgow and West Coast USA accents; the narrator is great with Scottish voices but poor with the American

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Terrible narrating, cracking book!

Dreadful American accent by the narrator could really ruin this book for new listeners to Christopher Brookmyre, fortunately I’ve read this book a couple of times, so was almost able to block her out.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Appalling accent

I absolutely love this book and was very much looking forward to hearing the audible version. I didn't even manage the first chapter due to the worst accents I've ever heard ! they are so bad I had to turn it off. Such a shame as this could have and should have been epic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen!

This is only the second Christopher brookmyre book I have listened too, and it was as good as the first. Fabulous story telling, interesting characters and humour, the last a real bonus. The American accents were a bit odd, but even with that it was brilliantly read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Gritty Storyline

Great storyline, even if a little far fetched at times. Knew there was a twist coming but never got close till it was disclosed.
The narrator was OK for the Glasgow parts but the American accents wee awful

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Stunning book

Never in any doubt. Brookmyre delivers another masterpiece. Highly recommended. No need to have read the previous book to enjoy this one.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good story

Narrator lets it down a bit, accents aren’t the best and it’s hard to distinguish between characters voices but a decent book nonetheless

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Spell binding...

Don't let other reviews about the narrator stop you listening to this book. It's beyond excellent and nothing but nothing is lost with the style of performance...go on and buy it...you'll be so happy you did 🤗

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

more enjoyable to read than to listen sadly.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. It's a struggle to persevere through the truly awful narration. Her American accents are awful but so is her voice acting in general. She reads the story ok. I have read the book before and was looking forwards to relaxing into the audiobook. Hugely disappointing.I would suggest that anyone who still enjoys the printed word should read the book instead.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zal because he is so clever - but the strength of the book is that all the main characters are well drawn and interesting.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Caroline Guthrie?

There are so many male characters in the book that I would have chosen a male narrator who does female voices well such as the remarkable James Masters, but there are others.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's difficult to answer this without revealing too much about the plot but it would probably be the trip to the Louvre. There are so many great moments in this book, such as the conversation between football supporters in the bank, that it is one that I return to every now and again because it is a real 'feel good' book.

Any additional comments?

Even though I have already bought this audiobook, if you find a better narrator, I would probably buy it again. I haven't given away my paperback yet.

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