Book Thoughts: The Inadvertent Thief by Leti Del Mar

The Inadvertent Thief by Leti Del Mar started off strongly.  The characters drew me in and engaged me in their fast-paced drama.  I kept swiping pages eager to know the in’s and out’s of the book’s opening drama – how did a thief steal two priceless paintings without setting off any security alarms?

The main character is Vivien who is the museum’s security expert who is expected to figure out how the thief did it and get both paintings back.  For Vivien, the how it was done part is the one that is stumping her!  Within hours of the thefts, she has a plan to track the paintings from the moment they left the museum building.  (She’s that good.)

Understandably, the museum’s curator is livid and has already contacted their insurance company to assist in Vivien’s investigation.  Not so understandably, the curator’s threatening her job and finally revealing what Vivien felt from the time she was initially appointed – he doesn’t want her there.  With the lambasting the curator gives her on top of the humiliation of the thefts, Vivien is not quite ready to meet the insurance agent who is awaiting her as soon as she leaves the curator’s office.

At this particular moment, Vivien’s emotional landscape ranges from the deepest anger to wanting to curl into a fetal ball and cry.  Now, she would be saddled with a dogged insurance agent watching her every move both at the museum and at her own private offices!

However, from the moment Vivien locked onto his pure green eyes sparks flew and she knew she was in for an adventurous ride.  Walter was not what she expected of an insurance agent at all.  With so much at stake, Vivien knew that she had to keep firm boundaries with this charming man whose smile never reached his emerald eyes.   Begrudgingly, Vivien has no choice but to allow him to tag along and follow her wherever she goes regarding the investigation.

Between Walter’s charming intelligence, wit and physical appeal along with the investigation that both confounds and frustrates her, Vivien is at her wit’s end.  She forces herself to focus and succeeds in blocking out her body’s natural response to the tall, muscular insurance agent with the luxury sports car that speaks to his success in retrieving other stolen works of art.

Her focus leads to her being able to track down the location of her stolen paintings which leads her into even more entanglements with Walter.  Vivien finds herself falling for him creating a string of exciting consequences for the reader – not so much for Vivien!  One particular situation leads to Walter leaving Vivien’s life at a critical juncture.

She doesn’t know if she’ll ever see him again and drops into a deep depression.  Will Vivien be able to snap back, rouse herself and revive her damaged reputation as a security expert?

The Inadvertent Thief is a wonderfully paced read that takes you on an exhilarating ride.  And, it finishes off with a big bang.

4 Blogairy Notebooks