A Toyko pickpocket commits one crime too many - and finds himself way out of his depth. A taut, stylish noir thriller from one of the most feted new voices in Japanese fiction.
Nishimura is a seasoned pickpocket, weaving through Tokyo's crowded streets, in search of potential targets. He has no family, no friends, no connections . . . But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when his old partner-in-crime reappears and offers him a job he can't refuse. Suddenly, Nishimura finds himself caught in a web so tangled and intricate that even he might not be able to escape.
Taut, atmospheric and cool, The Thief will steal your breath away.
A masterpiece in miniature . . . wonderfully deft . . . The Thief seems destined to become a landmark thriller. - Daily Mail
An intelligent, compelling and surprisingly moving tale, and highly recommended. - The Guardian
Nakamura's achievement is to dovetail the various elements in the most adroit of fashions, producing a mesmeric piece of crime fiction and a cold-eyed meditation on modern society in which predatory human nature is accepted as the norm. And the author's fatalistic tone is rounded off with a devastatingly surprising end. - The Independent
Nakamura is a name to watch. - Daily Mirror
Japanese fiction is the new Scandicrime - and if The Thief is anything to go by, it is apparently just as dark and plentiful. A detective story told from the other side of the fence, brilliantly spun in the narrative voice of a skilled pickpocket. - The Pulse
Beautifully written and elegantly crafted. - The Lady
A psychological thriller that will grip your imagination from the very first page. - Crime Ficton Lover
A meditation on what it is like to be alone and on the nature of fate and free will, and featuring a lead character who would look at home in a 19th century Russian novel.' - Big Issue