To Catch A Thief by David Dodge was a great mystery read with vintage flair, as this book was originally written in 1952.  The book starts off with action right away, as John Robie flees from his villa in the countryside of France from the agents de police by escaping from a window, jumping from balcony to an olive tree, and over the garden wall through a vineyard. The whole description of this scene is very exciting. I had a wonderful time imaging this all play out. You see,  John Robie is known as “Le Chat” a notorious jewel thief, only this period in his life he is done with stealing and trying to live a quiet life. However there is a copy cat thief, so the agents believe Le Chat is back at it and are trying to arrest him. Robie does not want to go back to prison, so he is determined to find this copy cat before the agents find him.  This book takes place in the French Riviera so there is a lot of glamorous imagery among the characters who visit the beaches, poolside and casino. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the copycat was, and didn’t figure it out until the end when it was revealed.  This is a classic read worth reading if you are a fan of old school glamour and mystery.  

This book was later turned into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. I decided to watch the movie after to compare. The beginning was done completely different, and instead of fleeing mysteriously into the night like he did in the book, Cary Grant hops in a car with the agents watching during the day. I thought the book version was so much better for the escape. Also in the book John Robie wears a disguise the whole time. He makes himself look older and has a stuffed belly. The agents are looking for a younger man in the book, but in the movie he doesn’t disguise himself at all.  Romance is also heavily suggested in the movie which we only get a little bit at the very end of the book. 

Although this book is old, a new version is being released on April 1st by the Library of Congress Crime Classics which includes footnotes at the end of each chapter including French translations. I highly recommend reading the book and then watching the movie after, so you can see the differences in both. 

Special thanks to Sourcebooks Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this gifted advance reader copy.

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