After reading Richard Doetsch’s THE THIEVES OF FAITH, I went back and re-read my review of his debut novel THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN, and I was surprised at my differing reactions. My initial raving praise for that book still holds, but in the interval between that and this second work, Doetsch seems to have lost some of the charm and intrigue which made HEAVEN such a good read.
Doetsch’s protagonist is Michael St. Pierre, a super thief who has lost Mary, the love of his life, and is slowly trying to survive day by day without her presence. His fate is to be constantly dragged away from his attempt at going straight back into the world of thievery and subterfuge, often colored with the trappings and symbology of the Catholic faith.
In this book, Julian Zivera, the leader of a large and extremely wealthy religious sect, is searching for a mysterious box said to contain the secret of life. Zivera is pure, relentless evil with a sweet facade, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. So he kidnaps St. Pierre’s newfound father (St. Pierre was adopted and has just discovered the man who gave him up for adoption) in an effort to force St. Pierre into action.
St. Pierre must steal this box from deep underneath the Kremlin where it has lain buried for years. The 500+ pages of this quickly moving thriller is devoted to the search for the box, and then trying to prevent Zivera from getting at the contents of the box, all while protecting St. Pierre’s family and friends.
Elements between the two books remain consistent. There is a deeply felt emotional construct of loss and love – this time mirrored in St. Pierre by new character Susan, who has lost her husband and is the protégé of St. Pierre’s newly discovered natural father. There is a good chunk of Catholic symbology, but it seems underplayed in this novel. The characters aren’t much different, with only St. Pierre seeming to grow and change. It’s just that the elements don’t coalesce into a fascinating whole.
Perhaps the evil of Zivera is just too cartoony, perhaps the goodness of St. Pierre’s friend Genevieve is just too much to take, perhaps the impossibility of invading the Kremlin’s treasure vaults is just too unlikely, but there’s something missing here that was present in the first book. Doetsch is still playing with grand themes – and the battle between good and evil, Heaven and Hell – but there almost needs to be more – not less – Christianity in the books to understand the characters’ motivations.
The best parts of the book is when Doetsch outlines the steps taken by St. Pierre to steal an object: his preparation, the gear he uses, the technology of security and bypassing said security. But lots of thrillers have that. And while Doetsch does it well, I’m afraid I’m expecting a bit more.
If you liked THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN, you must still read THE THIEVES OF FAITH, and have faith that his next book, THE THIEVES OF DARKNESS, will reinvigorate the series. –Mark Rose
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN by Richard Doetsch
Related posts:
- The Thieves of Heaven
- BOOK WHORE >> 5.2.06
- Hard Case circles Block a third time
- A Killer’s Kiss
- The Brotherhood of the Shroud
