The good thief's guide to Venice

"After a particularly bad streak of luck in Vegas, Charlie has retreated to Venice, having vowed to give up a life of crime to write crime fiction full-time. But inspiration has yet to strike. And to make matters worse, Charlie's agent Victoria shows up at his door just as his prized first edition of The Maltese Falcon flies out the window with a femme-fatale burglar. Blackmailed into committing a dastardly crime in order to get his book back, Charlie is catapulted into yet another adventure, this one even more explosive than the last."
"Retiring from his life of crime to write novels in Venice, gentleman thief Charlie is blackmailed into committing a dastardly deed in order to reclaim a prized rare book that has been stolen by a femme-fatale burglar."@en
"Charlie Howard - struggling crime-writer by day, talented thief by night - has gone straight. But holing himself up in Venice to concentrate on his next novel hasn't got rid of the itch in his fingers. And to make matters worse, an Italian beauty has broken into his apartment and made off with his most prized possession. It looks as though kicking the habit of a lifetime will be much more of a challenge than Charlie thought. Sneaking out into Venice's maze of murky canals, Charlie's attempts to tame a cat burglar embroil him in a plot that is far bigger and more explosive than he could ever have imagined."