Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

PORTRAIT OF A THIEF by Grace D. Li is a debut mystery novel that made the April 2022 LibraryReads list. The cover is quite arresting and the characters are likeable, but I found the plot improbable. Five college age friends (representing Harvard, Duke, MIT, and UCLA) accept a dare to steal priceless Chinese art in order to return it to China. Would they really risk careers in medicine, venture capital or Silicon Valley to respond to a friend’s request (and the prospect of splitting $50 million)? Letting that question go would allow readers to enjoy the heist scenes planned by Will, his sister, Irene, her roommate (and getaway car driver) Lily, a talented software coder, Alex, and family friend, Daniel. Parts of PORTRAIT OF A THIEF work as a thriller and parts raise important questions about cross-cultural identity and about intergenerational relationships - bringing all of this together as a whole is a difficult task. Watching the forthcoming Netflix series could be fun, though!