cover image Nobody's Safe

Nobody's Safe

Richard Steinberg. Doubleday Books, $23.95 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-385-49258-4

Picking locks is second nature to the steel-nerved protagonist of Steinberg's tough-talking--and pulp to the core--thriller. Greg Picaro, a thief who prides himself on his fine taste and self-restraint (he doesn't take unnecessary risks and can distinguish Paul Revere silver from the dross) is robbing Jack Kerry's apartment when three men enter and kill Kerry and his hired date. Mr. Kilbourne, the leader of the group, offs Kerry on the hunch that Kerry leaked information about two people named Joe and Max to tabloid TV reporter Megan Turner. Picaro is the next on Kilbourne's list. Steinberg (The Gemini Man) calls on his personal expertise in high-risk security and counterterrorism to impart realism to the courtroom scenes and chilling detail to the maneuvers of the thieves and thugs. Readers who may be initially put off because the opening sequence is reminiscent of Absolute Power will soon be seduced by a compulsively readable story that crackles with narrative energy and demands a sequel. (Mar.)