Safecracker

Wick’s propulsive debut and series launch introduces New York City burglar Michael Maven, whose longtime boss, Elizabeth Rose, a sophisticated older woman with a posh British accent, hires him to steal a 1343 Edward III coin from hedge fund owner Raymond Hemsworth. During Maven’s break into the businessman’s Manhattan apartment, he encounters a beautiful assassin, Katarina Georgiu. Maven, a martial arts expert, is no match for the willowy, jujitsu-trained killer, who fends off his attack, murders Hemsworth, and steals the precious coin. She later cuts Maven’s throat in his favorite bar, leaving him for dead. After a miraculously speedy recovery, Maven uses Elizabeth’s network of criminal friends to track down Katarina. But he then winds up caught in the middle of a savage gang war after Katarina’s employer, a vicious Chicago crime boss, blackmails Maven into stealing a ledger from the head of a rival drug cartel in Miami. Plot-driven, gritty violence makes amends for Wick’s rudimentary protagonist. Actions fans will look forward to more. Agent: Eric Myers, Myers Literary Management. (Aug.)