The Lockpicker

Leonard Chang

Black Heron Press Softcover $16.95 (365pp) 978-1-936364-18-3

Intricate details make this heist-centered crime story literary and memorable.

Leonard Chang’s novel The Lockpicker is a bit of a hybrid—a pulp crime novel that also becomes a story about the effects of a violent upbringing on an adult’s choices. Entertaining and with a well-paced literary style, this simple crime story becomes something more memorable.

Jake Ahn is a professional jewel thief who has to flee his home in Seattle after a robbery goes bad. His partner tries to burn him, and he leaves that new partner for dead in a dumpster. Without anywhere else to go, Jake pays