***An irresistible treasure, two master thieves, and a secret as old as mankind . . . *Michael St. Pierre, a reformed master thief, thinks he has left his criminal days far behind him, when he receives word that his best friend, Simon, has been locked up and sentenced to die in a brutal desert prison. Breaking into jail for the first time in his checkered career, Michael is stunned to discover that his new girlfriend, KC, is connected to Simon's case. With a madman on their heels, the three adventurers make their way to Istanbul in search of the mysterious artifact that landed Simon behind bars in the first place: a map containing the location of a holy place lost to the mists of time, a repository of knowledge and treasure predating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Testing their courage and wits, Michael and his team are forced to plot a series of daring thefts that take them inside some of the city's most celebrated (and heavily guarded) sanctums, from the imperial harem of Topkapi Palace to the tombs of the Hagia Sophia itself. More than priceless artifacts are at stake - the lives of loved ones and perhaps the fate of humanity itself hang in the balance. A globe-trotting adventure that wings from the glittering banks of the Bosporus to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, The Thieves of Darkness confirms Richard Doetsch's place as the modern-day master of pulse-pounding suspense.

The most closely Guarded treasure on Earth. An explosive ancient secret. A breakneck journey into the heart of the Vatican. In a small, heavily fortified room just north of the Sistine Chapel, a master thief is about to strike. All he needs is an instant–to steal the most important treasure in the Vatican museum: two antique keys–one gold, one silver–that protect the secret of salvation…. But a surprise awaits Michael St. Pierre deep inside the Vatican, an ancient secret so explosive, it sends him running for his life—from the streets of Rome to a small stone church in Israel—with two stolen keys and a terrible realization: the consequences of his desperate, brazen act are far greater than he could ever have imagined. For the treasure he has uncovered—the gleaming prize buried within the most clandestine structure on earth—is about to bring him face-to-face with an enemy more shocking, frightening, and insidious than anyone can guess.... ### From Publishers Weekly Michael St. Pierre is a retired master thief taking on one last score—knocking over the Vatican—in Doetsch's first novel, an effective papal thriller. When his beloved wife, Mary, is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Michael reluctantly agrees to a burglary for a mysterious German businessman, August Finster. Finster will pay all of Mary's medical expenses if Michael steals a set of keys, one gold and one silver, from the Vatican. Michael pulls off the job, but naturally there's more to it than a simple robbery: Finster has sinister plans for the keys, which hold the power to keep humanity out of heaven forever. With the help of Michael's cop buddy and a Vatican priest, Michael must steal the keys back from Finster and return them to Rome. Doetsch wisely keeps the supernatural elements to a minimum, putting the focus on his characters and fusing horror and international thriller while avoiding the usual suspects (no Knights of the Templar here). Though some plot elements don't hold to close scrutiny (one paranormal character is omnipotent only when it's convenient to the plot), Doetsch's debut is an enjoyable and suspenseful read. *(May)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### Review "Devilishly fun and enjoyable—more than that, a thriller rich with inspiration, passion, cleverness, and intelligence told by a superbly gifted writer. A highly ambitious novel, and one that delivers on every count."—Brian Haig *The President's Assasin * "An effective papal thriller.... an enjoyable and suspenseful read."—*Publishers Weekly * "At the heart of this spectacular thriller is a classic love story. Michael St. Pierre will literally move heaven and earth to save the woman he loves."—Stephen Frey, author of *The Chairman*

*Beneath the Kremlin lies a shocking ancient truth. And it's about to be stolen.… * Since the times of Ivan the Terrible, generations of Russian leaders have turned the Kremlin into a fortress within a fortress, stocking its labyrinthine underground with secret vaults, elegant chambers, and priceless treasures. Now a master thief has the ultimate motivation to stage an assault on the Kremlin's inner sanctum. Two lives depend on it. Thousands of years of religious faith hinge on it. And a man's conscience, skill, and passion will not let him fail. For Michael St. Pierre, history's most daring heist is only one piece of an intricate puzzle reaching from an ancient monastery in Scotland to a hideaway in Corsica—where a madman has built an empire of terror. Haunted by his own family secrets, and surrounded by the precious few people he can trust, Michael will take on a mission that will make him the most hunted man in the world. But when an astounding truth, buried deep beneath the Kremlin, erupts with shattering force, he may unleash a relic too dangerous to possess.…

In a world of dark and light, where East meets West, a horrific act of violence propels former thief Michael St. Pierre into a mystery that began five hundred years ago. . . . In Richard Doetsch's next unforgettable Thieves thriller, Michael and his ex-girlfriend KC Ryan have been blackmailed by a U.S. Army colonel. They are to travel to opposite ends of China, and each is responsible for stealing a piece of an ancient puzzle: a diary and a compass. With their lives dependent on each other’s success, they must face off against the complex underworld of the Chinese triads, a twisted female assassin, and a madman whose only desire is to possess the secrets held within the pages of the diary—knowledge that would give him enormous power and lead to the downfall of nations. Moving from the glittering casinos of Macau to its dark and dangerous backstreets; from the palace at the heart of China’s Forbidden City to the medieval castles of Spain; from the seaside mansions along the Amalfi Coast to an uncharted Pacific island, Michael is in a race against time. He has less than five days to uncover a five-hundred-year-old mystery—and to save KC from certain death. ### Review “The tension leaps off the pages in this classic, ticking-clock thriller. Watch out. You'll grip the pages so tight your knuckles will turn white.” —Steve Berry “Doetsch steps up his game with his fourth thriller featuring ex-thief Michael St. Pierre.... Plenty of action blends with interesting history and criminal tradecraft for a satisfying read.” (**Publishers Weekly** ) “Richard Doetsch's *The Thieves of Legend *stole my breath with the sheer audacity of its storytelling, proving yet again that this series gets better with every installment. Bold, richly told, and rollicking with adventure, here is thriller that demands to be read in one tension-wrought sitting. Count me a fan for life!” (James Rollins ) “Doetsch continues to demonstrate why he’s one of the best thriller writers in the business.... The heroes and villains are all well-rounded, and the plot twists are exceptional. Another strong entry in Doetsch’s Thieves series, following *The Thieves of Darkness* (2010). (*Booklist *(starred review)* ) ### About the Author **Richard Doetsch** is the international bestselling author of five previous thrillers, including *The Thieves of Faith*, *The Thieves of Heaven*, which is currently being developed for film by Twentieth Century Fox, *The Thieves of Darkness,* which Doetsch is co-adapting with Shane Salerno (*Armageddon*, *Hawaii Five-0*), *The 13th Hour*, which is being adapted by New Line Cinema, and *Half-Past Dawn*. He lives in New York with his family. Visit RichardDoetsch.com.

A man is given the chance to go back in time in one hour increments to prevent the murder of his wife, a crime that the police think he committed.