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A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering

The brilliantly entertaining new thriller by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Day

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A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering

By: Andrew Hunter Murray
Narrated by: Phil Dunster
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Property might be theft. But the housing market is murder.

My name is Al. I live in wealthy people's second homes while their real owners are away.

I don’t rob them, I don’t damage anything… I’m more an unofficial house-sitter than an actual criminal.

Life is good.

Or it was - until last night, when my friends and I broke into the wrong place, on the wrong day, and someone wound up dead.

And now … now we’re in a great deal of trouble.

Featuring crooked houses, dodgy coppers and a lot of lockpicking, A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering is a gripping thriller about what it's like to be young, skilled, unemployed - and on the run.
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Love for A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering. . .

'Fantastic' Zoe Ball
'Madly fun and exciting' Lisa Jewell
‘A joyous read from start to finish. I loved it!’ Clare Mackintosh
'Witty, dazzling and incredibly addictive' Jenny Colgan
‘A bloody brilliant, fantastic book’ Philippa Perry
'It’s laugh-out-loud funny, proceeding at a pace that makes it almost impossible to put down.' Sunday Times
'A comic delight' Financial Times
'Smart, satirical, knowledgable, accurate, punchy, laugh out loud funny, surprising, shocking, thought provoking ... Loved it.' Matt Chorley, The Times
'A propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue make this a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner.' Guardian
'A thoroughly entertaining mix of whodunnit, social satire and a cunningly smuggled-in love story.’ Mail on Sunday
'Tremendous fun: a quirky, gripping and insightful novel that kept me reading late into the night.' Elizabeth Macneal
‘A giddy, addictive thrill ride of a book - who knew accidental espionage was so much fun?!' Daisy Buchanan
'Legit brilliant, FUN and FUNNY and I couldn’t recommend it more' Stevie Martin
‘Dark, funny, and deeply twisted' Val McDermid

©2024 Andrew Hunter Murray (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Crime Thrillers Domestic Thrillers Thriller & Suspense Crime
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Critic Reviews

Hilarious
Smart, satirical, knowledgable, accurate, punchy, laugh out loud funny, surprising, shocking, thought provoking. Lovely short chapters. Loved it
Hugely entertaining…the novel is politically astute, gradually revealing a scam involving property and international money laundering. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, proceeding at a pace that makes it almost impossible to put down.
A propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue make this a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner
The plot is corset-tight and lavish with its surprises. An amusing crime caper…a delight
What drives Hunter Murray’s chunky crime thriller along is Al’s idiosyncratic, comic narrative voice. As a result, it’s fun to spend time with him, even when it’s clear he’s not necessarily a great human being
Filled with humour, shocks, love and hate – and a few handy tips on how to beat the housing crisis… Funny, thoughtful and all-round entertaining
In the delicious A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering, a hapless housebreaker and his fellow miscreants must solve a murder before the police arrest them; it’s a comic delight.
I was hooked ... as it's filled with hilarious moments
All stars
Most relevant
This book was excellent. The story was outstanding and the narrative was the best I’ve ever heard. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Would highly recommend listening or reading.

The narrative was excellent.

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As a non-fiction reader I spend far too little time reading fiction, and also have a minuscule window of attention before giving up. This book, read in an impressively engaging way by Phil Dunster, grabbed my attention early doors and didn't let up until I was listening to the credits. The characters are very well-realised, even to the point where the main protagonist, who has the potential to be the least sympathetic anti-hero ever (despite his circumstances he's at real risk of his middle class-ness bursting through at several junctures, undermining his implied class struggle), still remains engaging. Dunster's portrayal does quite a lot of heavy lifting here. The story careers along like a shopping trolley down a hill, and the pace never drags through pages of turgid exposition. Considering the sophistication of some of the concepts covered, this is no mean feat. Give it a go. Like me, you'll already be thinking about reading the next one before you finish this one.

Fantastic modern take on the caper

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I listened to this book in 2 or 3 days. Fun read, moved quickly. Can’t wait for the next how-to guide.

Murray’s signature lighthearted sense of humour

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Really enjoyable listen. Narration was perfect!!! I need more by Phil Dunster!!! I laughed a couple of times and was hooked on the story. Looking forward to listening to it again soon

Really enjoyable!

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Loved it - such an original story. Well written and importantly perfectly read! My first Audible book was a brilliant find.

Funny, clever and fast paced

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