Brilliant

Kathleen “Kick” Keswick, posh executive administrative assistant by day, London’s infamous “Shamrock Burglar” by night. Main character Kick turns from Oklahoma oil-field trash to glamourous British ex-patriot thanks to a serendipitous meeting with a wealthy older Englishman during college. As she makes herself into a elegant international woman, she funds her lifestyle by burgling the finest jewelry in England. She attracts the attention of her new boss, a flashy American with more money than sense, who woos Kick in order to perpetrate an antiques confidence scheme that would leave her work in jeopardy. The classic rags-to-riches theme gets a refreshing new look with a successful, single woman who loves life, good food, and show more good jewelry. The plot is delightfully complex, revealing tantalizing glimpses of the secret lives of all the characters and wowing the reader with plot twists that accentuate her protagonist’s personal saga. Set against the decadence of London and the beautiful French countryside, the themes of self-reliance, romance, and dubious morality never seemed so engaging. Popular literature written in a jaded but entirely satisfying prose that takes great care to build a distinctive narrative for protagonist Kick. show less

Fun read. Woman "of a certain age" is an executive assistant at an auction house during the day and a cat burglar by night. From very humble beginnings, she turned into a cultured, sophisticated woman who knows about jewelry, antiques, paintings, wine and gourmet cooking.

Oh, my, I adored this book. It's complete, total, and utter fluff, of course, but grand, wholly respectable fluff. It's thrilling in the non-"thriller" sense, the heroïne is wonderfully human, the ending is delightful. I wish it could have been twice as long (but I don't think it would have been as delicious).

EtA: After reading the 2nd through 4th books involving this heroïne, this 1st book seems more like a series pilot, after which there was substantial retooling of the heroïne's character and life in ways that are distinctly not an improvement. If you must read another, read the 4th, Friends in Hight Places, but wait until you've forgotten everything about Brilliant except the pleasure it gave you.

Meet Kick Keswick, an elegant and self-possessed American who has been at London's venerable Ballantine & Company Auctioneers for over thirty years. She is an expert on paintings, furniture, and objets d'art, and so far has lived a perfectly happy life with things on her mind other than love.
In fact, Kick rarely lets anyone into her private world. She prefers it that way. Kick doesn't need a man in her life, messing things up. But when American industrialist, scoundrel, and womanizer Owen Brace grabs the faltering Ballantine & Company in a corporate takeover, he turns Kick's world upside down, opening her eyes to large-scale love, romance, and sensuous pleasure. But something tells Kick that Brace's motives are anything but sincere. And show more when he gets near enough to threaten Kick's closely guarded life, Brace learns the dangers of underestimating this woman. show less