Something Missing

In a nutshell: Charming story of a quirky thief.

Matthew Dicks has created a memorable hero in Martin Railsback, a thief with a touch of OCD who takes only items that won’t be missed from his “clients’” homes – some laundry detergent, a few groceries, a rarely worn piece of jewelry. In this way, Martin has escaped detection, despite routinely entering some people’s homes repeatedly over the course of many years. He has come to consider his clients as friends, though they have never met. It is this instinct which gets him into trouble – while trying to play guardian angel to those he cares about, Martin finds that keeping his identity a secret may be impossible.

Something Missing is charming and laugh-out-loud funny in many show more parts, and though you know intellectually that what Martin does for a living is wrong, he is so engaging a character – so modest and self-effacing – that you can’t help rooting for him. If I were to look for a deeper meaning in the novel, I would say that it is about personal relationships and what holds us back from connecting to other people. Only by moving out of what we consider safe and known can we really know ourselves and come to truly know other people. show less

I'm still laughing my butt off at some of the scenes in this book, as I type this review.
So if you find any misspellings blame the author please!

For a while I didn't think I was going to be able to appreciate this novel. It reads so much like a cookbook for criminals. Yet after a few chapters you have to really let Martin's sociopath tendencies and slight OCD take over for your own moral compass and let the story reveal itself slowly and deliciously, much like a meal being cooked in a crock pot!

Martin is a thief, but not just any kind of thief. He thinks of his victims as clients and sometimes he`s been stealing from them for so long that he thinks of them as friends. Not only does he steal the requisite silver, diamonds, crystal show more etc...he also treats these peoples pantries as his own personal grocery store or even a department store, it depends on what he needs and how much the `client has in stock! (he steals towels from two different `clients' to make up his own set *chuckle*) He makes massively lengthy lists, plans and timetables. He is a master at planning, he has every base covered, or does he? Just when the book starts to get a tad boring, Martin found himself in a situation he had planned for but really never expected to be in and it is hilarious and goes to prove that Martin isn`t a true OCD sufferer. A bit anal and overly cautious perhaps, but I don't see him as a true sufferer of OCD.

This book ends magnificently on a great note with such a surprise ending, that if I don't stop here I may give it away.

It may be slow to start and a bit frustrating at times, but it's never boring. Martin and the secondary characters are very well fleshed and believable. I was thrilled with the setting that is in my home state, yet Mr. Dick never gets too bogged down in the details and makes this seem as if it were written to be about Anytown, USA.

I kind of thought that this could be compared a bit to Tim Dorsey's novels featuring Serge a. Storms, but with no murders (just mayhem) and a lot less drinking and drugs!
You may not like reading what amounts to a recipe for B&E, but I promise you'll fall in love with Martin Railsback and absolutely enjoy the ending. show less

I am constantly reading book reviews and blogs looking for my next Great Read, but I had never heard of this book until I recently stumbled upon it on the Staff Recommends shelf at my local library. I am so glad I read it because it turns out this is a diamond in the rough! So many of the books that get glowing reviews aren’t all that! (I guess they just have a better publicity machine.)

This is a quirky little novel about Martin, a house robber, who has OCD and a conscience.

Martin is meticulous about everything from his rigorous due diligence in selecting his long-term “clients” (the people he is going rob), to what items he actually takes from each client (usually household items like toilet paper and laundry detergent-rarely show more jewelry and silver). He has back up plans for his back up plans. And he knows his clients very well since he has had most of them for years. He knows all about their personal lives, both triumphs and tragedies, but never allows himself to get involved, just goes about his job of robbing them. But one day something in his routine changes and he subsequently gets trapped in the house of one of his clients when they are home. Overhearing his client on the phone he realizes that he can help his client out, and thus begins his stint as a “guardian angel” for several of his clients.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but can see why some people would find it boring. Since Martin has OCD there is a lot of detail about how he goes about doing EVERYTHING and why. But there is a lot of dramatic tension (will he get caught) and humor (the scenes with Alfredo the Parrot are very funny) to keep the reader’s attention and interest.

This is an original and charming debut novel that I am so glad I didn’t miss! show less

For fans of [b:The Spellman Files|129117|The Spellman Files (The Spellmans, #1)|Lisa Lutz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171981639s/129117.jpg|2896642] and the TV series Monk, I implore you to read this sweet, funny, totally enjoyable story. It's one of my favorite kinds of books: quirky, smart, and well-paced with memorable characters and a satisfying conclusion. It's got suspense, a bit of romance, and it offers a perspective on the world that you've probably never considered. Chew on this: Are you a bad person if you steal things no one will miss?

Martin is a thief. He's different from other thieves because he breaks into the same houses repeatedly to steal things he thinks the owners won't notice are missing, such as a roll of toilet paper or a scoop of laundry detergent. It was fun for me to read about how he methodically catalogues the items in his "clients'" homes and the thing he takes. A part of me wishes I could be as OCD as him.

One member of my book club disliked Martin because she said he's just a criminal, but I grew to love Martin because he believed to have relationships with the homeowners even though he never met them, and he even cared about their lives. I love a story that makes you root for the bad guy.

This was truly a unique and exciting story. You should read show more it if you're ready for Something Different. show less

Martin Railsback is a burglar. But he is not your ordinary burglar. Martin breaks into homes and takes only what he needs and won't be missed. He chooses his clients, as he calls those whom he burgles, very carefully. They must have money, but not too much as Martin believes the very wealthy keep track of everything they own. They can't have kids, maids, and they must be married couples. Martin has a lot of rules. But this has enabled him to keep the same clients for years, without them ever suspecting that their home has been broken into several times. Martin will take toiletries, food, and the occasional piece of jewelry or other expensive item that won't be missed.
Martin is very obsessive-compulsive and plans everything carefully. show more Until the one day when he accidentally knocks a client's electric toothbrush into the toilet. Now, he could just take it out and put it back. But Martin can't bear to think of her then using that toothbrush. So now he has to go off script and replace it. This sets in motion a series of events that lead Martin to start helping his clients and changes his carefully constructed world.

Every so often I will come across a gem of a book. Something Missing is one of those gems. I have read some great literary fiction this year and I'm not saying this is better than those. But it was such a great, charming, engaging, and quirky book. I love, love, loved Martin. He is such a great character and this was such an unusual story that had an unexpected poignancy to it. Of course, now I also think that I have a burglar, that would explain missing pens, socks, and other small items I was sure I had that I can't find.
Some might find the details of Martin's carefully planned out procedures a little slow reading but it does pick up. I find the details important in defining Martin's character. It is also helpful if you are planning a burglary! I loved all the inside info into his clients' lives, there is a lot people can tell about us just from looking through our homes, more than you would think.
I read this in two sittings and was sorry when it was over but it left me feeling very satisfied. This is one I will reread often. I highly recommend this very entertaining and sweet novel. I also plan on reading the author's next work, Unexpectedly, Milo.

my rating 4.5/5 show less

SOMETHING MISSING is an entertaining romp through the life of a very unique burglar. The sort of burglar (if you must be burgled), that you would hope was rifling through your personals.

Martin Railsback is really, seriously, just about the perfect burglar. His OCD tendencies mean that he's absolutely obsessed with his methodology. In fact, Martin approaches his burglary with a seriousness that's strangely endearing. He has a very limited group of houses that he steals from - a client base, as he refers to them - that have a particular household profile. Once in their homes, he takes small items that are unlikely to be noticed, toilet rolls, half empty bottles of detergent, rarely used pieces tucked away at the back of display cabinets. show more Mostly though it's general day to day living items, his version of grocery shopping if you like. He works the houses of his clients carefully, setting up the stealing of some items over long periods of time, carefully ensuring that most of the items he takes will go unnoticed by his clients. He limits the "big ticket items" to those that he can carefully scope out, taking months and months to steal first one, then the second in, for example, a rarely worn pair of diamond earrings.

Everything this man does is so carefully controlled, considered, cautious and ... well ... tidy, that you really can't help wondering where the author is going with all of this, but there is a very slow build up as Martin carefully takes the reader through his methodology, his life. It's all a bit car-crash fascinating, and made me profoundly pleased that we wouldn't have fit Martin's careful client profiling, as to be honest, the sorts of things he was regularly stealing from his clients, are exactly the sorts of things that could go missing around here with neither of us likely to notice!

But something does eventually go wrong for Martin, and his carefully contained, controlled life does hit a very big snag. What is even better is that the snag is self-imposed, something he could have walked away from, leaving nobody any the wiser about his daily activities. Something that is happening in a client's life offends Martin's sense of right and he has to get involved.

SOMETHING MISSING was a thoroughly enjoyable book, it's the sort of book that slowly builds, that weaves a story around the reader, that's sometimes laugh out loud funny. But for somebody as controlled, considered and self-involved as Martin, somehow he works as a first person voice for the book. Somehow the OCD that affects his every waking hour, also affects his own voice. It's contained, it's explanatory, rather than self-congratulatory, it's quiet, measured and just a little bit sad to be honest. It's an unexpected viewpoint, and goes towards what was really an interesting, unusual and rather entertaining book. Especially if you'd like a crime fiction outing that's not about death and mayhem and murder. show less