The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura

Summary

Nishimura’s friend Ishikawa had a simple philosophy. ‘If you steal a hundred thousand from someone who’s worth a billion, it’s almost like you’ve taken nothing.’ This was the man who was so adept that he could lift a wallet from a mark’s pocket, take out some of the money and then return the wallet to the same pocket. Nishimura knew it was wrong but pick pocketing was what his life was destined to be about. He made it his profession, and he made sure he was one of the best – a skill he too could someday pass on.

Ishikawa had had to leave Tokyo to avoid arrest on fraud charges. Skipped to the Philippines, found a new identity in Pakistan and came back. But he got in deep with some seriously heavy gentlemen. Then deeper still. They were after big fish and not just the money. He had a choice to make and it involved his friend. A big money job, a serious enterprise. No way back to a simple life for either of them after that.