The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan

Charlie Howard is a mystery writer living in Amsterdam who's also a successful thief. An American, Michael Park, contacts him and asks Charlie to steal two small monkey figures. Charlie is hesitant to take the job, but does complete the task. Park is then found nearly beaten to death and the police feel Charlie is the prime suspect. From that point, Charlie tries to find out the real story of the figures--why are they so valuable and why is everyone after them? Interspersed in the story are Charlie's witty conversations with his London literary agent, Victoria. My only problem with the book is that I figured out the secret of the figures way before Charlie--kind of surprising since he lives and writes about crime. I did enjoy the story though.