Detective Inspector Angelique de Xavia probably expected a few pats on the back for saving Scotland from its version of 9/11 when she prevented terrorists from blowing up a massive hydro-electric project. If they had been successful, they would have flooded a large chunk of Scotland and killed hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

So when no medals were forthcoming, and the final report on her actions by her senior officers read "Disciplinary action would be inappropriate," she did not feel replete with job satisfaction. But still, to start dating the man who held you hostage as part of a bank job that left Scottish Police looking like the lamest force this side of the Keystone cops might be considered a bit of an extreme reaction.

Well, okay, she also just turned thirty, and is having all the usual "where am I at in my life and career" talks with herself. And just in case she wasn't feeling completely emotionally vulnerable, thanks to her little sortie against the terrorists, she now realizes she's killed more men then she's had sex with. Maybe falling for a guy because he's nice to you and has killer blue eyes peeking out from under his clown mask doesn't seem too far off the mark anymore.

To say Christopher Brookmyre's The Sacred Art Of Stealing is not your typical mystery/crime novel is like saying Eric Clapton is not your typical guitarist. Understatement doesn't even come close to describing how off the mark that label would be as a description of what goes on in this book.

Certainly there is a suspenseful mystery plot involved: gangsters blackmailing someone to steal something for them or they kill a third party. There is an intricate and involved plot to steal the item, the police investigation, and attempts to prevent the theft from happening — which also means they have to figure out what is going to be stolen and from where — and a huge plot twist at the end that will leave you gasping.

Where it deviates quite radically from the norm is that D.I. Angelique de Xavia and Zal, the brains behind the robberies and the man being blackmailed to do them, develop more then the typical cop and robber relationship. Even more complicated is that each expects the other to do their best to either outwit or stop the other from outwitting him or her.

Just to add a little spice to the deal, Zal presents the police with an offer: that by the end of the night of the robbery that they will be able to not only take down a local Scottish gangster they've been after for a while, but maybe even a big-time American crime family. But he's still not going to tell them what he's going to be robbing, how, or when. In return he wants guarantees that the person who they are blackmailing him with is protected from harm not matter how this turns out.