Property might be theft. But the housing market is murder . . . A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering is a gripping thriller about what it's like to be young, skilled, unemployed - and on the run.

'A comic delight' Financial Times

'A thoroughly entertaining mix of whodunnit, social satire and a cunningly smuggled-in love story' Mail on Sunday

'Laugh out loud funny, surprising, shocking, thought provoking ... Loved it' The Times

__________

Property might be theft. But the housing market is murder.

My name is Al. I live in wealthy people's second homes while their real owners are away.

I don’t rob them, I don’t damage anything… I’m more an unofficial house-sitter than an actual criminal.

Life is good.

Or it was - until last night, when my friends and I broke into the wrong place, on the wrong day, and someone wound up dead.

And now … now we’re in a great deal of trouble.

__________

Praise for A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering . . .

'A propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue' Guardian

'It’s laugh-out-loud funny, proceeding at a pace that makes it almost impossible to put down.' Sunday Times

'Fantastic' Zoe Ball

'Madly fun and exciting' Lisa Jewell

‘Who knew murder could be so funny. A joyous read from start to finish. I loved it!’ Clare Mackintosh

'Legit brilliant, FUN and FUNNY and I couldn’t recommend it more' Stevie Martin

‘Dark, funny, and deeply twisted' Val McDermid

'Witty, dazzling and incredibly addictive' Jenny Colgan

‘A bloody brilliant, fantastic book . . . I’m bereft now I’ve finished it’ Philippa Perry

‘[Andrew Hunter Murray] has written something so funny and clever, you will want to give him a badge.’ Cariad Lloyd

'Tremendous fun: a quirky, gripping and insightful novel that kept me reading late into the night.' Elizabeth Macneal

‘This is a giddy, addictive thrill ride of a book - who knew accidental espionage was so much fun?!' Daisy Buchanan

'An excellent pacy caper’ Professor Sophie Ratcliffe

'Tremendous fun: a quirky, gripping and insightful novel that kept me reading late into the night.' Elizabeth Macneal

__________

Five stars for A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering . . .

'I just didn't want this to end. The narrator's voice is very, very engaging: a little cynical, very witty and all round jolly good fun'
'It has some brilliantly written characters and the plot keeps you engaged throughout'
'I was gripped to the very end'
'Great fun, fast paced and quirkily written'

Hilarious * Daily Mail *
Smart, satirical, knowledgable, accurate, punchy, laugh out loud funny, surprising, shocking, thought provoking. Lovely short chapters. Loved it * Matt Chorley, The Times *
Hugely entertaining…the novel is politically astute, gradually revealing a scam involving property and international money laundering. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, proceeding at a pace that makes it almost impossible to put down. * Sunday Times *
A propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue make this a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner * Guardian *
The plot is corset-tight and lavish with its surprises. An amusing crime caper…a delight * Strong Words Magazine *
What drives Hunter Murray’s chunky crime thriller along is Al’s idiosyncratic, comic narrative voice. As a result, it’s fun to spend time with him, even when it’s clear he’s not necessarily a great human being * Herald Scotland *
Filled with humour, shocks, love and hate – and a few handy tips on how to beat the housing crisis… Funny, thoughtful and all-round entertaining * Press Association *
In the delicious A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering, a hapless housebreaker and his fellow miscreants must solve a murder before the police arrest them; it’s a comic delight. * Financial Times *
I was hooked ... as it's filled with hilarious moments * Express *

Andrew Hunter Murray is a writer and broadcaster from London. His three previous novels (The Last Day, The Sanctuary, and A Beginner’s Guide To Breaking And Entering) have between them hit the Sunday Times top 10 bestseller charts, been Waterstones' Thriller of the Month and have been nominated for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.

When not writing, Andrew presents The Naked Week on BBC Radio 4, co-hosts the award-winning smash podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, writes jokes and journalism for Private Eye magazine, and hosts the Eye’s podcast, Page 94.


Andrew lives in London, in a house which largely belongs to someone else (Barclay’s).