Zeit-Heist
Briefings’ roundup of the year’s best heist novels.
November 24, 2025
It’s hard to put down a good heist novel. As readers, we’re drawn into the scheming required to pull off crimes of such magnitude. First, the crew must be assembled. Then every obstacle cleverly anticipated and each step expertly executed. One miscue and it all falls apart. The high stakes keep the pages effortlessly turning.
But there is also an element of rebellion inherent in the heist: We get to root for the bad guys. Of course, stealing is wrong. Yet it’s so satisfying to see David prevailing over Goliath, even if it involves some moral ambiguity. Heist novels let us live out the fantasy of outmaneuvering the system—and getting away with it. Especially in today’s world of overwhelming odds, it makes sense that readers are drawn to stories that pull off the impossible. The last year saw continued demand for thrillers, while the broader global fiction market is projected to grow from an estimated $11.2 billion in 2024 to $11.4 billion in 2025. From a simmering feminist noir to a wilderness survival story, here's Briefings’ roundup of the year’s best heists.
Murder Takes a Vacation
by Laura Lippman
In one of the year’s top reads, a widow wins the lottery and books a Parisian cruise, only to end up investigating both a murder and an art heist.
Hammajang Luck
by Makana Yamamoto
After a failed heist, the two main characters must learn to trust each other again as they give it another go in this cyberpunk sci-fi about betrayal and the search for home.
El Dorado Drive
by Megan Abbott
Three sisters in suburban Detroit are drawn into a women-led money scheme that ultimately tests their loyalty and unravels their lives.
Felony Juggler
by Penn Jillette
A semi-autobiographical story about a street performer who finds himself caught up in a bank robbery and hiding out at a Renaissance fair.
Beartooth
by Callan Wink
A Yellowstone River fly-fishing guide writes about two brothers who end up fighting to survive in the wilderness of Montana after dire circumstances lead them to succumb to temptation.
