A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering

Andrew Hunter Murray author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cornerstone

Published:22nd May '25

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering cover

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...

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 *

ISBN: 9781804941232

Dimensions: 199mm x 131mm x 29mm

Weight: 328g

464 pages