The Gamblers

Con jobs, charlatans, rip-off artists, grifters and crooks – we do what we can to avoid them in real life. But, oh, how we’re drawn to other people’s stories of mind-boggling scams and capers. Especially when they go erroneously, horrendously pear-shaped. Here are some books where it’s a short walk between Easy Street and the Big House.

The Fine Cotton Fiasco

Peter Hoysted, Pat Sheil

Welcome to Queensland, 1984. We hope you enjoy your day at the races.
Came a Hot Friday POD

Ronald Morrieson
The Talented Mr Ripley

Patricia Highsmith

'The No.1 Greatest Crime Writer' The Times
The Code of the Woosters

P.G. Wodehouse

A classic Jeeves and Wooster novel from P.G. Wodehouse, the great comic writer of the 20th century.
Cherry

Nico Walker

Jesus’ Son meets Reservoir Dogs in a breakneck-paced debut novel about love, war, bank robberies, and heroin
The Assistants

Camille Perri

Hilarious and spot on, this is The Devil Wears Prada for the Lena Dunham generation
Artemis

Andy Weir

A twisty, high concept thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of global phenomenon, The Martian