The Bottom Line: A breakout heist thriller you’ll never forget.
Avanti Centrae, award-winning author of the VanOps series, returns with a standalone that fuses the moral grit of The Shawshank Redemption with the sophisticated intrigue of The Thomas Crown Affair.
Like those classics, The Picasso Job is taut, visual and ready for the big screen.
Dakota “No-flak Dak” Black once dreamed of joining the FBI. Instead, he’s serving time in Folsom Prison for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. When a notorious Iranian art thief, Bijan “Renoir” Reza, engineers a daring escape amid wildfire and chaos, Dakota seizes the chance for freedom, only to find himself hunted by Cody Winters, the vengeful brother of the man he supposedly killed. Bound together by desperation and betrayal, the three fugitives become reluctant partners, embarking on a deadly quest to recover a stolen Picasso worth five million dollars.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Elizabeth Everett, who once captured Reza, is back on his trail and determined to stop him before his “art job” fuels an international crisis. Everett, driven by grief and duty, provides a compelling counterbalance to the fugitives’ chaos.
Who deserves freedom and who merely seizes it? Fueled in part by hugely engaging internal dialogue (A hooded Darth Vader sweatshirt was draped over the back seat, and he took it, pulling it over his head. He’d never stolen anything before. Making a mental note of the address, 10944 Bullion Way, he promised to have a new sweatshirt delivered at his earliest opportunity. That address would be easy to remember—at least the Bullion part), the book’s thematic core lifts it above the standard crime thriller and into something much more. It’s a white-knuckled exploration of justice, freedom and redemption set against the backdrop of stolen art and moral compromise.
Throughout, Centrae seamlessly blends high-stakes espionage with cultural and artistic lore. The Picasso becomes a symbol of humanity’s capacity for both creation and corruption. Beneath the action, the story is layered with emotional depth: Dakota’s struggle between survival and integrity gives it a human heartbeat, while Reza’s cold brilliance and twisted code of honor make him a villain worth remembering. Brace yourself for a high-concept, high-heart journey you’ll recall long after the final page.
