Caper story

The typical caper story involves one or more crimes (especially thefts, swindles, or occasionally kidnappings) perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader.The actions of police or detectives attempting to prevent or solve the crimes may also be chronicled, but are not the main focus of the story.[1] For instance, the Dortmunder stories of Donald E. Westlake are highly comic tales involving unusual thefts by a gang of offbeat characters—in different stories Dortmunder's gang steals the same gem several times, steals an entire branch bank, and kidnaps someone from an asylum by driving a stolen train onto the property.By contrast, the same author's Parker stories (published under the name Richard Stark) are grimly straightforward accounts of mundane crime—the criminal equivalent of the police procedural.For example, Tom Sawyer's plot to steal Jim out of slavery in the last part of Huckleberry Finn is a classic caper.
crime fictionDortmunderDonald E. WestlakeParkerpolice proceduralLawrence BlockBernie RhodenbarrburglarTom SawyerHuckleberry FinnArsène Lupin, Gentleman BurglarMaurice LeblancThe Ransom of Red ChiefO. HenryThe SaintLeslie CharterisW. R. BurnettJohn BolandThe League of GentlemenThe Light of DayEric AmblerTopkapiModesty BlaisePeter O'DonnellJohn DortmunderWalter WagerThe Taking of Pelham One Two ThreeJohn GodeyThe Great Train RobberyMichael CrichtonShanghai SurpriseSwindleGordon KormanBrandon SandersonThe Lies of Locke LamoraScott LynchHeist SocietyAlly CarterJanet EvanovichHeist filmTV-movieRembrandtLouvreHustleBritish seriesTony JordanLeverageDean DevlinOlsen-bandenCanadian CaperMerriam-Webster Online DictionaryDetectivemysteryHistory of crime fictionCrime writersClosed circleoccultWeird menaceGialloGong'anHardboiledInverted detective storyLegal dramathrillerlocked roomNordicSpy-FiTartan NoirTart NoirWhodunithistorical mysteryProcedural dramaNeo-noirFictional detectivesfemalepoliceprivatehistoricalscience fiction and fantasy