The Helicopter Heist by Jonas Bonnier

Author : Jonas Bonnier
Title : The Helicopter Heist
published : 2018
Publisher : Zaffre
Pages : 512
Genre : Crime Fiction

     Four men gather in Stockholm. Each has existed on the fringes of Stockholm society. Each has a past that just won't let them go. Then a plan falls into their laps. A plan to steal millions from the largest cash facility in Sweden. At first, the scheme seems foolproof, every contingency covered, every detail planned perfectly. But is everyone involved who they say they are? Can they ever really hope to pull off such an extraordinary crime?

     I've always been on for a good heist story, from t.v shows to films they have always held m captive for there length. I suppose we see these men and women as some sort of Robbin Hoods. It's a story that in some part or another has been burnt into our sub subconscious.  The tale of the noble bandits robbing the rich. Sticking it to the man on some level, getting one over for the little guy. But as is too often the case reality and fiction are at different ends of this spectrum. More often than not these people are out for themselves and no one else. But it does not detract from the attention I pay to these stories. While a good shoot out is key to keeping us completely enthralled with these stories, for me it is all the planning that takes place beforehand I find interesting. 

     Bonnier put the time in when he set about writing this book. While it is, for the most part, a work of fiction it is heavily influenced by a real crime. In two thousand and nine, a group of criminals set out on an audacious crime. It is through interviews with them that the author built up his story. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction. It takes a lot to pull this off too often with such book the fiction railroads it places in reality. Here every action fits within a perfect puzzle leading up to the robbery itself. The moves while devilishly complex and their heart for selfish means makes sense. You can see as they try to pull off the perfect crime in a way that the police will never be able to stop them. You would think that every conceivable way to rob a building has been played out time and again. So for these people, it was time to go large or go home. 

     The author managed to find a balance between building up tension all the while allowing us to see how every angle was to be played out. And despite things never going they way they should on paper, It is about foreseeing these eventualities and trying to have a plan B. I found it interesting that not only do we get to see this crime play out but also to learn some of the back stories to them allowing for a little more investment in to these criminals. I'm not sure that at any point I was truly rooting for them to get away with there crime.  As I said there are no Danny Oceans hear, they are not particularly nice people. But for there part I do find them fascinating, to learn how the pull strings and move chess pieces into the end game, for the outcome they desire. whilst this is a long book it moves along at a nice steady pace. It keeps you locked into their story as well as the police as the duke it out to see who will come out on top. 

     If you like a good heist story this book is defiantly one for you. I would also suggest it to those of a true crime nature. There is plenty here to keep you glued to the page. It also, like me might lead you on to look into the real events and a bit deeper into the actions of the police.