Portrait of a Thief is a book I had been DYING to read and when Netgalley approved me for an arc, I literally yelled. When I read the premise and then saw the cover (which is a whole damn vibe), I knew I needed to read it.

The novel is about a group of friends, all young, all still in college except for Alex, who is an MIT dropout working in Silicon Valley, become embroiled in a scheme to take back (I'm not using the word steal) artifacts that were pillaged from Beijing’s Summer Palace. Sponsored by a mysterious woman who is incredibly wealthy and powerful, Will, his sister Irene, Alex, Lily and Daniel embark on a series of heists that will change their lives.

This book did not disappoint me, for the most part. I loved the characters, each with their own problems of identity to both China and America, something I've been trying to read more about. All are children of immigrants, which comes with the pressures of doing well in a country that still does not accept them. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Will and Irene. They each have their own issues and feelings of inadequacy that come to a head in the book. Will is the eldest, a Harvard student studying art, a profession that many immigrant parents would not find acceptable or lucrative. Irene, on the other hand, is a junior at Duke, being the dutiful daughter she thinks she should be while competing with her brother. Irene has a knack for getting what she wants, most of the time with nothing but a smile. The two of them want what they want, and will do what they can to get it.

The entire time I read this book, I kept thinking about who would play each character should it ever be adapted for television or film. I would have to do some serious research because I'm not familiar with really young Chinese talent. I'm of the Chow Yun-fat/Michelle Yeoh/Gong Li fan club, although Henry Golding, Simu Liu and a few others are now on my radar. But I know one thing, whomever is hired to be the casting director, he/she/they needs to cast Tony Leung as Daniel's father. He is the ONLY man who can play that part. His face was burned in my brain while I read the book.

The biggest peeve I had about the book is the constant reminders of how the whole thing began. I get it, the characters are super young and to go from worrying about college and the future to planning and pulling off art heists is enough to rattle even the most stable brain. But it felt like I read about it way too much.

I also wish there had been more dialogue. The first part of the book didn't have much but when I got deeper into the book, the amount of dialogue increased, which really added much more to the story. The author really knows how to write dialogue between the characters so I wanted more of it.

The ending was pretty satisfying and, like I've said after reading other arcs I've enjoyed, I want to read the finished version to see if anything changes and to also get reacquainted with Will and his crew.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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