Al is extremely skilled at breaking and entering other peoples houses. He doesn’t do it to steal – he has scruples - but to squat, his reasoning being that if it’s empty, why not live in it? After all, it beats paying rent and other inconvenient bills.

All is going well until the night a house owner returns unexpectedly having forgotten his passport. Al decides it’s time to move on and go to his Go To safe house, the one he uses regularly when things get a tad hot. The problem is that someone else is in residence – not the owners, but a group of like-minded people who are also skilled and very knowledgable. Al now finds himself in a bit of a bind, a situation which eventually leads to a murder…

This is often funny and certainly different, with roguish characters who are quite likeable. The pace is a little hit and miss, and sometimes the author tries a little too hard with the humour, but nonetheless, it’s a light, easy to read novel.

The protagonist, Al, breaks into other peoples homes. The twist is, he doesn’t take anything, just stays in them whilst the owners are away. We know there’s an issue with this, as Al is in prison at the start of the book. He then takes us on an adventure of his experiences and it’s a fun, easy read about life choices, murder and consequences and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to preview.

I didn't know what to expect from this book but it certainly wasn't what I got. A very funny, extremely entertaining read with lots of twists that kept me guessing right up until the very end. Admittedly I didn't understand some of the financial or technical jargon but that didn't detract from the enjoyment one bit. I will definitely look up other books written by Andrew Hunter Murray and recommend this one to anyone who wants an educated, interesting, humorous read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

3.5 stars rounded up.

This was a really fun and entertaining read with a great main character in Al. I felt like it did drag a little around the 60-70% mark. Personally I would've maybe preferred less financial/fraud jargon but I understand why it was there of course. I didn't feel that the love story was that believable and the book would've been just as good without it. And finally I would've really loved more of Al's back story. Sequel maybe?

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Al spends his life house sitting the homes of the wealthy, admittedly the owners of these homes don't know that Al is house sitting for them. Al has two rules when it comes to this life 1) Look after the house as if it was your own, and 2) Always work alone. When Al breaks the second rule things start to fall apart, and Al is telling us his story from prison. In a story that features dodgy estate agents, dirty cops, and corrupt politicians, I felt that the bad guy was just a bit too obvious but having said that I did enjoy this book and I would quite like prequel as I would like to know how Al came to be estranged from his family.

Not my favourite book but definitely not the worst. It just didn't compell me to keep reading as I found it a little slow and nearly gave up in places. Just not my cup of tea

I wasn't really sure what this book would be about when I started reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story was gripping throughout with an interesting and comical narrator. There are several questions that go unanswered throughout the book, which is slightly annoying. However, the mix of comic narration and amateur investigation worked well and kept me engaged throughout.

What an enjoyable read. There's plenty of laughs and tension as the plot plays out. The story moves very quickly as things start to unravel.

Hilarious happenstance for the nihilistic drop out. How does a self-sufficient man cope when drawn into reliance and a bigger spiral of cause and effect?

What a brilliant book. I absolutely loved reading this and could barely face putting it down. It has great characters, a crazy plot and the writing is fantastic. It's one of those books where you start to take screenshots of lines that are great, only to realise that there are going to be too many.

The story begins with Al, an "interloper" who basically spends his time living for free in rich people's unoccupied homes. Except now he's writing from prison - so clearly something went wrong somewhere.

A visit to a home he usually stays in took an unexpected turn as he discovers that another group have got there first. And when he agrees to go with them to their next target house, things go very badly wrong. And from then on the four of them - Al, Em, Elle and Jonny - are on the run in case they are suspects in a murder while simultaneously trying to solve that murder.

The best thing about this book for me is the writing. It's so intimate, as though Al is basically talking to himself. Which he literally sometimes is:

"It's only when he moves his hand a fraction that I think to myself: Al, you're now standing at gunpoint. Weird word, gunpoint. If it ever applies to you, you're not the one doing the pointing. Oh my God, Al. Concentrate will you?"

And because the reader is so involved in the private thoughts and feelings of Al, it's easy to feel very invested in him. We see all his flaws and foibles and insecurities, and that makes him relatable because there's bound to be something in him that every reader can probably see in themselves.

As the book progresses we learn a bit more about his history - although much is still a mystery. But one thing that comes out clearly is that he's been quite lonely for much of his adult life, and his meeting of the other three interlopers has made him appreciate having company again. His slowly blossoming romance with Em is really well done.

She's the other really brilliant character for me - someone very quick-witted and intelligent, who has the knack of getting into any persona needed in order to get what she wants.

As with so many novels, the plot is a good one but what kept me reading was the main characters and the developing relationships between them. The style very much reminded me of Benjamin Stevenson (Everyone on this Train is a Suspect and Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone) who I also really enjoy reading. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good story and will be looking to read more from the author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for ARC.
Al is living an odd life, getting by in a housing market that doesn't make sense by entering empty homes and occupying them. He keeps his head down, leaves no trace, and has had no hassle. Until he meets a group of like minded individuals and things go terribly terribly wrong and they're suspects in at least one murder. They try to stay on the run while finding out what really happened.
This is a hugely entertaining romp of a novel, and even when the plot threads don't quite hang together it's a fantastic achievement.

I really enjoyed this book. Al (not his real name) has spent years living in other people's houses while they are away. He doesn't steal. He just lives there. He calls it interloping. Then one day he goes back to one of his regular properties and finds 3 other interlopers there. Against his better judgement he finds himself going with these people to a large house in the Cotswolds. This is where everything starts to go wrong. The home owner is still there and is murdered in front of them. They know they will be suspects if they are caught at the house, so they decide to investigate themselves, in the hope of finding the perpetrator. The story is very entertaining in a frenetic, slightly farcical way. I recommend it as a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Sometimes, occasionally,, you come across one of those novels which is so fresh, so readable and so funny that you find yourself looking forward to opening it up again when life forces you to put it down to eat, sleep or work. A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering is one such book and it totally grabbed me from page one to the very end.

Read it and you will see - there’s not a dull page in the whole book or a character that didn’t spring to life from the talented pen of Andrew Hunter Murray. It definitely deserves to be a best seller.

Many, many thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read and enjoy this entertaining, and above all, fabulously funny book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and very cleverly put together. I loved the characters and the quirky humour in the book. I'd love to read more by this author. Great read for a book club. Devoured it within a couple of days.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and what I got was a really enjoyable read,

Well paced and very amusing at times and you really wanted the main characters to emerge unscathed.

I just didn't want this to end. The narrator's voice is very, very engaging: a little cynical, very witty and all round jolly good fun. It tapped right into my sense of humour.

Al (the narrator) is, as he likes to call himself, an 'interloper'. Others would probably describe it as 'breaking and entering'. He is very particular about the difference. He merely stays in empty houses whilst their owner(s) is/are away on some exotic far-away holiday or in one of their other houses. He doesn't steal anything. He merely temporarily resides in an empty house. He's managed to do this for a good decade, following a meticulous set of rules and always on his own: until events lead him to co-'interloping' with three others, which is when it all goes wrong. Very, very wrong.

This is wonderfully easy to read and even easier to immerse yourself into the characters, all of whom are really rather captivating and fascinating. It's very well written and keeps you entertained right to the end.

Al never explains what led him to an 'interloping' career, he never explains what the nefarious deeds of his past were, but quite often alludes to, and never tells the reader his real name. I was just slightly miffed that these questions remained unanswered, but it doesn't alter my five-star rating and very certainly won't prevent me seeking out this author's other books.

I enjoyed the author's previous book, a futuristic novel that, to me, felt a bit Victorian. This book is completely different and I was hooked from the first page. It's a nicely written story with an engaging main character and there's a lot of humour thrown in too.

This is a great easy read and Andrew Hunter Murray is one to watch.

Al breaks into some of the most luxurious properties around London but he doesn't take anything. He's somewhat of an unofficial house sitter..
Al ends up meeting others that are doing the same as him and reluctantly goes with them to the next house where it all goes wrong and Al finds himself in big trouble.

This book wasn't at all what I was expecting. Al and his friends end up in some bonkers situations where you definitely need to suspend belief! It is far fetched but it totally works and I found it so enjoyable and very witty!

I absolutely loved Al. I needed to see what happened and was dying for more of his backstory which the author did deliver on. I thought there was a great host of characters that were excellently written. The plot was well paced, it kind of went off keel in the last third of the book. Which is where I started to lose interest but I was completely invested by this stage and the need to know how it ends and what was to become of poor Al kept me turning the pages.

I would definitely recommend this quirky read! Would love to see it adapted to a movie or series.

Huge thanks to @netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you for allowing me to read an advance review copy of this book. I found it fairly slow going although witty and clever in places, but I could have easily put it down and not finished it.

I normally read and review children's books but the title of this one really caught my eye and I had to know more.
What unfolded was a twisty-turning look at the role of an 'interloper'. It was funny, serious, intriguing and a thoroughly enjoyable read as I tried to work out who was at the heart of the mystery.
I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author.