Safecracker

Jesse Deroy’s debut is a taut and deeply inhabited dive into the criminal netherworld that unfurls with surprising heart, wild specificity, and the tactile pleasure of an intricate well-executed plan.

Grantchester “Duke" Ducaine was born and raised a thief, so working the straight and narrow the last two years has felt like surfing without water. His dad is in the pen and his sister is . . . well,...