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129:. 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.
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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
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The caper story is distinguished from the straight crime story by elements of humor, adventure, or unusual cleverness or audacity. The main characters often have comical idiosyncrasies and the law enforcement individuals are characterized by ineptitude or inadequacies. The criminals comically plan a
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crime with details unnecessary for the nature of the crime, and humour is created when their personalities clash and their quirks are exposed. For instance, the
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Richard Stark) are grimly straightforward accounts of mundane crime—the criminal equivalent of the
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A caper may appear as a subplot in a larger work. For example,
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means to leap in a frolicsome way, and probably derives from
594:"The Mystery of Mysteries: 10 Elements of the Caper Mystery"
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169:'s plot to steal Jim out of slavery in the last part of
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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162:Rhodenbarr's criminal talents to solve murders.
366:series (beginning in 1970) and other novels by
310:, adapted for film in 1950, 1958, 1963 and 1972
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666:from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
654:from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
592:Moore, Author Sharon Arthur (2014-11-18).
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
522:and later hatches a scheme to steal it.
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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191:, which derives from the Latin for
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463:The Lies of Locke Lamora
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401:The Great Train Robbery
320:The League of Gentlemen
284:The Ransom of Red Chief
436:(1981) by Tony Kenrick
419:(1976) by Tony Kenrick
417:The Seven Day Soldiers
413:(1975) by Tony Kenrick
384:(1972) by Tony Kenrick
939:Fictional detectives
175:is a classic caper.
43:improve this article
886:Film and television
664:Caper; definition 3
637:Caper; definition 2
382:A Tough One to Lose
875:historical mystery
622:has generic name (
598:WriteOnSisters.com
550:series created by
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518:on loan from the
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58:"Caper story"
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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779:Weird menace
753:
719:General info
659:
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620:|first=
601:. Retrieved
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559:Olsen-banden
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554:(2008–2012).
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538:(2004–2012).
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377:Walter Wager
373:Sledgehammer
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286:" (1910) by
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244:Please help
228:may contain
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
855:Tartan Noir
828:locked room
806:Legal drama
552:Dean Devlin
536:Tony Jordan
534:created by
479:Ally Carter
468:Scott Lynch
341:(filmed as
339:Eric Ambler
323:(1958) and
315:John Boland
236:information
137:stories of
123:caper story
995:Categories
964:historical
796:Hardboiled
603:2021-01-25
579:References
502:Television
497:Heist film
477:(2010) by
466:(2006) by
455:(2006) By
444:(2008) By
404:(1975) by
394:John Godey
392:(1973) by
375:(1971) by
337:(1962) by
313:novels by
306:(1949) by
276:(1907) by
266:Literature
230:unverified
167:Tom Sawyer
135:Dortmunder
69:newspapers
932:Character
860:Tart Noir
759:Detective
740:Subgenres
704:Detective
639:from the
516:Rembrandt
510:, a 1968
295:The Saint
183:The verb
179:Etymology
99:June 2009
918:Neo-noir
870:Whodunit
865:Thriller
811:thriller
652:Capriole
612:cite web
567:See also
543:Leverage
512:TV-movie
317:such as
288:O. Henry
209:Examples
189:capriole
185:to caper
959:private
908:Mystery
818:Mystery
791:Gong'an
708:mystery
441:Swindle
344:Topkapi
160:burglar
83:scholar
954:police
949:female
850:Spy-Fi
840:Nordic
786:Giallo
774:occult
710:, and
527:Hustle
520:Louvre
329:(1961)
144:Parker
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969:teams
923:Trial
903:Heist
754:Caper
747:Theme
203:caper
198:Capra
90:JSTOR
76:books
944:male
913:Noir
835:Noir
823:cozy
769:girl
624:help
546:, a
530:, a
491:Film
362:the
350:the
193:goat
121:The
62:news
845:Spy
548:TNT
238:in
232:or
154:'s
45:by
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