To Catch a Thief is a 1952 thriller novel by David Dodge

David F. Dodge

David Francis Dodge was an author of mystery/thriller novels and humorous travel books. His first book was published in 1941. His fiction is characterized by tight plotting, brisk dialogue, memorable and well-defined characters, and exotic locations...

. John Robie is a retired American jewel thief, formerly known as Le Chat ("The Cat"), who now spends his time tending to the rose garden in his villa on the Côte d'Azur. Following a series of recent jewel robberies on the Riviera that resemble his style, the police believe that the Cat is up to his old tricks again. A young woman vacationing in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 suspects Robie at first, then offers to help him catch the real burglar.

In 1955, the novel was adapted to film

To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief is a 1952 thriller novel by David Dodge. John Robie is a retired American jewel thief, formerly known as Le Chat , who now spends his time tending to the rose garden in his villa on the Côte d'Azur. Following a series of recent jewel robberies on the Riviera that resemble his...

 by Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

, starring Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

 and Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...

. On 8 January 2011 it was dramatized as a Saturday Play and broadcast on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

.

Editions

• New York: Random House, 1952. 248 pp. [1st ed.]
• New York: Dell Publishing Company, 1953 (Dell 658). 224 pp.
• London: Michael Joseph, 1953. [1st UK ed.]
• Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1955 (Penguin 1053). 215, [1] pp.
• London: White Lion Publishers Limited, 1972. 215, [1] pp. ISBN 0-85617-803-9
• London; Melbourne: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1988 (Mastercrime). 200 pp. ISBN 0-460-12557-5
• Eugene, Or.: Bruin Books, 2010 (Bruin Crimeworks). ix, 281 pp. ISBN 978-0-9826339-3-9

Condensed/Abridged Versions

• Book publication was preceded by a version of the novel that appeared in the December 1951 issue of Cosmopolitan (Vol. 131, no. 6)
• In Reader's Digest Condensed Books
  Reader's Digest Condensed Books
  The Reader's Digest Condensed Books were a series of hardcover anthology collections, published by Reader's Digest and distributed by direct mail. Each volume contained several current best-selling novels , abridged...
  
  , Winter 1952 Selections. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest Association, 1952, p. 397-503
• In Reader's Digest Condensed Books. London: Reader's Digest Association, [1956?], p. 409-503
• In Anthology of Mystery and Suspense. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest Association, 1959 (Reader's Digest Book Club), p. 224-315
• In The Golden Age of Film: Four Novels That Captivated Hollywood. Ultimo, N.S.W.: Reader's Digest Australia, 2009.