"Rough Cut" by Derek Lambert (1929-2001)

 

Publisher: Bantam Books

Copyright: 1975 as "Touch the Lion's Paw"

ISBN: 0553027891

This novel was originally published as "Touch the Lion's Paw" but was rereleased as "Rough Cut" when the 1980 movie of that name was made starring Burt Reynolds, Leslie Ann Down, and David Niven.

The book is much darker than the movie is, and details the execution of the robbery of Hatton Garden in London of $13 million worth of uncut diamonds, during its transfer to Antwerp for cutting. The overall plot of movie does pretty much the same thing with the exception is much more lighthearted, as is typical with the majority of Burt Reynolds movies, and there is very little violence unlike the book. 

Unlike the most of reviews I do where I compare a movie and a book in this case I very much prefer the movie over the book. Unfortunately, the movie is next to impossible to find as a DVD or Blu-ray (and may not have ever even been released on anything other than VHS).

There were a fair number of changes with regard to the characters when comparing the book and the movie, but for the most part the book itself is very well written and the author obviously did a lot of research on the subject matter, which considering the subject could possibly have been quite difficult.

Both the book and movie are well worth reading/viewing. Enjoy them both.