Breaking In

Subscribe to our newsletter for title recommendations, giveaways and discounts reserved only for subscribers.Join here. PRAISE FOR BREAKING IN“FUN AND FAST AND ACTION-PACKED . . . A TRIBUTE TO THE CREATIVE PROCESS ON THE PAGE, THE STAGE, AND WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE ONE’S WAY IN THE CUTTHROAT WORLD OF SHOW BUSINESS. A STAND-OUT DEBUT NOVEL THAT IS SURE TO BE THE FIRST OF MANY FROM TYLER SCHWANKE.”—MATT GOLDMAN, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND EMMY AWARD–WINNING TELEVISION WRITER“THIS IS A COMPELLING READ THAT DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM SLIGHTLY DARKER CONTENT . . . A FAST-PACED HOMAGE TO THE CLASSIC HEIST FILM.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS“IN THIS DELIGHTFUL HEIST NOVEL . . . SCHWANKE TAKES HIS CUES FROM CLASSIC NOIR, BUT THE DILEMMAS FACED (AND SOLUTIONS SOUGHT) ARE PURE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY BLUES.”—CRIMEREADS“PART YOUNG ADULT NOVEL AND PART HEIST MOVIE SCREENPLAY, BREAKING IN IS A WILD RIDE OF CONS, DOUBLE CROSSES, AND BLOOD—BOTH REAL AND STAGED. TYLER SCHWANKE’S DEBUT IS A PAGE-TURNING WHIRLWIND OF COMEDIC GENIUS NOT TO BE MISSED.”—ROBERT KERBECK, FORMER CORPORATE SPY AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF RUSE AND MALIBU BURNING Copyright © 2023 by Tyler SchwankeE-book published in 2023 by Blackstone PublishingCover design by Sarah RiedlingerAll rights reserved. This book or any portionthereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotationsin a book review. The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidentaland not intended by the author.Trade e-book ISBN 979-8-200-96081-1Library e-book ISBN 979-8-200-96080-4Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / CrimeBlackstone Publishing31 Mistletoe Rd.Ashland, OR 97520www.BlackstonePublishing.com To Tess,my forever partner in crime Sadly, the writer is thought disposable here, Hollywood being the only relay race where you hand the baton to the next guy . . .And he shoots you.—Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! Strikes Back FADE IN:1EXT. NEW YORK CITY ALLEY—NIGHTFeet slap against wet pavement. Clouds of steam puff through manhole covers. An overhead light sputters and goes dead.A man in a dark alley looks over his shoulder to see if he’s being followed, then slows. Pink neon from a diner sign bathes him in light, throwing long shadows against the fragmented red brick behind him. He hugs a duffel bag close to his chest and listens for footsteps, voices, police sirens. The alley is quiet. His breathing is heavy.He takes off his fedora, kneels down to open the duffel bag. With an anxious hand, he pulls back the zipper. A sound escapes him. He closes his eyes and grinds his teeth. He looks as if he’s about to cry, but tears don’t come.He removes a stack of dollar-sized paper cut from newspapers, phone books, and advertisements. He takes out another. His actions are hurried, desperate. It’s worse than he feared. He turns the bag over. Stacks upon stacks of paper land on neon-stained cement. He rakes his hands through the pile. It’s all fake, not a single authentic piece of currency to be found. It’s enough to make a man cry, but still no tears. He gives it a moment. Nothing.From the front pocket of his trench coat, he pulls out a handgun. He looks it over, inspecting the barrel, then the grip. It looks foreign in his hand, like it’s the first time he’s ever held a gun. Interesting for a man who shot someone hours ago.He nods. A decision has been made. About what isn’t clear.Hurried footsteps echo from around the corner. He jumps to his feet, aims the gun. He takes a step back out of the light. His face is drenched in shadows. He holds his breath. His body trembles. Way too much. The footsteps get louder. Someone rounds the corner and a woman’s voice yells, “Don’t shoot!” but the back of the man’s head blocks her face from the camera—“Cut!”For the sixth time tonight, Millie drops her head into her hands. God. Dammit. A two-minute take once again ruined by the actor not hitting his mark. How many times is she going to have to go over this?While spending the last eighteen months writing her script, meticulously storyboarding and designing all the shots, saving every allowance, and asking only for money on birthdays and holidays to pay the Academy’s summer-workshop fee, she never factored in that all of her hard work would rest in the hands of a plumber from Staten Island with day care issues. That’s what she gets for not being able to afford a SAG actor for the lead.“Let’s take five, then we’ll go again,” she says.“I gotta be on the ferry by six to pick up my kid in time, or my ex is going to shit,” the actor replies.“I’m aware.”He pulls out a vape pen and sticks it between his lips. The actress they just cast yesterday after the first two quit, whose face still hasn’t been captured on camera, takes out her iPhone from a pocket in her vintage floral tea dress. They gather by the rented U-Haul van whose cargo area doubles as a greenroom. Both ignore the craft services provided: a grease-splotched bag of donuts and a Box O’ Joe from Dunkin’.Paz stares at Millie from on top of her apple box, arms crossed, pierced eyebrow raised, no doubt waiting to challenge going for another long take. Millie might try to play the intimidating director, but she knows that someone who’s seventeen and looks younger, especially with her blond hair, apple cheeks, and overly big blue eyes, is hardly going to intimidate anyone. Instead, she pulls down the brim of her Dodgers cap to hide as much of her face as she can.“That’s fine, pretend I can’t see you,” Paz says. “But you know we’re not going to get it before sunrise if we don’t break up the shot.”“Just be ready with the makeup kit for touch-ups before we go again,” Millie says, pushing her cap back up. “And can you darken the bags under his eyes? He’s supposed