By Katherine Rundell (author)
"Beautifully written and full of scenes that both thrill and enchant, The Good Thieves is Rundell at her classy best."
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June 2019 Book of the Month
After stories set in jungles and on the Russian steppes, Katherine Rundell has chosen the streets of Prohibition New York for her latest, but it’s just as full of the sense of peril and freedom from rules that characterises her earlier books, with central character Vita facing possibly the greatest danger yet.
Newly arrived from England, Vita is determined to win back her family home, the fabulous Hudson Castle, acquired from her grandfather in a distinctly shady way by mob boss Victor Sorrotore. This will involve breaking and entering – and legend has it the castle is impregnable – and safe cracking, but Vita is fortunate enough to have as associates an extremely talented pickpocket and two fearless young circus performers.
Rundell revels in setting her characters these kind of challenges and also in exploring the kind of physical and mental daring required to undertake them. She likes to equip her protagonists with right and with love too, the latter proves a formidable weapon for Vita. Beautifully written and full of scenes that both thrill and enchant, The Good Thieves is Rundell at her classy best.
Readers who are captivated by Katherine Rundell’s wild children will also enjoy Stop the Train or The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean, or books by classic children’s writers such as Joan Aiken and Eva Ibbotson .
Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack's spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home.
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She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.
Katherine Rundell's fifth novel is a heist as never seen before - the story of a group of children who will do anything to right a wrong.
An amazing adventure story, told with sparkling style and sleight of hand - Jacqueline Wilson
The Good Thieves is a story-telling spectacle - it glitters with adventure, family, friendship, and an irresistible sprinkling of impossibility - Catherine Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper's Island
A new Katherine Rundell book is always an event, but this is another triumph and then some. A wickedly exciting heist with heart, I can but marvel at this new delight from one of my favourite storytellers ever - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars
I love the way Katherine puts Impossible on hold while she tells her wild, warm, shimmering stories - Hilary McKay, author of The Skylarks' War
Praise for The Explorer;
Rundell is now unarguably in the first rank - Philip Pullman
Rundell is a class act - The Times
One of our most talented writers for children - Observer
I cannot imagine the child who wouldn't be delighted by it - Independent
Katherine Rundell is a multi-million-bestselling author whose novels for children have won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children’s Book Award, among many others. Impossible Creatures was Waterstones Book of the Year 2023, and in 2024 Katherine was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year and Impossible Creatures won the Children’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where she works on Renaissance literature. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite , winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize. Very occasionally she goes climbing across the rooftops of Oxford, late at night.
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Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Good Thieves and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Good Thieves features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Crime & Mystery, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Paperback, Hardback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Good Thieves was written by Katherine Rundell and published by Bloomsbury Children's Books an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The Good Thieves has 322 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
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