TL;DR Review: Fast-paced, gritty action, high stakes, and delightful characters. The perfect series to scratch my Locke Lamora itch!
Synopsis:
In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name.
For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down…but even the most powerful men can be defeated.
Ryia’s path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster’s stronghold, and against every instinct she has, it’s not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers, and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves very carefully. If she succeeds, her freedom is won once and for all…but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own.
Full Review:
Ever since I fell in love with The Lies of Locke Lamora in 2014, I’ve been looking for another series that delivers the same balance of epic heist and grimdark tone, fast-paced action and jaw-dropping plot twists, all wrapped up in a fascinating fantasy world.
Well, I just found exactly what I’ve been looking for in MJ Kuhn’s Thieves duology!
I burned through both Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves in a matter of days because I was just so addicted. By everything—from the gritty world to the dark tone to the complex characters, I was HERE. FOR. IT!
The Setting:
The world of Carrowwick is as seedy, rundown, filthy, and ugly as you’d expect from a series about lowlifes and criminals. Every time I joined a character wandering through the streets, I came away feeling like I needed a shower to scrub off the stink of fish rolling off the ocean or the reek of urine and beer coming from the grimy taverns and gambling halls where we spent our time.
Often we were gifted glimpses of bigger, better, and greater—kingly throne rooms, luxurious mansions, massive forts, and island paradises—only to be brought back to the underbelly of society in dank dungeons and leaky ships.
But every new look at the world of Carrowwick (and beyond) just made me want to explore more. I was utterly spellbound by everything, from the loftiest spire to the darkest, deepest bolt-hole.
Though the world doesn’t have a sense of greater and grander magic like the elderglass of Camorr, it was so real and vivid that I never once wished for more or found myself wanting for description. Beautifully set and masterfully crafted for sure!
The Cast:
The character is where the Thieves duology’s true strength lies:
Ryia, the Butcher, assassin, thief, sarcastic, “murder-baby” extraordinaire. She’s hiding a secret no less deadly than she is, and her complex history makes for some truly delightful character growth through the entire series.
Nash, the pirate, at home in barroom brawls as she is on the high seas. I’m a sucker for a giant muscle-woman, but there was a delightful softness to her beneath the brawny exterior that made her a very fun “mother hen” of the crew.
Tristan, the card sharp and con artist, clever despite being too young to shave. His character went on a truly impressive journey—which I won’t spoil!—and his story ended up going in a direction that left me utterly speechless.
Ivan, the master of disguise, as stoic and cold as the icy land of Boreas from which he hails and driven by a secret so dark he won’t share it even with his own crew. His story was always the most interesting, because I wanted to see what clever trick and disguise he’d come up with next. I could have read an entire series centered around his disguises, props, and fake personas.
Evelyn, the disgraced captain, swordswoman with a much-too-strict sense of honor that has no place among thieves…until it does. She was the hardest to like right off the bat—who wants a stuffy, uptight, holier-than-thou prig for a companion?—but by the end, I was fully Team Evelyn for all the reasons that will become fully evident by the end of Among Thieves.
Of course, honorable mention goes to all the excellent villains—from the magic-wielding Guildmaster to the conniving and downright evil Callum Clem to all the little “mini-bosses” and goons in between.
Not a single character felt out of place or poorly written. Everyone who made an appearance truly sparkled and served a purpose to the story at large.
The Story:
On the surface, the Thieves duology is about heists—lots and lots of heists, many of which fail spectacularly.
But beneath, it’s about finding your people. Even if that means opening yourself up to the danger that is caring for others. It’s a classic thieves’ tale that never fails to enchant me. Over the course of both books, you come to see what happens when people make the right choice to be vulnerable, as well as what happens when you don’t and the consequences to that choice.
The heists are fun, the plot and pacing superb, but it was the cleverly nuanced emotional depth to the characters and their journeys that had me reading Among Thieves in one day and Thick as Thieves in two.
Wrapping Up:
I wish I had more than five stars to give this duology because I loved it SOOOOOOO MUCH! It’s everything I’ve been looking for in a Locke Lamora successor but does so much more. Though not as grand in scope or epic as Locke and Jean’s story, it goes so much deeper and delves more thoroughly into the complexities of the characters—which I absolutely adored.
The Thieves duology has earned itself a spot among my all-time favorite thief stories, alongside badasses like Locke and Jean, Jimmy the Hand, and Eugenides the Queen’s Thief. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
