The Good Thieves is a fast-paced heist adventure about Vita Marlowe, a girl who comes with her mother to New York to stay with her grieving grandfather. Vita arrives determined to reclaim her family home acquired by the dramatically fearful character Sorrotore, a ‘business’ man with shady and dangerous connections. Our clever heroine is brave, sharp-witted and a polio survivor. She does suffer physically as a result of the disease, but doesn’t let it stop her as she devises her plot and gathers together a group of friends (circus performers, pickpocket) with skills to complement her own significant knife-throwing talent – as taught to her by her beloved grandfather during her recovery from illness.

Katherine Rundell ably conveys the vibrant atmosphere of Prohibition-era New York – both the glamour and the grit. There are twists and turns but not a page is wasted. Fabulous, interesting and genuine characters paired with a clever edge-of-your seat plot make this one a cracker! For readers aged 9+.

Morgana Keating works as a bookseller at Readings Hawthorn