Anita Ojeda Find the flavor of Victorian London without wading through Great Expectations or David Copperfield in this fast-paced inspirational novel.
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The Thief of Blackfriars Lane
By Michelle Griep, Barbour Publishing, January 2021, 320 pages.
Newly minted Constable Jackson Forge can’t wait to bring justice to the filthy, merciless streets of London City. If he can make it to work on time. And if he can keep his job. He almost loses it for arriving late on his first day of work when he chases down a pickpocket and ends up flat on his face splattered with filth.
Jackson knows he has the fortitude and drive to bring criminals to justice and right wrongs—like the one his family suffered years ago at the hand of ruffians. But his sergeant doesn’t share Jackson’s opinion. Of course, missing merchants, barristers, and MPs keep the constabulary busy, and provides Jackson with a chance to redeem himself.
Kit Turner learns early in life to fend for herself and never display weakness on London’s mean streets. Left at birth at a foundling house, Kit has only one tie to her mysterious past—a button she wears around her neck with an engraving on the back. But she loses it when an over-eager constable chases her through the streets.
She runs a crew of reformed pick pockets and thieves who paint stories for an often-unsympathetic public in order to earn money to keep her band of misfits, widows, and orphans alive. Kit has never stolen and has vowed to never stoop so low.
But she does know the streets of London—as well as myriad passages and tunnels beneath the bustling city’s surface. Kit has connections and fiercely protects those she calls her own. When the only father figure she has ever known joins the list of missing persons, Kit strikes a bargain with a fresh-faced constable who has her token.
If only keeping a job and redeeming a token were their only worries. Kit and Jackson start peeling back a plot involving corruption at the highest levels. And it might just cost them their lives.
Why I Love This Book
Michelle Griep has meticulously researched London—both above and below ground during Victorian London. Her details allow the reader to feel and smell the pathos of a city that glitters for the rich and grinds for the poor. Griep’s unique characters never come from the wealthiest sectors of society but from the ordinary working classes. This fresh approach brings life to her period tales.
The witty dialogue and suspense keep the reader hooked from the first line to the last. If you love books by Sarah E. Ladd Roseanna White, you’ll enjoy this book.
