Author(s): Katherine Rundell

Senior Fiction | Adventure | Detective | Social Issues & Relationships

'Vita set her jaw, and nodded at New York City in greeting, as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight.'

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. 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.

Review: Likely to be the best children's book you'll read this year * The Times Children's Book of the Week *
Rundell is the real deal, a writer of boundless gifts and extraordinary imaginative power whose novels will be read, cherished and reread long after most so-called "serious" novels are forgotten * Observer *
An amazing adventure story, told with sparkling style and sleight of hand * Jacqueline Wilson *
Captivating ... Not only is [Rundell's] latest an irresistible journey, but every inch of it is a delight ... At its heart the book is about courage, friendship and love * Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week *
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 *
With a gripping plot and unforgettable characters, Rundell's latest is another triumph * Mail on Sunday Children's Book of the Month *
A total showstopper of a story. Rundell's finest yet * Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse *
Rundell orchestrates the fast-paced, thrilling action and vivid, endearing characters with the precision of a watchmaker * Daily Mail *
Purring mafiosi, breathtaking feats of nerve and a crackling sense of atmosphere throughout make this book a single-sitting treat, showcasing Rundell at the peak of her powers * Guardian *

Author Biography: Katherine Rundell is the million-copy bestselling author of five children's novels and has won the Costa Children's Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize amongst many others. Katherine spent her childhood in Africa and Europe before taking her degree at the University of Oxford and becoming a Fellow of All Souls College. As well as writing, she studies Renaissance literature and is learning, as a direct result of writing The Good Thieves, to fly on the trapeze. Katherine will be a World Book Day author for 2021.