The Thief Taker
Written by C. S. Quinn
Narrated by Napoleon Ryan
4/5
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About this audiobook
1666. London burns. And a killer tracking a dangerous secret fuels his own deadly blazes…
Charlie Tuesday is the city’s best thief taker. And as fire ravages London he’s on the hunt for a killer fanning the flames. But time is running out. Each death brings the murderer closer to the ultimate prize—a fabled chest with the power to destroy London.
As flames ravage the city, the thief taker must track the murderer into London’s blackest heart, where smugglers trade and sorcerers conjure. What Charlie begins to unravel is more ancient and powerful than he ever dreamed. Could the Thief Taker hold the key to the dark alchemy of a lost Brotherhood? Only the killer can reveal the truth. But Charlie must find him before fire outruns them both.
C. S. Quinn
C.S. Quinn is the bestselling author of The Thief Taker, Fire Catcher and Dark Stars. Prior to writing fiction she was a travel and lifestyle journalist for The Times, the Guardian and the Mirror, alongside many magazines. In her early academic career, Quinn’s background in historical research won prestigious postgraduate funding from the British Arts Council. Quinn pooled these resources, combining historical research with first-hand experiences in far-flung places to create Charlie Tuesday’s London.
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The Thief Taker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire Catcher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Changeling Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Thief Taker
60 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An extremely engaging audio story that had my attention right at the beginning. The performance of the voice actor was fantastic and the story was intriguing. Although the political struggles in the background felt a bit loose in certain places, overall it was a very enjoyable experience.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The started well, it has a nice pace and the plot is well written... a bit draggy in some parts but over all it was enjoyable ... the plot twist at the end was extremely good.... looking forward to know more of charlie tuesday.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really, really enjoyed this book. I picked it up for a little light reading before bed, and before I knew it, I was staying up hours later than intended each night until I finished it. What a gripping story! Charlie is a character that you root for right from the beginning. There is something so compelling about him. He's certainly not the stereotypical hero - dashing, debonair, well equipped to handle any situation, the natural victor for any tussle with a villain - but he's not the underdog, either. He is written so well, that it's clear he is not a party to be pitied, but a force to be reckoned with in his own right. Maria is a tough cookie to swallow, honestly. I did not like her character at all, even at the very end. That being said, I think she was written perfectly to accurately reflect the classist attitudes of the time period. And Thomas - well, Thomas is just the stuff that nightmares are made of, quite frankly. I genuinely hope to never meet a human like him in all of my days.The story itself is so easy to fall into. There is not a moment of dry writing, or section that is difficult to get through. Many times, I felt like I could not turn the pages fast enough. I was enthralled from the first page to the last. And, interestingly enough, I did not realize that this is the first book in a series! I cannot wait to get my hands on Book #2.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Set in 17th century London, the plague is on! Death is every where. Charlie Tuesday is a thief taker – he’s hired to find those that steal from the dead. Now Marie has hired him to find out who killed her younger sister. Charlie is soon caught up in witchcraft and is a suspect himself.This was a very interesting book. I was caught up in it right away. I have a morbid interests in plagues so the description for this book had me hooked before I even started it. Now I can’t speak to the validity of the historical details, but on the whole, it was an entertaining fiction.Charlie Tuesday is a great character. He’s got this dodgy past that’s hinted at throughout the tale, though we learn more of it by the end. While he’s definitely interested in making enough to keep himself fed and housed, he’s also got a moral compass. When he sees what was done to Marie’s sister, he can’t walk away. There are certain details that lead him to believe that her death is not an isolated murder. Someone walks the streets of London dressed as a plague doctor killing people.Enter the witchcraft aspect. Now I could have used a little more here, but it was still used well to build suspense and provide that sense of the forbidden. Charlie could end up in dire straights indeed if he is arrested for witchcraft!Then we have Marie. I liked her well enough at the beginning. She had her own motivations and made some tough decisions. Then she gets wrapped up with Charlie and much of her time is spent being the comedic relief or the damsel in distress. I would have enjoyed her character more if she had kept on her initial character arc.All told, it was a chilling tale of plague, murder, and witchcraft. I look forward to exploring the rest of the series.I listened to this audiobook through Kindle Unlimited.The Narration: Napoleon Ryan did a really good job as Charlie Tuesday. I’m not an expert on the various English accents, but I feel Ryan did a good job, keeping all the characters distinct. I also thought his female voices were well done.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Death, London 1665 I was very impressed with this book. This is the author, C.S. Quinn's, first book but you wouldn't know that from reading it. She did a fabulous job! The story is centered around the Great Plague that affected London in 1665 which is fascinating in itself but Quinn really sets the scene and makes you feel what those people and the city went through with the graphics and detail she uses. You can tell through her writing that she did a considerable amount of research on the Plague and old London. The characters were also unique and well-developed. I especially liked Charlie Tuesday, the thief taker and main character and I'm looking forward to hearing more about him and the Great Fire of London in Quinn's next book, Fire Catcher.
**I received this ARC from Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An unputdownable gory story of life in London during plague.
A so called "Plague Doctor" is torturing and killing people and a "Thieftaker" i.e. one who works as a private investigator of the time is comissioned to catch the man.
An exciting story full of atmosphere.
I was given a digital copy of this novel by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A historical mystery set in Restoration London during the plague. Someone is using the plague to commit ghastly murders. A young thief taker is hired to look into it. It took awhile to get into this book as the characters seemed rather stereotypical. The mystery gradually became a bit more interesting.
2.5 stars. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The year is 1665 and the plague has arrived in London, devastating entire districts. Amid the fear and paranoia, a young woman is found murdered, bearing signs of witchcraft. The victim's sister subsequently contacts the thief taker Charlie Tuesday and enlists his help in catching the killer.This was a surprisingly accomplished historical thriller, featuring one of the darker episodes in early modern history, and it is the atmospheric and vivid descriptions of the deserted streets, the red plague crosses on doors, the fear of contamination and the desperation in the victims that will linger in the mind the longest. The two main protagonists are likeable and show a satisfying amount of character development, though the romantic subplot got a little distracting at times, while the villain of the piece is portrayed as a surprisingly complex monster. Though the plot twist towards the end of the book was unexpected, I also remain not entirely convinced by it, and there were a few plot and logical inconsistencies (not to mention spelling and grammatical errors and publishing conventions) that marred the enjoyment somewhat. I understand that this book was produced on a self-publishing platform, and unfortunately it shows if one notices these things (which I do). Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable if occasionally gruesome read that shone some light on a period of history that is often overlooked in favour of flashier episodes, e.g. the Tudors.The ending doesn't conveniently tidy up all the loose threads, but it can be seen as a stand-alone novel, even though a sequel has already been published (or will be very soon), I believe. I certainly intend to pick up the narrative again, hopefully taking place in another momentous year in London's history.