2021 Debut Review: AMONG THIEVES by M.J. Kuhn
AMONG THEIVES by M.J. Kuhn is a fun, fantasy heist featuring four beautiful young swindlers of Thamorr: an enforcer, a smuggler, a master forger, and a fast-fingered card dealer. Ryia, Nash, Ivan, and Tristan belong to the Saints syndicate headed by a half-brilliant and half-psychotic boss Clem Callum. All of them carry loaded dice, as well as secrets that could destroy them.
The Saints inhabit a reimagined medieval Europe familiar to the genre. Outside of the turf wars between other syndicates, and trouble with the noble class, there lies a unique danger: Adepts. These are humans born with supernatural powers but kidnapped before their first birthday and taken back to an island ruled by the Guildmaster and his Disciples, the most powerful of Adepts. Little is known about island except that it holds a seasonal auction of adult Adept slaves that have had their humanity sapped but not their gifts. Kuhn gives frightening descriptions of the slack facial expressions and empty eyes left by this dark magic.
The Guildmaster is the real ruler of Thamorr, unchallenged—until the source of his power is discovered by Ryia and then Clem. Our swindlers are sent on a near suicidal mission to steal this precious object known as The Quill. Joining their ranks is a sixth character, Evelyn, a disgraced Captain of the Needle Guard with an axe to grind with Ryia. Their voyage in close quarters begins with the usual flirtation and death threats. However, our swindlers can’t help but form a bond. Afterall, they are victims of circumstance surviving the only way they know how.
As Ryia, Nash, Ivan, Tristan, and Evelyn step onto dry land for the ultimate heist that may cost them their lives, they can’t help but hope that their found family means something, beyond the convenience of the past and desperate need of the present.
You don’t have to be an avid fantasy reader to enjoy this highly entertaining, imaginative, and sexy debut. I stayed up late to find that the storyline is left open-ended for the opportunity of a sequel. I’m hoping AMONG THIEVES becomes the fan favorite that Publisher’s Weekly predicted because I already have a slot in my bookshelf reserved for the sequel.
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After reading the book, you will want this merch…
I needed a natural backdrop for a setting in an alternate medieval Europe, along with some tricks up my sleeve.