The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti

The Good Thief
Hannah Tinti
Headline Review

Set in New England in the 19th century, ‘The Good Thief’ is the story of a twelve year old, one-handed orphan, Ren.Ren has been an orphan at the Saint Anthony’s Monastery as long as he remembers. His parentage and his missing hand had always remained a mystery which Ren struggled to solve. He dreamt of a day that he would one day be part of a loving family.Ren’s dreams appeared to have come truewith the arrival of a stranger, Benjamin Nab who claims to be his older brother but turns out to be a silver-tongued con man and a thief. Together with his partner Tom, they force Ren in to their life of crime, using his disability to gain the trust of their victims.
‘The Good Thief’ is a wondrous tale of love, adventure, friendship and a child’s need for belonging.
Tinti’s frolicking tale of adventure with its quirky cast of outcasts has echoes of Dickensian yarns. Throughout the book I felt there were strong similarities to Oliver Twist with both books exploring the moral paradox of good people having to live and survive in the underworld.