The Diamond Thief

hit on the tone that will appear to teen and adults alike.

The first of a new Steampunk / Mystery series, Sharon Gosling has hit on the tone that will appear to teen and adults alike. With a teen protagonist with the circus and a young detective from Scotland Yard, as well as several clever secondary characters the story proceeds apace and keeps readers glued to the page.

From the opening scenes that bring the gloom and dinge from the Thames to the backstreets of London, Gosling is bringing in the characters as the bright lights of the story. Rémy Brunel is sixteen and a trapeze artist, the Little Bird. But she is also beholden to the owner of Cirque de La Lune, Gustave. Aside from her trapeze work, Rémy’s acrobatic talents and fearlessness are turned to jewel thievery, and this story’s quarry is the Darya Noor, a diamond of the first water on display in the tower.

Rémy is beautifully drawn and developed, with wit, charm, spunk and a determination that is well-above her years. Living in Victorian London is dirty, dingy and a hard slog, but she doesn’t shirk from either danger or duty. She doesn’t however, always have the best luck. When she succeeds in stealing the diamond from the hands of a young detective from Scotland Yard, she thinks this job is done. But, there is more to come.

Thaddeus Rec is a young detective with Scotland Yard. His assignment is the safety of the Darya Noor, and when it is stolen, he is jailed. Fortunately, his friend Professor Abernathy is able to secure his release, and encourage the thief and detective to work together to find the one responsible for switching the real diamond for one of paste.

Thaddeus is a wonderful character, upright and quite adult even for his tender years, with a strong sense of gentlemanly behavior ingrained in him. He is attracted to Rémy, but more concerned with solving the puzzle. Cleverly, Gosling has imbued Thaddeus with a touch of Sherlock Holmes, minus the anti-social bits, and his character is quite sweet.

With Professor Abernathy and his ‘laboratory’ the steampunk elements enter into the story, as the two take a wild ride to uncover the real thief and they grow closer. But a curse is revealed to Rémy, that states she will never have love, but can she reconcile that with her heart’s most treasured desires?

Fun and fast paced, the story winds through London above and below ground with few moments that drag, even as there were some choices that don’t always make sense from a plotting perspective, the story is fun and engaging. Rémy and Thaddeus are clever and both have a real willingness to sacrifice themselves for those they love and care for, even as Thaddeus is a bit more black and white in his thinking than Rémy’s understanding of the varying shades of gray in every decision. Easy to follow story with fantasy and reality mixing in nicely with the steampunk elements and some magical overtones, this is a great start to a series that is sure to please many.

I received an eBook copy of the title from Capstone Switch for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.