Shadow Thieves

LoveReading4Kids Says

June 2025 Debut of the Month

Wow. Secret societies, a boarding school with a difference, kids on the run and missions impossible – Shadow Thieves has it all, and lots more besides.

When we first meet our hero 13-year-old Tom Morgan, he’s getting by as a pickpocket on the streets of an alternative London, one of a gang of kids living on their wits and hiding from the authorities and life in one of the dreadful workhouses. When his friends are captured, Tom is determined to get them out, no matter the risk to himself, but he’s caught the attention of another set of pretty ruthless adults, the leaders of an elite school for young scoundrels – conmen, thieves, confidence tricksters.

Joining halfway through the school year is never easy, and there’s a decidedly unfriendly welcome from some of his fellow pupils. Even as Tom proves his right to be there, he learns to be ever more cautious about who to trust, not easy when he has to put his life in others’ hands on a secret and highly dangerous mission. The action comes thick and fast, and the plot has all the elements of the twistiest spy thriller too, but Peter Burns keeps tight control of it all and the chapters pass effortlessly. Tom will be back for more adventures, and let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long.

Andrea Reece

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