Fire Catcher

Author: C.S Quinn
Genre: Historical Mystery
Type: Kindle e-book
Series: #2 in the Thief Taker series
1st book in series: The Thief Taker
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
First Published: November 10, 2015
First Line: "London 1649. Seventeen years before the Great Fire. - Sally's heart was pounding as she opened the chest."

Book Description from GoodReads: Hidden in London is a legendary power. A fabled chest guards secrets more precious than gold.

But in 1666 secrets are deadly, and London is burning…

Charlie Tuesday is the city’s best thief taker. But one case still eludes him, a mysterious key entrusted by the mother he barely knew. The key opens a chest of priceless papers—papers said to hold the dark alchemy of a lost Brotherhood.

As flames ravage the city, the thief taker must track the chest 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.

But time is running out and fire is the greatest purge of all. 


My Review:  This was a well-researched historical mystery set within an interesting era - the great London fire in the 17th century.  It also focuses on London's underbelly of alchemy, treacherous and lecherous government officials and Charlie Tuesday, a Thief Taker, who is trying to find out the mysteries surrounding his family.  

While there is a lot of political intrigue (not my cuppa tea) it was the storyline surrounding Charlie trying to figure out his own past that kept me reading this book.  He's a fun and charming character who has a lot of energy and, as a Thief Taker, scurries all over London capturing thieves and returning lost merchandise.  Lily, a young gypsy spy with a penchant for trouble herself, holds her own with Charlie and is a great sidekick of sorts as the two of them tackle some rather big and scary adversaries in their quest to find out the truth. 

Action lovers will enjoy many high action scenes and while there is a fantasy aspect it is in the background but I feel that it fit well with the overall plot and era.  It was the continued antics of court life and some of their scheming that I didn't enjoy.  It went on for too long and negatively influenced the pace and my interest in the book.  The book also felt overly long and could have been cut down a bit.

This is actually the second book in a series but even though I had never read the first book, The Thief Taker, I found this to be an easy book to get into and I never felt like I was missing anything.  People who like a healthy dose of history, intrigue and some solid main characters should enjoy this book.

My Rating: 3/5 stars


Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.