Ethan may not be real, but his profession is seeded in historical fact. Why don’t we just throw in a little alternate history to sweeten the pot?Īs a history nerd, I liked that the story is set around factual historical events. While “witchcraft” is frowned on, Abner Berson, the businessman, is well aware that his daughter’s death is probably magical in nature and requires Ethan’s talents to find his daughter’s missing brooch and her murderer.įinding the culprit proves to be quite the challenge as Ethan realizes he’s up against a conjurer of immense talent paired with the fact that a powerful rival thieftaker named Sephira Pryce has it out for him.Ĭould one book hold any more things that I love than this one? It’s a historical fiction, but wait, it’s also an urban fantasy set in historical Boston. Ethan’s true power rests in his ability to conjure spells–a power that damned him in his former life as a sailor, but has aided him in his current profession as a thieftaker.ĭuring one of the late-night riots against the crown that are starting to plague the city, a wealthy businessman’s daughter is found dead in the streets without a mark on her, and a brooch is taken from her possession. As a thieftaker, Ethan is tasked with finding the stolen property of others in exchange for payment. The story centers around the thieftaker Ethan Kaille. Civil unrest is stirring, growing from a mewl to a roar, as the colonies begin to rebel against the taxes forced on them by the British crown. Thieftaker starts in 1765, eight years before the Boston Tea Party and eleven years before the Revolutionary War. This gives me an incentive to come back to the audiobook, though, since it saves my place, which means I can listen to it when I can’t read the book or just feel like listening and then resume the book when I’m ready. It’s a great feature to have and one that is particularly useful for people like me who often end up leaving the audiobook to read the book. This book marks the first book I’ve completed using Audible’s Whispersync, which allows readers to switch between listening and reading (the Kindle version) without losing their place.

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars – An excellent historical urban fantasy that managed to meld the magic and history in a way that felt realistic without succumbing to vacuous pitfalls.

Thieftaker chronicles