Queen of Thieves: A Novel

Alice Diamond is the Queen of Thieves. She’s got a nice little racket going in post-World War II London. Her all-female gang of “hoisters” are expert shoplifters, which means Alice is doing really well for herself compared to some. One of those down-on-her-luck ladies is Nell, who just found out she’s pregnant, which means she’ll be kicked out of her parent’s place as soon as they find out. Alice decides to take Nell under her wing and make her a hoister. Alice will discover far too late that Nell isn’t as innocent as she looks. Soon there might be a new queen on the throne if Alice doesn’t watch her back.

This was a fascinating look into post-World War II London. I had never heard of hoisters and their long history before. While almost every character was doing was wrong, it was hard not to like them. Everybody had a story and was pushed to do things they most likely wouldn’t have if times hadn’t been so tough. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about Nell and Alice since their story isn’t done yet. I definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction.