An Artful Dodge - by Karen Odden (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

She's stolen gems, purses, and hearts--but can she steal her life back from the thieving ring that's claimed it?

Victorian London comes to vivid life in this riveting heist novel about an all-female thieving gang and one young woman's heroic plan to escape a life of crime.

London, 1879: Twenty-year-old Kit Jimeson has fingers so nimble she can nick a necklace off a lady in a crowded theater without raising alarm. Kit and her dodge partner, Mary, are the highest earners in the notorious all-women thieving ring in Elephant and Castle, south of the Thames.

Kit, whose mother had been a thief before her, dreams of a different life, one where she's not constantly on the lookout for constables and plainclothes detectives, and where a mistake or pure bad luck might land her in the hangman's noose. She has been saving up her earnings so her younger sister, a maid for a wealthy Mayfair family, might have a shot at respectability.

Kit is very close to leaving the life entirely when Maggie O'Connell brings her plans to a halt. A legendary former thief, beautiful, charismatic Maggie has returned to reclaim leadership of the ring after twenty years in a brutal Australian penal colony. But Maggie desires more than mere wealth or power: She longs for revenge against those who sent her away. Kit, with her quick mind and dangerously clever hands, is Maggie's best weapon. If Kit wants to walk away with her life, she must carry out a heist that will demand every skill she possesses.

Review Quotes

Praise for Karen Odden

"Period and place are exceptionally well-drawn."
--Oprah Daily

"Enter a world of teeming and dangerous cities portrayed in vitality and amazing detail. Meet characters with tremendous courage and appetite for life, and be glad you can return at will to the present."
--Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author

"Odden's expertise in Victorian London [offers] readers a vivid depiction of life on the River Thames."
--The Big Thrill

"Impossible to put down."
--Historical Novel Society

About the Author

Karen Odden received her PhD in English from New York University and taught Victorian literature at UW-Milwaukee. She is the author of five crime novels set in 1870s London, including her USA Today bestselling debut, A Lady in the Smoke. Her work has been nominated for the Lefty, Anthony, Agatha, and Derringer Awards, and appeared in Best Mystery Stories of the Year. A transplant from New York, Karen lives in Arizona with her family.