THIEFTAKER
D.B. Jackson
Tor/Forge
July 2012
THIEFTAKER by D. B. Jackson is a book that has been sitting on my TBR list for quite a while. After speeding my way through this very impressive debut fantasy I could only smack myself in the forehead and ask, "what took me so long"? Set in an alternate 1765 Boston roiling with preRevolutionary fervor and magic, THIEFTAKER tells the tale of Ethan Kaille, a conjurer trying to make a living by using his talents to catch thieves.
Ethan has had a very tough life. He was convicted as a mutineer against the Crown and lost over a decade of his life to penal servitude in the Indies. He lost the support of his family, his reputation and his first love and was brutalized in body and spirit. He is barely getting by and when he is hired by a rich merchant to discover the murderer of the merchant's daughter and to recover a brooch stolen from her. Ethan usually doesn't investigate murders but the pay is welcome. When he views the body Ethan knows that the murder was done by magic and only he can find out who the dangerous conjurer is. There have been other such murders and it is clear that a larger purpose is at work. Along the way it seems that everyone wants to stop his investigation by fair means or foul, especially Boston's chief thieftaker, Sephira Pryce.
THIEFTAKER is rich with period detail, action and wonderfully rounded characters both historical and completely fictional. Sam Adams, James Otis and Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson make appearances in supporting roles. Ethan himself is flawed and weary but has maintained his humanity despite his many losses. I am fascinated by Ethan's back story and hope that more details emerge of his family and especially the mutiny aboard the Ruby Blade that cost him so much. As for the beautiful and murderous Sephira Pryce, Ethan will surely have to settle up with her in future books.
RATING- 4 1/2 Tricornes
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