The Diamond Thief

The Diamond Thief is one of the first books from new fiction publisher Curious Fox, and they couldn’t have chosen a more exciting or involving adventure story with which to launch.

The opening scene sets the tempo and tone: we are in Victorian London and young Remy Brunel (relation of Marc and Isambard? Quite possibly) is the star of Le Cirque de la Lune, thrilling audiences each night with her trapeze act and, also nightly, appearing to plummet from the very top of the circus tent to the ground in a clever mix of trickery and skill. She is a thief as well as circus star and is soon sent out by her boss to steal him a diamond, not just any diamond mind, but the fabulous Darya-ye Noor itself, on special display in the Tower of London.

Though Remy follows her orders and attempts to steal the jewel, she is not the diamond thief at all. This is a book that means to dazzle and surprise readers and the story takes off in quite unexpected directions. From the top of the circus tent, the action swiftly descends to the tunnels and underground rivers of London where a dastardly plot to overthrow the British Empire is hatching. In this, Remy and another diamond, have a special part to play.

Remy herself is appealing and well described.  If the other characters are less so then it is of no real matter when the story is so engrossing, the action scenes so varied and full of drama. In fact The Diamond Thief was developed through the Fiction Express scheme (http://schools.fictionexpress.co.uk), with young readers making direct contributions to the plot, something that probably accounts for the gleeful way with which opportunities are provided for narrow escapes and dramatic upset! That there is romance for Remy too, makes the whole adventure even more satisfying.  A terrific yarn!