The Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg

Loved it! Sharp-eyed orphan Mika and dishevelled detective Vlademar Hoff pit their wits against a master thief in the second of Johan Rundberg’s The Moonwind Mysteries.

Love the dynamic between Mika and Hoff.

Left at an orphanage as a baby, Mika’s prospects have always been dim. She has no name, no family, ånd not much of a future. But she’s sharp, observant, and brave - and these qualities bring her to the attention of Constable Hoff.

The Queen of Thieves resumes the story shortly after the end of The Night Raven, and though twelve-year-old Mika’s prospects are still damp, she now has a couple of clues to investigate regarding her mysterious origins.

But it’s hard to think straight when the other orphans are acting weird. Something’s up. Ossian’s hiding trinkets in his mattress. Rufus is keeping secrets. Are they stealing? Mika’s the closest thing the orphans have to a sister and she’s determined to put them on the straight path. But when Mika herself becomes implicated in a crime, her path gets crooked real fast.

The second in the Moonwind Mysteries is just as dark and playful and thrilling and charming as the first. Mika teams up again with gruff Constable Vlademar Hoff, this time for a dangerous operation against master thief Henrietta Blum.

I loved the cat-and-mouse scene in the patisserie, and the thrilling finale had me on the edge of my chair. The chapters are short and punchy, and I like the way Rundberg plays with the emotional vulnerabilities of Mika, the orphans, and Hoff.

Once again, good and bad are inverted: with the police being the bad guys, help coming from the underworld, and Mika operating in a morally grey zone. Great fun. Absolutely loved it.

Note: this series should be read in order.

WHAT TO READ NEXT

The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg

The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler

Lampie by Annet Schaap

The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence