The Orphan Thief by Glynis Peters
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2 era
Read: 8th January 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 28th November 2019)
★★★★ 4.5 stars
Glynis Peters is a new author to me and despite my ever-growing TBR list, I decided to take a chance on her because I'm a sucker for historical fiction. And I wasn't disappointed. THE ORPHAN THIEF was a delight to read from start to finish.
Set in Coventry between Christmas 1938 and May 1945, THE ORPHAN THIEF begins during the Blitz - a terrifying time for England when the Germans attacked large populated cities with constant air raids day and night. Coventry did not escape unscathed. And when 16 year old Ruby Shadwell returns to the crater where once her home had stood, she knew without a doubt that she had lost her entire family in one fell swoop. Even her grandmother who lived on another street was found amidst the rubble that had once been her home.
Shocked and devastated, Ruby was surprised to find someone she knew had escaped the German's wrath. Fred, who lived across the street from her gran, stood shell shocked in the midst of the rubble surrounding him until a medic lead him away to an awaiting ambulance. Fred's house still partially stood so Ruby made her way through the remnants and put aside some mementos for Fred to keep. But as she had nowhere to stay and she was essentially underage, Ruby made herself something to eat and a bed for the night in the corner of Fred's kitchen. It wasn't until she heard voices outside the next day, she was certain the enemy were coming back to finish the job, so she grabbed Fred's mementos and hurried away without being seen.
When Ruby found herself on the street of her father's accountant, she decided to go to him for help, knowing Stephen would be more than happy to oblige. However, when she got there she discovered Stephen slumped over his desk. He had been dead some time, possibly his heart gave out. Upon writing to Stephen's sister to inform her of his death, Ruby received the news that his sister had passed a couple of years before. However, the sister's husband wrote a letter stating permission for Ruby to stay at the flat whilst clearing out Stephen's office and belongings, selling everything to pay off any debts and to keep anything left for her trouble. Ruby had no idea who Stephen's landlord was and had no way of contacting him to pay any rent that may have been in arrears.
After sorting through his paperwork into piles and matters of importance, and with some help from her friend Helen, she was shocked to discover that her father had in fact been Stephen's landlord - which explained why no one was around to collect the rent - and that as his only surviving relative, she inherited the property. Not only that, but Helen discovered that Ruby's father had a tidy sum stashed away in a bank account of which would no pass to Ruby...although she had to get her papers in order first since they would have all been destroyed in the bombing.
It was sifting through the rubble and remnants that gave Ruby an idea...which she shared with Helen. To find items that could be salvaged or repaired from the rubble, tag them and either return them to their owners or, if there was no one, sell them. Ruby decided she wanted to open a shop to keep the Shadwell name going from her family's grocery store.
Before long, Ruby was reunited with Fred who, with no real home to return to, moved in with Ruby and became an honourary grandfather to her. Along the way, we meet Beatty whose home was also destroyed, and Fred and Ruby welcome her into their home also. And once again, Ruby feels like she has a family surrounding her.
Then she meets street waif Tommy, who couldn't be more than 6 years old. Ruby suspects he is up to no good but she can't resist his boyish charms and his strange cockney accent. And in a way, she reminds him of her little brother, so she decides to take him under her wing. So when Tommy brings her pieces of jewellery he claims belongs to his auntie who needs money for them to pay the rent, Ruby is suspicious but couldn't see the boy out on the street with no food and takes the items in return for £2.
As time goes on, and Tommy keeps bringing more and more items to her to sell, Ruby begins to wonder about hos family. The pieces were exquisite and obviously worth a lot of money so Tommy's family must have come from a wealthy background and fallen on hard times. But whenever she asked to meet his mother, Tommy would either deflect her questions or get angry and storm away.
Throughout the time from when she was rendered homeless to owning and operating Shadwell's Buy and Sell, Ruby meets Canadian Jean-Paul Clayton, a photographer who captures the war through his camera lens for the Canadian RAF. More than once, he has caught Ruby in her private moments of grief for which she is enraged with him. And although THE ORPHAN THIEF is not a romance, Ruby finds herself falling in love with Jean-Paul who is known to her as John, the English derivative of his name. But when John goes missing, Ruby fights to keep herself going with the love of her new family around her.
As Ruby's story unfolds, you see her grow from girl into a young woman - a woman wise before her time. But with Ruby's is also Tommy's story and his life as an orphan thief. Their stories will make you laugh and make you cry.
A moving story with characters so heartwarmingly real, THE ORPHAN THIEF is a different type of tale in the WW2 genre. Whilst it described the terrifying events during wartime England and the horrific conditions the survivors endured, it also portrayed hope where there is none and the strength and endurance of the human spirit.
THE ORPHAN THIEF is engaging from the first page that you won't want to put it down as you feel every emotion as if you were there living the moment alongside Ruby, Fred, Beatty and Tommy.
The only thing keeping THE ORPHAN THIEF from a 5 star rating was the ending. There was a bittersweet end which I won't spoil but I thought could have happened if events had taken place in the correct order. Whilst many women did find themselves unmarried and pregnant, they generally married soon after. And didn't go on to have another two children before walking up the aisle two years later. Ruby had plenty of opportunity to marry in those subsequent two years and didn't so that lacked believability for me. It was a different time and while it is acceptable practice now it certainly wasn't then. So I am dropping half a star because of that...and the bittersweet ending that could have been much happier done the right way around. I'll say no more, but those who have read it will know what I mean.
Compelling, emotional and bittersweet, THE ORPHAN THIEF is definitely worth reading. You will fall in love with everyone (except Earl) and want to take them all home to tuck up safely forever. And despite never having read Glynis Peters before, I would definitely look out for her again. It was a pleasant surprise.
I would like to thank #GlynisPeters, #NetGalley and #HarperImpulse and #KillerReads for an ARC of #TheOrphanThief in exchange for an honest review.
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