By Peter Burns (pub. Farshore, June 2025)
It looked like a scrap of paper, tucked behind one of the roof tiles beside him. He pulled it free. It was a small rectangle of thick cream card, on which was printed in fine copperplate type:
Wanted: the clever, the cunning and the fearless.
Must be willing to risk death daily.
Fortunes available for the most daring and capable.
No one over 18.
Orphans preferred.
When 13-year-old Tom’s friends from the street are snatched up and taken to a workhouse, Tom promises himself that he’ll rescue them. And it’s for this reason that he takes up the offer from the mysterious Corsair – to train at an elite international boarding school for thieves.
Joining partway through the year, things aren’t easy for Tom – there’s the usual bullies, making new friends, and catching up on school work. But there’s also something sinister building in the background, something that threatens the future of the school, the Shadow League, and maybe even the world.
Thank you to Farshore for sending us this proof copy to review – Shadow Thieves releases in June 2025.
Shadow Thieves is set in an indistinct time, in an alternate version of London, where the UK has been conquered by the French Empire. It’s grimy and rundown, and gangs of government-backed “snatchers” roam the streets to take the displaced – especially children – to workhouses, where they are forced into labour.
Tom and his friends have been living on the streets for years, doing what they must to survive. They are a close-knit, found family, and it is their kidnap that gives Tom his motivation to join Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts.
There are four of these types of schools: one each for thieves, assassins, politicos, and spies. Together, a top representative from each group forms the Directorate of the Shadow League, designed to work in the shadows and keep the world in balance.
Burns gives a lot of thought to the politics that underpins the book without making it boring; how the world is run, how the countries work together, and how this is impacted by the Shadow League and vice versa. I loved the way the League plays out in the real world, the kinds of jobs they are given, and how they are used to provide a level of stability between the various powers.
The “unique school” idea will be familiar to some readers, but I can honestly say that there has not been one like this before. Yes, it has houses, colours, and inter-house competitions (which, before anyone brings up comparisons to other books, is a common thing in UK schools), but the fact that it’s a school for thieves gives it an edge that other stories with a similar style setting lack.
Our main characters fall somewhat in the category of antiheroes, being thieves, which makes them infinitely interesting. Outside of Tom, there is little thought given to the morality of what they’re training for, since many of the students come from prestigious families that are already au fait with the secret workings of the world which they inhabit – already knowing that they are doing the “right thing” for the rest of the world.
Although the story is fantastical at times, it isn’t really a fantasy, which means everything has more depth and realism. The portrayal of the class division both inside and outside the school is anything but shallow, helped along by our protagonist’s lowly background (Tom doesn’t know his parents so we might get a reveal in a further book, but it will be earned by then). Nothing is easy for him, and he must repeatedly prove his worth to the other kids, and himself.
I also appreciated the villains; the book doesn’t hide who they are from the reader, but not because they are moustache-twirling maniacs. Rather, they are insidious and authoritative, using the various pulleys of power to enact their plans in a grim but meaningful way – although not without a little panache!
“That’s all well and good”, I hear you say, “but what about the actual thieving?” Well, if it’s a proper heist you’re after, then you’re in the right place. I love a good heist personally, and Burns really treats us with some of the tensest scenes I’ve read. From the tests that look like robberies (which was cleverly done!), to the spectacle of the International Shadow Cup, each one had me on the edge of my seat wondering how the characters were going to get through the next challenge.
The descriptions throughout are vivid and authentic, likely helped by having a realistic setting. Dystopian stories can have a hard time standing out at times, but this one does that and so much more, by grounding itself in a familiar place that is twisted in enough of a way to be different and exciting without being unrecognisable.
We’d absolutely recommended it for fans of Percy Jackson (which we love), and honestly it also gave me some slightly unexpected Kingsman vibes – I think it’s seeing the training, how they prep for a job, the tools…I love that kind of detail!
For Burn’s debut book, Shadow Thieves really excels, with an intriguing plot that, although partially resolved, is far from over. What happens to [redacted] now that [redacted]?? What was the fallout of the meeting of [redacted]?? What about the [redacted]??* We can’t wait to find out what Tom and the Shadow Thieves get into next!
(*It may look like I did this for dramatic effect, but I promise you each one is a genuine question that I can’t write out for fear of spoilers…)
If you want to join the League, you can pre-order a copy of Shadow Thieves at the link below.
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Looking for more dystopian fiction? Check out some of our previous book reviews here.
