Review Detail

March McQuinn is used to a life on the run, since his mother is dead and his father is the infamous Alfie McQuinn, the jewel thief. While in Amsterdam, pulling a heist, Alfie dies in a graphic fall, and March knows he has to leave. Unfortunately, he gets caught, and ends up back in the states in a group home with Jules, a street performer he has met in Amsterdam and with whom he shares a bond. There, he meets the hulking Darius and the quiet Lizzy, both of whom have valuable criminal talents. Jules and Alfie are approached by Carlotta Grimstone about stealing back seven moonstones that Alfie has taken from her. This crime had a horrible impact on the lives of Alfie, March, and Jules, but March already has one of the stones, as well as a list his father left with a backpack of clues. The group realizes that a former colleague of Alfie's, Oscar, is trying to get the stones back for Carlotta as well, and try to get a jump on him. They do so with great elan, breaking into buildings, impersonating school children, and generally being great master criminals. But the stakes are high, and it's hard to know whom to trust, especially when the moonstones have a dire curse attached to them. All March really wants is a family and a home; selling the moonstones could get him the money to provide this sort of life, but will the stones also take away the family he has created for himself?

This was a lot of fun! I never know quite whether I want to be an international spy (ala Mrs. Pollifax or the Gallagher Girls) or an international terrorist and/or jewel thief. I adored Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels, and this was highly reminiscent of those. All of the characters were well drawn and sympathetic, even with the faults and eccentricities (I especially liked the New Age fence, Hamish). Darius is incidentally black, and although he balks a little at being used in roles as gardeners or delivery men in ritzy neighborhoods, nothing else is mentioned. He also isn't "into girls", and again, this is not dwelt upon. Pure adolescent fantasy, although I would also say that this whole book belongs in fantasy, due to the involvement of the moonstones and the heavy use of their magical powers in the story.

My only complaint with this was that it starts off with Alfie's very disturbing death; I could have done without the sound effects.