Clare L. Deming

I picked this book up about a month ago when I was looking for something fun and easy to read. Set in a fantasy land, The Lies of Locke Lamora follows a group of thieves on their adventures in a complicated city.

For the first third of the book, they caper about plotting a grand heist, with nothing more at risk than what would be expected from such thievery. The novel is structured as a series of alternating timelines as well, detailing the current day events beside those of protagonist Locke Lamora’s childhood and training.

The characters tended to blend together at the outset and were all too nice to feel like real thieves – with an ethical code of stealing from the rich, avoiding killing anyone, and then keeping the treasure locked away in a vault, seemingly in the business more for the thrill than for pure greed. While it took a while for the greater story to be set up, once the true antagonist of the plot arrived, things became much more interesting and the stakes were worthy of an epic fantasy tale.

I’m glad that I stuck with this book, because the characters felt more real as they were thrust into mortal danger. People die and nothing goes as planned. Locke is devious, but his scheming nearly becomes his downfall as he has to improvise around his own lies and deceptions. When facing adversity, even his more brutal actions become understandable, and I found myself truly rooting for him in all ways by the end. The plot is satisfyingly resolved and the novel can be read as a complete story, even though I know there is a sequel available. If you can work through the slower opening, the main story is a solid and entertaining read. I’ll be looking to pick up the next installment soon.