Two Good Thieves by Daniel Finn

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A book that I would never normally read - except for money - was Two Good Thieves by Daniel Finn, and how grateful I am that I did. It's hard to know how to describe it in a way that wouldn't put you off but it's set in an unnamed South American city, and involves a Fagin's den of child thieves around a woman without any of Fagin's redeeming charm. It's gritty social realism - usually I'd run from anything so described - where everyone speaks a kind of patois but it shows how children can manifest, in a hellish world, heroic loyalty and courage.

Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk

In the searing heat of an unnamed South American city, a gang of child-thieves runs wild. Demi has the gift of speed - he can pick a pocket and be gone before his victim has even noticed he was there. Baz is his lookout - no one sees her unless she wants them to. It's like a game: dodging the law, keeping one step ahead, being the fastest, the cleverest, the best. But one day, almost by accident, they steal a dazzling, beautiful, priceless jewel - and make a very dangerous enemy. Suddenly they're sucked into a world where children's lives are worthless, where the rich and powerful are just adults who steal on a much grander scale, and where secrets are traded like gold. Their only hope is to make a brave bid for freedom - to head upcountry, away from the unrelenting heat, the dried-up river, the only home they've ever known. When good and bad are meaningless, two child thieves become the beating moral heart of an unputdownable thriller.