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The Ready-Made Thief by Augustus Rose

Publication Date: August 1st, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
My Goodreads Rating: 3.5/5
Source: Publisher (Through Edelweiss)

Lee has just broken out of juvenile prison after taking the fall for her perfect friend. On the run, she encounters a homeless shelter called the "Crystal Castle" where she takes up refuge for a few days.

Suspicious of the "too good to be true" environment, Lee discovers that the groups of homeless children disappearing have some inexplicable link to this secret society. After moving away from the shelter, she finds an unexpected ally.

Tomi is a young artist and hacker- who has deep knowledge of the cities abandoned buildings and the dark web. Using these skills, Lee and Tomi find perfect hide-out spots to unravel the mystery of the secret society.

The further Lee gets from them, the worse damage the society does to the outside world. Is there anything Lee is supposed to be doing to stop it? Can she stop it? Will she risk her life and safety to save homeless children who are missed by no one?


Augustus Rose creates a very complex plot in this novel- each detail is cloaked with casualty and later uncovered as an important piece of the huge jigsaw that Lee and Tomi are struggling to put together. Constant betrayals and sudden injuries make the novel even more interesting- emphasizing once again that this novel is plot-heavy.

I commend Rose on the research he must have had to do to make this book so detailed! There are various elements of this book that are taken from real life- and I couldn't believe how many references were made to reality that I missed!

This is not to say that the characters weren't distinct or dynamic. In fact, Lee emerges as a character at the end almost completely different than the one who began the story- because of the hardships that she endures throughout the novel.

Unfortunately, I found that the beginning was slightly slow. Rose explains Lee's life before her arrest, her life in prison and her escape from prison before getting into the main plot of the novel. While this is essential in many ways, I can't help but feel that the beginning and the end seemed to be completely different books.

I did get hooked to the book nearing the end, I just couldn't wait to see what the main cause was and who was behind the society, but the middle bit was not very addicting and therefore I took a long time to read this book.

This is definitely a book that anyone used to plot-heavy stories will enjoy. I'd also recommend it to the thriller fans out there or any of you who enjoy conspiracy theory plots. I liked the book, but it definitely won't make my favorites list this year.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 
I received no other compensation for this post.
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Comments

  1. Alicia @ A Kernel of NonsenseJuly 19, 2017 at 11:37 PM

    I'm glad to hear that the author paid such close attention to detail. Plot-heavy novels are sort of like double-edged swords. You can't help but appreciate how much effort went into weaving together the story, but at times, they can be really slow. Enjoyed your review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vedika @ Poems and PoetsJuly 21, 2017 at 8:52 AM

      That's the perfect way to describe them! Thanks so much Alicia!

      Delete
  2. Di @ Book Reviews by DiJuly 21, 2017 at 7:09 PM

    The cover of this one always makes me look twice! I suppose that and the title...

    I'm happy to see that there was a lot of detail in this book and that a lot of research had to go into it. I just like knowing that an author made a real effort - I appreciate the book more.

    I'm sorry it took a while to get into this one though but it's good to know that it was enjoyable in general. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vedika @ Poems and PoetsJuly 22, 2017 at 10:03 AM

      I never cease to be amazed at the amount of research that goes into thrillers or mystery novels. If something seems even a little out of place the entire story goes awry.

      Thanks for stopping by Di!

      Delete

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