The Greater Thief

The Greater Thief by Alexandra Carey

(Summary taken from the back cover of the book) "The Greater Thief is a literary crime story of gangs, justice, and faith, set around a notorious London estate. It is inspired by the true stories of young men who have been through the UK criminal justice system, and questions the easy assumptions all around us about crime and urban poverty. There is a murder on the street. Alice is there. Josh is there. And everyone believes he is guilty, except for her. Paul, the Parish Vicar, holds the key to proving Josh's innocence but first he must find the courage to forget himself. Alice will stand face to face with the reality of the men who want Josh dead, and Josh's discovery about his father's past unravels the code that governs his life. All three must risk what they hoped never to lose, as the things they believe in are tested with fire. With a combination of myth, tall tales and hip-hop rhythms, this modern fable explores the intersection between everyday crime and loyalty in an ever-expanding city."

Alice is an interesting character. She likes poetry and still lives with her father, who is a higher-up police officer. Josh is a rapper/drug dealer. How the two of them got together I will never understand. When the book starts, though, they are not together. They broke up several months prior to the beginning of the book. She obviously still cares for him, though, as the rest of the book deals with her trying to free him from prison and clear his name. Although parts of this book showed potential, it just wasn't my style or taste. I have never done any drugs and I am not a rap fan. I couldn't relate to Josh at all. I do like poetry, but I never really understood Alice either. She was willing to give up everything for a boy she had broken up with several months prior, and I didn't find that realistic. Paul, the Vicar, I didn't get either. He secretly loved Alice enough to give up everything for her to help her old boyfriend? I just couldn't wrap my brain around it. I mean, I would do anything for my husband or kids, but I am married and they are my kids. There were a lot of grammatical errors and the language was terrible. There were a lot of "f" words and other words as well. The content was just as bad. There was a graphic murder, a stabbing, drug dealing, smoking, situations where children were put into situations where they should not have been, and others. I didn't feel like the plot went anywhere, and the ending didn't resolve anything. Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all.

Rating: R (Not suitable for younger readers) Murder, a stabbing, language, drugs and drug dealing, smoking, violence, and children put into inappropriate situations. 

Recommendation: Adult

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.