Thieves Like Us [Paperback]

Stephen Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2006

Arrested and put in a young offender's institute for using his precocious code-solving skills to steal money, things are looking bleak for Jonah Wish. Then, in the dead of night, a gang of four teenagers break him out. They work for Nathaniel Coldhardt, debonair master criminal and leader of a team of highly trained teen-thieves. Kids with amazing skills but no one who will miss them. Jonah, a genius at cryptology, is their newest recruit. His talents are perfect for the next assignment Coldhardt has in mind - his most daring yet. But before Jonah can turn his thoughts to deciphering the complex Egyption symbols and the treasures - or secrets - they hide, he has to decide if this is what he wants for himself. Coldhardt may have chosen him, but will he choose Coldhardt? And does he have any choice

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. After being plucked from a juvenile prison facility in the middle of the night, Jonah Wish is initiated into a group of teenage thieves, headed by Nathaniel Coldhardt, who coordinates a lavish lifestyle for misfits and sends them on assignments around the globe. Each team member has a special talent; Jonah, initially held against his will, quickly perceives that he has been tapped for his computer savvy. When he balks at a plan to steal ancient artifacts, his new associates challenge his morality: "This is your only chance at being somebody, Jonah." Although Jonah becomes one of Coldhardt's "children," he continues to struggle with the question of whom to trust--the team, Coldhardt, or himself. Somewhat reminiscent of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books, this novel relies on fast action, cool gadgets, and clever problem solving rather than dialogue or character development. The guys ogle the girls while chasing an ancient Egyptian secret to immortality, and then party and play video games. Nancy Kim
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

In addition to writing novels, Stephen Cole has also worked as a scriptwriter and an editor. He lives in Buckinghamshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books (February 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747579547
• ISBN-13: 978-0747579540
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,758,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Indiana Jones Crossed with Sneakers - A Fun Romp, July 9, 2006

By 

Jennifer Robinson "Editor of Jen Robinson's B... (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thieves Like Us (Hardcover)

Thieves Like Us is a young adult novel by Stephen Cole. I picked this book up from my local bookstore on a whim, because I thought that it looked like fun. It's the story of five teenagers who have been plucked from dead-end lives to live with a mysterious Englishman named Nathaniel Coldhardt. Each of the teens has been chosen for some extraordinary skill (computer genius, human lie detector, security specialist, etc.), and they work for Coldhardt as high-end thieves and adventurers.

In this novel, which could be the first of a series, Jonah Wish is broken out of jail by the rest of the team, and invited to join them. They value his computer skills, though he is far from certain that a life of crime is what he's really looking for. But he soon bonds with the other kids: Motti the security expert, Con the fighter and mesmerizer, Tye the human lie detector, and Patch, a gifted young thief with one eye.

Coldhardt sends the five teens on a quest involving priceless artifacts and a possible formula for eternal life. They require high-tech skills to break into modern buildings, and more specialized skills to crack an ancient tomb. They fly around Europe and the Middle East, and experience high-speed car chases, fights, kidnappings, and secret supernatural sects. I would think that this book will appeal to fans of the Anthony Horowitz novels and the Young Bond series by Charles Higson.

All in all, this book reminded me of Indiana Jones crossed with Sneakers. It seems tailor made to be a movie (I think that Sean Connery would be wonderful as the enigmatic Coldhardt). But the characterization is more in-depth than you usually come across in fast-paced adventure stories, with flashes of elaborate back-stories for each of the main characters. I think that it will do well as a series.

Stephen Cole works as a freelance editor while writing books for children and young adults. He was born in 1971 and brought up in rural Bedfordshire, England. His previous young adult books include the Wereling series (starting with Wounded).

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on July 9th, 2006.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mother and Daughter Review: Oliver Twist meets Indiana Jones, September 3, 2009

By 

Janice Sims "a reader & a writer" (Central Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thieves Like Us (Paperback)

If you combine Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist in which Oliver starts out a poverty-stricken orphan and is recruited into a cut-throat gang of thieves with the adventure of Raiders of the lost Ark, you've got an idea of what Thieves Like Us is like. Except Coldhardt, the leader of this gang of thieves is a rich scoundrel who shares ten percent of the booty with his gang. There are five teens in his gang of thieves: Patch (missing an eye) who is a locksmith extraordinaire; Con who can mesmerize or hypnotize; Tye who is a pilot and a human lie detector; Motti, the electronics genius; and Jonah, the new recruit whom they break out of prison in the first chapter, a computer hacker with real skills. The mission: Find the key to everlasting life for two very rich opponents out to discover the key before the other does. There are dark-clad assassins, moldy caves to explore in search of treasure, and snakes...why'd there have to be SNAKES??? LOL!

A fun romp that will keep you entertained to the end.

Daughter: I would have given it five stars!

Mother: I had to suspend belief too many times for it to earn five stars, so I compromised and gave it four. But it was a fun read nonetheless. Plus, for a bunch of teens there was a lot of swearing going on.

Daughter: That's how some teens talk...But not me!

Mother: (Laughing) If you say so.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story, a good teen read, June 11, 2009

By 

Deborah Sandford "Marian the Librarian" (Madison, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thieves Like Us (Paperback)

The concept is intriguing--a mysterious benefactor named Coldhardt handpicks four ingenious teens to comprise a highly select group of global thieves. His `children' are loners; they have no family and no lives to go back to. The main character, is plucked from juvenile prison by the rest of the teen team. He is wanted by Coldhardt for his savvy computer hacking skills. The talented trades of the other teens include flying jets, having the ability to spot a liar, speaking many languages, being able to sweetly con people, picking sophisticated locks and expertly getting around electronic security systems. Perhaps this will make a dynamite screenplay, with 007 espionage and issues of questionable trust and double dealing. The storyline involves racing to find the elixir to eternal life, purported to have been found in antiquity, before `the other bad guys' find it. It's a story that interestingly enough wants to be read but there's not a lot of depth outside the plot's activity, and this ho-hum character environment creates a less than zippy reading. The banter between the teens is typical, and they're really a nice bunch of kids. There's no foul language, insinuation or less than moral circumstances or attitudes in any characters, just your normal teen angst. Voted to be a good summer read.