The Diamond Thief

No one performs on the circus trapeze like 16-year-old Rémy Brunel. But Rémy also leads another life, prowling through the backstreets of Victorian London as a jewel thief. When she is forced to steal one of the world’s most valuable diamonds, she uncovers a world of treachery and fiendish plots.

Meanwhile, young detective Thaddeus Rec is determined to find the jewel and clear his name. Will Thaddeus manage to rescue the jewel? Or is it really Rémy that he needs to save?
from goodreads.com

Beth says 4 Stars...
The summary fails to mention that there's a delightful little steampunk element to this story that makes it a bit more than a Victorian mystery.  The set up is a bit odd initially, but soon works itself out and the storylines connect in a more logical way.  Gosling gets a bit ambitious with the scope of the novel and tries to bring in tons of elements.  They eventually coalesce after some time and kinks.  Occasionally some ideas didn't receive the full explanation I would have liked to see, especially some of the oddities mentioned closer to the end of the book.  Despite all this, the plot had a nice flow to it and drew me in slowly.  The mystery unveils gradually with a few moments that accelerate the plot forward.

I quite liked Rémy as a character.  She was a little off in the best possible way, mysterious and suspicious.  Everything in her world wasn't shiny and happy, but she always survived in the best way she knew how.  Her specific skill set often proved useful and she knew when to accept help when things were too far outside of her experience.  Her interactions with Thaddeus were delightful, ranging from verbal sparring to emotional upheaval.  Thaddeus made me smile with his uncanny instincts, propensity for being ignored, and love of technology.  Having chapters that followed both him and Rémy made both of them seem more real and offered insights into the similarities and disparities between their worlds.  In an utterly not shocking turn of events, I particularly enjoyed the Professor with his offbeat scientist/inventor ways.  Although he was a bit stereotypical, the mad scientist archetype is always fun for me to read.

Overall this was a fun, quirky little novel.  I certainly enjoyed it.  If an adventure featuring a circus, a diamond, and a dash of romance sounds good then this is for you.
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