The Lies of Locke Lamora

Spoilers Ahead

Our story starts off reminiscent of Oliver Twist by the great Charles Dickens. We follow our Fagin character, the Thiefmaker, as he is bringing one of his boys to the Temple of Perelandro. The child is going to be sold to the Eyeless Priest, Father Chains, for his inability to follow the rules.

The Thiefmaker scours the city of Camorr for orphaned children. He brings them into his fold at his underground lair in Shade's Hill. Thiefmaker is a skinny man with spindly fingers and stooped with arthritis. He finds these otherwise unwanted children and teaches them to become pickpockets and second-story men.

Shade's Hill is run with ruthless efficiency. Only those who can produce profit are allowed to eat. One young boy wants to ensure his ability to eat. This child has gotten himself into trouble one too many times by scheming higher and thinking bigger than his "brothers and sisters".

This young entrepreneur would be our own Oliver Twist character, Locke Lamora. He now finds himself being escorted to a temple to be sold to a priest. Thiefmaker makes things clear to Locke that if Father Chains won't buy him, the remaining option will be Locke's demise.

Locke has caused much trouble for Thiefmaker in his short time at Shade's Hill. On his first night after being rescued by Thiefmaker from the plague-ravaged district of Catchfire, Locke broke the Secret Peace. Unknown to the civilized people of Camorr, the Secret Peace is a deal between the city officials and the criminal underground, wherein nobility and government agents are strictly off-limits to scoundrels. While being transferred into the care of Thiefmaker, Locke picked the pocket of one of the city's Yellowjackets, the local law enforcement.

Not only is Locke being sold to Father Chains, but he had caused so much trouble for Thiefmaker that the ruler of Shade's Hill had gone to Capa Barsavi to obtain a death mark for the boy. Capa Barsavi is the kingpin of Camorr's criminal world. He has unified all the city's various gangs under his control. This death mark gives explicit permission for Locke to be killed with no repercussions from superiors.

Thiefmaker informs Father Chains of each transgression made by Locke. He details each mistake Locke has made, including nearly causing an entire district to be burned down. But the boy shows promise, and Thiefmaker believes Father Chains may coax usefulness from this little troublemaker.

Locke is brought into the temple and introduced to the priest's two other initiates, Calo and Galdo Sanza. These twins are themselves former wards of Thiefmaker. Chains, as he prefers to be called, begins initiating Locke into their order. Though they reside in the Temple of Perelandro, they worship the nameless Thirteenth God, even though the pantheon has only twelve gods. Chains explains that this nameless one is known as the Crooked Warden or the Benefactor. Criminals worship him.

Chains teaches the boys how to work as a team. He trains them in varying skills and arts. Each boy shall learn to earn his supper. He teaches them to read and write. Requires them to learn several languages. Demands that they know the customs and habits of many cultures. He is training his boys to be one of the leading confidence scam groups in the world.

It isn't long before the three initiates find a rhythm and pull off heists of their own creation. Locke as the mastermind of the clique and the Sanzas as his willing compatriots. They are establishing within their group an order of hierarchy when a new member arrives.

Chains acquired Jean Tannen after Jean lost his parents in a fire. He was the son of a merchant family. Jean is overweight and unused to the lifestyle of a street urchin. He is emotional and distraught about his recent trauma. The other boys do not care for him and wish Chains to send him away.

Chains sees the value of Tannen and orchestrates challenges to humble the others and show Jean's capabilities. After one such demonstration, Locke loosed his tongue on Jean when Jean proved the better pupil. Locke's words tore at the most vulnerable parts of Jean and sent him into a blind fury. He leveled Locke and had to be subdued before causing permanent damage.

It takes time, but the group begins to gel. Locke as the brains and leader. Jean becomes their muscle and heavy-hitter. Calo and Galdo fill in the cracks as jacks of all trades but masters of none.

These four scheme and plot to earn their coin. They scam people out of money. They do not butcher or threaten violence to empty the purses of their victims. Those who are targeted by this crew turn out their pockets willingly, believing all the while that they will be rewarded for this payment.

These are not mere brigands or cutthroats. These are the Gentleman Bastards! They take pride in using their minds and tongues to dupe their marks. There is no need for violence or murder. You need nothing more than a brilliant plan and skill with disguise. You can walk away with a fortune and never be seen again.

The scope of plots these men pull off in the story would embarrass the Ocean's Eleven crew. The story that unfolds in these pages is that of a heist of epic proportions. There are layers upon layers of subterfuge and misdirection.

The Gentleman Bastards find themselves up against the city watch, the Duke's own secret police, the house-guard of their current victims, the Capa, and a mysterious figure known as the Gray King. What ensues is a fast-paced heist-thriller that kept me entertained from chapter one.

This story did not disappoint me. There is plenty to solve, and many things left open for the remaining novels in this series. I am looking forward to reading book two, Red Seas Under Red Skies. This series is written by Scott Lynch.

I give this book an eight out of ten. I find it top-rate, but the story gets dense and parts of the narrative are difficult to follow because it jumps between the past and present. I don't think you'd be disappointed if you pick this one up, provided you can get through the density of information the story throws at you.