Once she was Adrienne Satti, an orphan with a rags-to-riches story.
Now she is Widdershins, a thief with a sharp blade, a sharper wit and help from a secret god living in her head.
Ari Marmell’s Thief’s Covenant starts off with the most brutal of murders. A small group of “party goers” have been slain, and Sergeant Chappelle of the city’s guard is working the case. Hiding in the shadows above the scene of the murder is Adrienne, who is trying to remain hidden as her mind adjusts to the fact that everyone she knows and loves has been murdered before her very eyes.
Fast forward ten years and the renown thief Widdershins is about the hit another home of the famous and wealthy. In her head is a small voice who helps her, watches her back and grants her boosts of power. She has a god in her head, and he’s a bit like her in some regards. Nonetheless, Widdershins pulls off a perfect heist, which draws the attention of the Finder’s Guild (whom she works for, kind of) and the menacing figure of Brock.
Brock threatens Widdershins and demands that she pays more to the guild, to which the young female thief clearly objects. A fight breaks out between them and Widdershins, with the help of the god in her head, beats the group of thieves and makes her escape.
There is a dark undertone going on behind the scenes here, as a high ranking church official (churches?) is coming to the city – something that hasn’t happened in a long time. Widdershins, annoyed at the Finder’s Guild for daring to tell her what she can or cannot do (she has a slight problem with authority), decides that she is going to rob the holy man.
Then everything from her past catches up with her…
I loved this book. It was a lot of fun, and watching the relationship between Widdershins and the god in her head is pure delight. Everything about this book screams “Fun!” while tension continues to build up around our intrepid star. The variety of cast members who touch Widdershins’ life is varied, and the man who loves her is more than he appears (which I had my suspicions about early on, and were confirmed later).
Marmell has a winner here. The pacing, plot and story are all excellent. The only downside of the book was that it was far too short. Buy this book, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.
–Reviewed by Jason
Editor’s note: if you’d like to win a free hardcover copy of “Thief’s Covenant” by Ari Marmell, feel free to follow us on Facebook and let us know (here or there) just why you think you deserve the free copy. Contest closes Friday, Feb 24 at noon EST.
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