The Best Thing You Can Steal is a standalone urban fantasy novella (and I hope) the start of a new series by Simon R. Green. Released 6th April 2021 by Severn House, it's 192 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook versions. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
Simon Green will be familiar to many (most?) fans of urban fantasy and this is a good example of the kind of writing we've come to expect from him. There's a large dose of bravado, lots of imagination, cleverly wrought characters who are that little bit extra, and an extravagantly intricate plot full of twists and turns. The denouement was exciting and engaging and the resolution was very satisfying. A one sentence precís would say: Ocean's 11 meets the BPRD with a dash of Neverwhere. It's a not entirely fair assessment, since Mr. Green adds his own inimitable stamp to the narrative, but it's not far off either.
The language is *relatively* clean and would probably rate PG. Vernacular and spelling are UK standard (the author's a Brit, it's set in London - most of the North American audience likely has a favo(u)rite Dr. Who actor - so concessions must be made).
Very
entertaining and a quick and humorous read. The author has a definite
gift with repartee and I found myself smiling often whilst reading. This
series will likely appeal to fans of Charles Stross' Laundry Files,
Jasper Fforde, and similar.
Four and a half stars. Well worth a look.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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