A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles – B+ At just under 3 hours of listening time, this little delight was easy to squeeze into my listening schedule. Those of us who’ve read or listened to The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting may remember that siblings Marianne and Robin were missing a brother – Toby. He’d left home suddenly some years before after a falling out with their father and, while they understood why he’d left, they missed him and wondered what happened to him.  We listeners need wonder no more as here he is.

Toby isn’t so much a thief as someone who steals things when “needs must”.  He’s happy to work for a living but it’s not always easy to find work and there have been times where he’s stolen or sold himself to survive. While his preference would be not to do either of those things I got the sense that he doesn’t let what he has to do sometimes get him down too much. As the novella begins, Toby meets a handsome aristocratic man in a tavern. They have an enjoyable encounter in the dark and Toby has real regret when he later steals Miles’ watch and pocketbook – but, needs must.

Miles has just returned from the war and is on his way home. He had been estranged from his own father and had hoped they could reconcile but he’s found out he’s a week too late – his father suddenly passed away. When Miles, now the Earl of Arvon, does make it home, he finds a house in terrible disarray. The land has been sold off, there’s only one horse and the house is full of junk – his father was a hoarder of sorts.

Toby is very surprised when, in hopes of finding honest work with the earl, he discovers said earl is Miles. However, after a scuffle and an argument, Miles and Toby come to terms: for room and board and to pay off his debt, Toby will work for Miles and help him clear and clean out the house. Over the course of the next few weeks, the initial attraction which stirred between the pair becomes deeper. They get to know one another and their respective histories. And, when Miles hears of a bracelet which will get him out of the financial hole he’s in and which has been, effectively, stolen by a neighbour, it so happens that Toby’s particular skills may come in extra handy.

The cast is small which suits the short length of the book. Although the entire listen is less than three hours, I did not feel any lack of relationship development. There is plenty of dialogue and their growing intimacy is shown very clearly over the course of their weeks together. It’s a wonderful little bite but also a complete story.

I enjoyed the narration for the most part but there were times when one of the narrators (unfortunately I’m unable to identify which one) sounded more like he was reading than performing. A subtle difference perhaps but one I noticed. Still, I did hear the warmth of the story and the growing depth of their affection for one another and the listen was otherwise well done.

A Thief in the Night is part of the Audible Plus catalogue and is free for Audible members. It’s audio only for now but print and ebooks will be available next year.

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