-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Charles Belfoure
In 1886 New York, a respectable architect shouldn't have any connection to the notorious gang of thieves and killers that rules the underbelly of the city. But when John Cross's son racks up an unfathomable gambling debt to Kent's Gent's, Cross must pay it back himself. All he has to do is use his inside knowledge of high society mansions and museums to craft a robbery even the smartest detectives won't solve. The take better include some cash too - the bigger the payout, the faster this will be over.
With a newfound talent for sniffing out vulnerable and lucrative targets, Cross becomes invaluable to the gang. But Cross's entire life has become a balancing act, and it will only take one mistake for it all to come crashing down - and for his family to go down too.
"Starred Review. Belfoure's sly, roguish writing opens a window to those living both gilded and tarnished lives... Best of all, Belfoure holds together each and every thread of the novel, resulting in a most memorable, evocative read." - Publishers Weekly
"The plot primarily relies on exciting and suspenseful action sequences and is fairly short on plausibility, but the novel never takes itself too seriously. A pulse-raising read for historical crime and historical thriller fans." - Library Journal
"Belfoure takes a more skewed view of morals here than in his best-selling debut, The Paris Architect (2013), but he again displays a brisk prose style, well-developed plot, and interesting architectural details. Multiple murders notwithstanding, this is a roisterous, supremely entertaining adventure." - Booklist
"Charles Belfoure sees New York's Gilded Age with an architect's eye and evokes the atmosphere wonderfully." - Edward Rutherford, New York Times bestselling author of Paris: The Novel and New York: The Novel
This information about House of Thieves was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
An architect by profession, Charles Belfoure has published several architectural histories, one of which won a Graham Foundation Grant for architectural research. He graduated from the Pratt Institute and Columbia University, and he taught at Pratt as well as at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. His area of specialty is historic preservation. He has been a freelance writer for the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times. He lives in Maryland.
If you liked House of Thieves, try these:
by Allison Epstein
Published 2026
A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
by Colson Whitehead
Published 2022
From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns, and rip-offs set in Harlem in the 1960s.
by Adam Langer
Published 2005
Poignant, ambitious, and tremendously fun, Crossing California is a novel about two generations of family and friendship; set in Chicago, from November 1979 through January 1981.
To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be ...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
