Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh is a gripping and empowering read that will captivate fans of strong female protagonists and historical fiction, particularly those who enjoy stories about women's resilience, power, and self-discovery in the face of adversity, set against the gritty and atmospheric backdrop of post-war London.

Queen of Thieves is a historical fiction novel taking place in London after WWII. We hear, in duel POVs, from Nell, a young girl who finds herself pregnant and in need of work, and Alice, the head of a lady gang of thieves. Nell gets sucked into Alice's world and thinks she has found a new mother-figure in Alice, but she soon realizes that the leader of the Forty Thieves is not loyal to anyone but herself.

This is a twisty and fun ride, all the while highlighting the awful conditions for women during this time. Queen of Thieves has more grit than the usual feminist historical books. Highly recommend!

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to William Morrow, Beezy Marsh, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!!

Alice Diamond runs her all-female gang, the Forty Thieves, in post-WWII London. They steal and resell luxury goods...in postwar times of struggle, everyone needs a little crookedness to survive. Enter Nell, a young pregnant woman from the slums, whom Alice takes under her wing. Nell is thrilled to be a part of the Thieves until she is "tested" by the gang and ends up with 6 months behind bars. The story is told in dual points of view - one side of the story from Alice, the queen of Thieves herself, and the other from Nell, hellbent on revenge,

My favorite things about this novel were the historical backdrop and the characters. I liked Nell's character almost as much as I DISliked Alice (but any emotional reaction to a character, positive or negative, is evidence of strong writing in my opinion). I wanted to drop-kick punt Jimmy (seriously buddy, man up). I always love a good WWII novel and I loved that this one focused not on the war, but on the aftermath, and even more specifically, on the roles of women in postwar England - both the ones that were expected of them, and the ones they took up for themselves.

It took me a while to get into this book (probably around 40% is when it really started to pick up, in my opinion). I'm glad I stuck with it because the second half was very entertaining. I loved the conflicts between the warring gangs, and the very real dangers that the characters faced. I flew through the second half of the novel.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, unique, and entertaining novel with good characters and an interesting backdrop, that picks up pretty quickly in the second half.

This was set during WWII and is a historical fiction but one I actually enjoyed!
It was pretty light in temperament for being set during such a depressing time.
I found this to be a fun and fast read — the pacing was super fast. The characters were funny but there was quite a bit of violence. I felt like this was a book outside my normal repertoire but I enjoyed it.

Two words for this one: Girl. Power. I continue to surprise myself with how much I enjoy reading historical fiction! History was my least favorite subject in school, so this genre always intimidates me, but I continue to give each one I read 5 stars, so I must be a fan at this point, right??

The setting is post WWII London, where necessities are scarce, and making money seems nearly impossible for the “average Joe.” One of the main characters, Nell, finds herself in a predicament and doesn’t know how she is going to survive especially given the circumstances of society. One night she is stumbles upon Alice Diamond, the Queen of Thieves, who runs an all-girl shoplifting gang.

When Nell sees the kind of life she can love by stealing luxury items, she’s drawn in and determined to use this to make a better life for herself. But when she’s betrayed by one of her own, she has her eyes set on one thing, to become the next Queen of Thieves. Nell evolves a lot throughout the book, going from a shy innocent girl, to a very smart & intimidating woman. Nell & Alice are both put to the test as they are constantly up against their rival gang of thieves, ran by Billy Sullivan. But at the end, there can only be one queen…so, who will it be?

Such a great read. I loved everything about this book. The characters were relatable and the gossip was juicy. The idea of women thieves as a plot was genius and the author delivered flawlessly. I'm normally a thriller reader but I really enjoyed Nell's adventures and point of view. The backstory of the Queen of Thieves had me turning pages so fast to see what happened next and to understand her better. I loved the fact that the ending tied up all the lose ends so nothing was left without an answer. If you are a person who loves the 40's and adventure you will want to pick this up.

I absolutely loved this book. It was SO good, and fun!! The characters are believable and written SO well. It was so fun to cheer for Nell and be caught up in the drama of The Forty Theives and the gangs. There is such humor in this book but also great drama and intrigue. Highly recommend. Nell and her journey were SO interesting, the book was just the right exact pace. I am very much so looking forward to any more work done by Beezy Marsh!

I miss this one already. Such an engrossing setting!

World War II has ended, but life isn’t much better in London’s slums. There still isn’t enough food, jobs, or places to live.
When a fun night leaves Nell with a bun in the oven and few choices, she decides she’ll give living on the wrong side of the law a try.
She hooks up with Alice Diamond, Queen of the Forty Thieves, a women’s crime ring that dates back to Queen Victoria, but soon finds herself in over her head.
This was one of the books who you’re not sure to root for and you find yourself switching alliances early and often. I loved getting to know the characters, and I’m so excited to hear rumors of a sequel coming!
Hurray! Long live the Queen!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow of my ARC.

I loved getting two sides if the story. You instantly love Nell and know she's going to make you proud by the end of the book. I knew nothing about Alice Diamond before going into it so was a fun and unexpected read for me.

Interesting story about post-war London's gangland. I liked reading the events from both the perspective of Nell and Alice. This band of female thieves proved to be tough and very creative. This life was quite brutal at times. While the writing was okay, the story did move along to find who would be Queen of thieves.

Queen of Thieves, by Beezy Marsh, takes place in London right after WWII. This is the tale of Alice Diamond who is the Queen of the all female gang of shoplifters called the Forty Thieves. When Alice spots Nell, a teenage slum girl who is pregnant and down on her luck, she decides to recruit Nell into her little gang. And thus the mischief begins.

Although the characters were interesting, none of them were likable. The dialogue and writing style was a little confusing at times but I assume that was to add to the gang mentality. There was a bit of violence and sex but it was not too graphic. The story moved along a good clip and I found myself trying to find time to get back to it to see what was going to happen next.

It was different from the books I usually read but well worth the time. If you like the gangland stories and are looking smoothing a little different you might want to check this out.

This was an interesting book with good writing, but it took a while for me to truly get into reading it. Although it starts off a little slow, the pace does pick up towards the middle of the book. However, I loved the dual-perspectives between Alice and Nell, as I always love getting to read from multiple points of view. Their stories were so different, yet quite similar and I loved their character development. Overall, I would still recommend reading this one if it sounds interesting to you. Just keep in mind that it takes a bit for the plot to get going.