Soon-to-be eighteen year old Sonny McCluskey is like any other teenager living in Newfoundland in the late 1960's; a trade school student, working part time at the family auto shop, hanging with his friends while nurturing a little love interest on the side. Except, unlike most teenage boys, Sonny has Charlie (a.k.a. Dad)! An eccentric, but ailing modern day Robin Hood hell bent on taking his own life with the aid of his own flesh and blood, Sonny. If that wasn't bad enough Sonny is left with the task of having to run the burgeoning business of maintaining the auto shop while promising to continue Charlie's secret, albeit illegal, generosity of caring for the less fortunate. Never in a million years did Sonny think that upholding the family tradition would cause him to second guess his morality, lead him to uncovering family secrets, and expose hard to swallow truths about the family he loved and cherished. The Good Thief by Leo Furey is a well executed modern day novel demonstrating the ensuing chaos when good and evil come face to face.
In the living room, I look at his bookshelf, sit in his chair, and think about the future. Can I carry on the family tradition? Part of me knows it's a good thing, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. A noble calling. It's right to sock it to the heartless rich, as Crenshaw says. Another part knows it's wrong, criminal activity. Do I really want to do what Charlie did all his life? Counterfeiting? Could I look myself in the mirror? I want to be the son Charlie raised me to be. Promise me you'll care for the less fortunate, son. I want to be loyal. But I want what's right for me, my own garage, and if I work hard, I'll have enough money to look after myself and others.
The Good Thief is best selling author Leo Furey's second novel. Set in the rural seaside community of Portugal Cove, Furey's storytelling is well paced, suspenseful and inundated with unexpected curveballs. The characters are oddly interesting and I enjoyed how the author utilized the backstory of each character to develop the events of the story. Rich with dialogue, readers will enjoy the sixties vibe complete with teenage passion, mind altering substances, and a little rock and roll. Readers will sympathize with the moral dilemma Sonny constantly seems to find himself facing and, like myself, will likely be caught off guard by the surprise ending. Whatever happened to Sonny McCluskey? I guess we will have to wait and see.
The Good Thief by Leo Furey is the full meal deal. A little romance mixed with risk, greed, and criminality combine to create a suspenseful story of one teen's struggle to escape the shadow of his eccentric father. The Good Thief is a Flanker Press publication.
