** ONE OF AMAZON'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2025!** SKANDAR MEETS OLIVER TWIST IN THIS BLOCKBUSTING NEW MIDDLE GRADE ADVENTURE SERIES! "Top marks" Observer "Utterly fabulous" ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG "The real thing" MICHAEL GRANT "A thrilling read!" JONATHAN STROUD "A must!" Daily Mail "Propulsive pacing and action packed plotting" Publishers' Weekly starred review 13-year-old Tom Morgan and his friends live on the streets of an alternate London, shining shoes and picking pockets - until one day Tom's friends are caught and sent to a brutal workhouse. Frantic and without a way to save them, Tom bumps into the mysterious Corsair, who offers him an opportunity to train at an elite international boarding school for thieves. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Tom lets himself be whisked away to the snowy Alps in a zeppelin. Swept into a thrilling world of danger and intrigue, the more secrets he learns about the Shadow League, the harder it becomes for Tom to leave. But there are dark forces at work and real danger is coming... Can Tom save his fellow pupils from disaster - and ever be able to get home again to rescue his friends? Get ready for the stunning debut in what is guaranteed to become every reader's favourite new series! Heart-pounding adventure, thrilling heists, remote boarding schools full of ancient secrets waiting to be discovered and much much more... Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson! Readers LOVE Shadow Thieves! "One of my favourite reads of all time" "Reading this book helped me to escape the real world and enter into a world full of imagination" "I couldn't put the book down". "This high-octane, fast-paced debut will be impossible to put down, especially for 9+ Skandar fans" - Imogen Russell Williams, Guardian "A rip-snorting series opener ... top marks" - Observer "Fun, exciting and deliciously inventive" - Charlotte Eyre, The Bookseller "A mix of Dickensian atmosphere, Bond-like stunts and boarding school rivalries, this is a must for Harry Potter or Percy Jackson fans" - Daily Mail "Destined to be every youngster's must read!" - The Lancashire Evening Post, "Propulsive pacing and action-packed plotting ... a page-turning, edge-of-the-seat adventure. Meticulously unraveled secrets and personable characters will have readers clamoring for the next volume of this enthralling series starter" - Publishers' Weekly starred review "Clever, mysterious and the start of a promising new series" New Statesman "I have never been as quickly hooked by a book as I have been reading Shadow Thieves by debut fiction author Peter Burns. Debut author? And it's this good? Shadow Thieves is the real thing. Gripping from page one, this epic novel is a more grounded Percy Jackson, a fun read start to finish" - Michael Grant "Utterly fabulous ... engrossing and charmingly done" - Alexander Armstrong "Dark, daring and delightful, Shadow Thieves is packed with spectacular heists, stylish cons and breathtaking set-pieces. This unputdownable new fantasy is conjured with immense imagination and verve. A brilliant achievement and a thrilling read" - Jonathan Stroud 'Deeply atmospheric, Shadow Thieves sweeps you along from one daring escapade to the next. Set in an alternate-history vision of London, I loved the rich, immersive world-building and can't wait to read more!' Jack Jackman, author of Maisie vs Antarctica "It's clever, mysterious and the start of a promising new series that is less moral than Harry Potter but just as good-hearted" - The New Statesman. Reviews Peter Burns is the author of ten critically acclaimed non-fiction sports books and has been nominated for numerous awards, including twice for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The truth, however, is that he's always wanted to write children's books, so Shadow Thieves is a dream come true. Peter studied English at the University of St Andrews before gaining a Masters in publishing at Napier University. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, four kids and a slightly nervous cocker spaniel. He isn't a Thief, a Spy, an Assassin or a Politico. Or is he?
