The Good Thief

The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti, is a debut novel published in 2009 by Dial Press. It is the story of Ren, an orphan adopted by a pair of gentleman rogues in early American New England and led willingly into a life of crime. Ren, who is missing his left hand, is taught to lie, steal and run confidence games by his new mentor, Benjamin Nab, and they travel to the city of North Umbridge, where a mousetrap factory owner reigns supreme using his army of hired thugs ("hat boys") and the unmarried, dowdy girls who work in the factory ("mousetrap girls").