A Philosophy of Thieves

Robin Hood meets Parasite meets Six of Crows in multi-award winning author Fran Wilde's thrilling, high-tech adventure heist wrapped in a futuristic fantasy where thieves are entertainment for the wealthy.

The Canarviers are the premier performance thieves in New Washington, blending astonishing acrobatics, clever misdirection, and daring escapes to entertain their rich patrons. As King Canarvier has always told his children, their work is art. Who else could titillate audiences with illicit history lessons and tease them through the gaps in their much-prized security?

Now that they're adults, King's children feel their divisions more than their bonds. Roosa attends an exclusive finishing university, blending in so well she's unsure where she belongs. Her brother Dax craves a chance to prove himself, stifling under his father's caution.

Then King disappears.

With only days to buy mercy before their father is lost forever, Roo and Dax must compete in a high-stakes Grand Heist, pushing down their resentments to work together. Against a technocrat wagering more than he can lose, a security chief with a taste for pain, and a society beauty with secrets of her own, any misstep promises catastrophic ruin.

But Canarviers are artists. And they perform best when the pressure is on . . .

Author: Fran Wilde
Publisher: Erewhon Books
Published: 09/30/2025
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781645661948


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/21/2025
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2025
Booklist 09/01/2025
Library Journal 08/29/2025 pg. 1

About the Author
Fran Wilde is a Compton Crook Award and two-time Nebula Award-winning author whose novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. She teaches for the Genre Fiction MFA concentration at Western Colorado University and the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also writes nonfiction for publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Tor.com. She lives outside Washington DC and can be found online at franwilde.net.