City of Saints & Thieves

by Natalie C. Anderson

The Hunger Games meets The Thief Lord in this enthralling murder mystery set in Kenya.

In the shadows of Sangui City, a street-thief called Tina patiently plots her revenge. Her mother has been shot dead at the home of one of Kenya’s richest businessmen, and Tina is sure she knows who’s to blame.

When a local gang asks her to steal from his home, it’s the chance Tina has been waiting for.  But as she steps inside, old wounds resurface and she is caught red-handed by his son, Michael. The pair set in motion a cascade of dangerous events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. The desire to uncover the incredible truth about who killed her mother — and why — keeps her holding on in this fast-paced, nail-biting thriller.

• ISBN10: 1786072297
• ISBN13: 9781786072290
• Publish Date: 6 July 2017 (first published 24 January 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Rock the Boat
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

(3.5)

I'm still not sure why this is 3.5 and not 4, because I have tons of positive things to say about it! So I just ... don't know why I didn't enjoy it more. Maybe heist books aren't my thing, who knows?

Book content warnings:
rape
graphic violence

After escaping Congo, protagonist Tina and her mother arrive in Sangui City as refugees. Surprisingly, her mother gets a job as a maid for the Greyhills, one of the richest (and most dangerous) families in Sangui. It's there she becomes acquainted with the son of the house and more importantly the man of the house, who becomes the father of her sister, Kiki ... and the murderer of her mother.

Blinded by rage, Tina joins a local gang and vows to avenge her mother's death and kill Mr. Greyhill. Her plan involves the boss of her gang and her gay (though she won't admit it) friend, Boyboy, the hacker. And then, unexpectedly, her old playmate and Mr. Greyhill's son, Michael.

This book is so filled with unexpected and satisfying twists. The story takes you places you never expect, and the action is literally non-stop. If those are things you love, this book is for you. It kept my attention, definitely, but I guess ... I wanted more from it? The problem is I just can't pinpoint what it was that I wanted.

One thing for sure, though, is that I wish Tina's sister, Kiki, was more than a story prop. She was in the book to motivate Tina, and that was it. She had maybe 3-4 lines. Her character? Who knows. I'm getting really tired of little sister/brother characters who are only there to be kidnapped/held hostage/in danger somehow just to be a motivator for the protagonist. Who has no character and is basically a cardboard cutout. Why should we as readers care or be invested in the protagonist's goals if we don't care about the sister/brother/etc. ourselves?

Anyway, a fast-paced heist that takes place in a very interesting setting, and really gets a lot of the white American capitalism and corruption well-written. I especially loved how grey-coded these characters were (though I still didn't like them!). They were neither painted as good nor bad. Really strong characterization here. All in all a very strong book that's maybe just not my kind of thing.

[Bianca]

Question: What is worth more than diamonds and gold? What is the most stable currency? What thing, when stolen, becomes most dangerous and precious of all?

Answer: a secret.

— A fast-paced murder mystery, and revenge thriller that also tackled various social issues. Loved the strong female protagonist and the diverse set of characters.

[lisbethwhite]

I loved this book. The story starts off running and fully expects you to keep up, rarely stopping to catch a breath. Set in Africa, it tells a story like none I've read before. Go read it. HURRY!

[girlinthepages]

017 seems to be a year rife with diverse titles, and one of my reading challenge goals has been to read more widely and diversely this year. City of Saints and Thieves seemed like a great way to expand my reading horizons as it's a book featuring diverse characters, set outside of the United States (in Kenya) and deals with many political and humanitarian rights issues. What I also didn't glean until I started the book and paid attention to the synopsis more closely is that it's a thriller, with the protagonist on the hunt for revenge for her mother's murder the main driving force of the story.

While the author is not from Kenya herself, it's clear that a lot of thought and research went into this book. While the initial set up of the book didn't really engage me (the gang environment, the job-gone-wrong, etc.) I found myself pulled by the socio-political aspects that developed from subtle mentions to full blown plot points throughout the course of the book. There's the exploration of the great wealth disparity in Kenya through Tiny Girl's upbringing vs. her dangerous birth in the Congo and her status as a refugee. There's explanation of the dangers faced by the constant state of warfare in countries like the Congo, and the effects are shown instead of told, through the character's struggles, actions, and fears. The narrative manages to convey the sense or fear and uncertainty without ever veering into "info-dump" territory, but rather lets the story itself do the work through the settings and character interactions. I personally found the setting of the the church hospital in Tiny Girl's hometown of the Congo to carry the most impact, as it shows the strength of human resilience even among the most damaged and vulnerable. So many types of strength, especially females' strength in the face of unfathomable horrors, are showcased and developed in this novel.

Overall: City of Saints and Thieves was a book outside of the normal thrillers I read, but I am so, so glad that I read it. Rather than relying on fantasy or dystopian elements, it crafted a compelling story out of the very real horrors that are being perpetuated in the world today, while still crafting a story about resilience, strength, and hope. As an added bonus, the content feels well researched as the author has worked directly with NGOs and the UN on refugee relief in Africa, and mentions in her author's note that many, many real stories and experiences of those she worked with inspired and made their way into her novel. While the pacing of Anderson's debut dragged a bit for me throughout the first half of the book, it's evident that she's a strong, capable writer and I can't wait to see what she produces next. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[readingwithwrin]

"People are complicated creatures, my dear. The ways they find of explaining the bad things that happen in the world are not always the right ones. Sometimes they are simply easy ones that give them enough comfort to sleep at night, the ones that let them take the blame off themselves."

Tina is a young woman who has lost everything, but her little sister and because of that she is willing to do anything to make sure her sister has a good life. She sacrifices her own education to do so, and works with the Goondas who give her protection and a job that isn't selling herself.
She also has a revenge she wants to complete. To make her mothers murderer pay for what he did. In order to do that though she is going to need the help of not only the Goondas but also her "friend" boyboy. I say "friend" because Tina doesn't want any friends, because friends mean you care and have something that bad people can use against you and take away from you. She's determined to not get close to anyone again after what happened to her mother.

On her revenge mission though, things go very wrong and she ends up seeing someone she thought she would never see again.
This was a scary situation for anyone to be in, and Tina handled it like a pro in my opinion. Not only did she stick to her guns, but she tried to keep the person at a distance in order to keep them both safe. She never let her mind get changed from what her mission was and because of that good things end up happening.
Not only does she find things out about her mothers past, but she learns so much about who her father is and why her mother had brought them to the greyhill estates after fleeing Congo.

Overall I really loved this book. It was like nothing I've read before and it really opened my eyes. Not only to how life is like for some refugees, but also how young kids survive after losing their parents and no one steps in to take care of them. Tina for me was such a strong and caring character. Even though she tried to keep everyone away from her, she really did rely on them in the end and learned a lot herself about what certain things mean. How just because you've been burned once doesn't mean that you should keep everyone away. The friendship she did make in the end were so nice to read and the fact that things ended up turning out mostly good was also nice, because at one point I thought everything was going very very wrong and she would be left with nothing.
Definitely one of my top books of 2017 so far.

"Maybe you can't be all the things to all people. You might not ever be a proper boarding school girl. Or a perfect thief. Not always the daughter they want or deserve or the sister or the friend. Rules will break you as often as they break them. But I guess thats okay."

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[nightingalereads]

**I won an ARC of this book from Goodreads**

So, I don't normally go for thrillers. I'm very much a solid fantasy/occasional contemporary reader. As such, I wasn't exactly jumping out of my seat with anticipation when I picked up City of Saints & Thieves. Fortunately for me, though, this book completely won me over.

To start off, the characters are all complex and diverse. Each one is fully fleshed out and helped draw me into the story. The protagonist, Tina, is a girl you can't help but love and root for. The story itself is set in Kenya and centers around the murder of Tina's mother. Since I've never read another book set in Kenya, I can't speak for accuracy, but the author did a great job of painting the setting into my mind. Her writing overall was very impressive; it never felt clunky or awkward, and I was never pulled out of the story.

As for the thriller aspect, I couldn't tell you how well it was done in comparison to other books of the genre. But I was definitely captivated by the story and invested in the mystery. I think this is a book that anyone would enjoy, suspense-lover or not.