This steampunk fantasy will have you on the edge of your seat as a young and clever thief must pull off a major heist with a life changing prize. This debut has it all—adrenaline-spiking action, heartwarming family dynamics, and a colourful cast of characters impossible not to love!

THE SECOND GREATEST THIEF
by Christine Cohen
Viking, Spring 2027
(via Writers House)

Twelve-year-old Lira Angleson has only one goal: to become a Master Thief. If she’s successful, she’ll be the youngest in New York City’s Thieves Guild to accomplish it, and she won’t ever have to worry about being hungry again. But when her final heist to earn the title goes wrong, she’s about to lose everything she’s worked so hard for. Desperate, she strikes a devilish deal with the Guild’s sinister Grandmaster: If she can complete an upcoming heist so dangerous that most thieves aren’t willing to try, he will grant her the coveted title. 

There’s just one catch. Lira’s brother, William, famously known as the city’s greatest thief, has his own reasons for needing to win the prize. Can Lira outsmart her brother to snatch it first, or will she forever be the city’s second greatest thief?

 Christine Cohen was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. After writing some really terrible Lord of the Rings fanfiction as a teenager, she started creating her own fictional worlds after college, and she hasn’t stopped since. The Second Greatest Thief is her debut middle-grade novel.