An Artful Dodge

Victorian London comes to vivid life in this riveting heist novel about an all-female thieving gang and one young woman’s heroic plan to escape a life of crime, from the USA Today bestselling author of Down a Dark River.

She’s stolen gems, purses, and hearts—but can she steal her life back from the thieving ring that’s claimed it?

London, 1879: Twenty-year-old Kit Jimeson has fingers so nimble she can nick a necklace off a lady in a crowded theater without raising alarm. Kit and her dodge partner, Mary, are the highest earners in the notorious all-women thieving ring in South London’s Elephant and Castle district.

Kit, whose mother had been a thief before her, dreams of a different life, one where she’s not constantly on the lookout for constables and plainclothes detectives, and where a mistake or pure bad luck won’t land her in the hangman’s noose. She has been saving her earnings so her younger sister, a maid for a wealthy Mayfair family, might have a shot at respectability.

Kit is very close to leaving the life entirely when the legendary former thief Maggie O’Connell brings her plans to a halt. Beautiful, charismatic Maggie has returned to reclaim leadership of the ring after twenty years in a brutal Australian penal colony. But Maggie desires more than mere wealth or power: She longs for revenge against those who sent her away. Kit, with her quick mind and dangerously clever hands, is Maggie’s best weapon. If Kit wants to walk away with her life, she must carry out a heist that will demand every skill she possesses.Praise for An Artful Dodge

“A triumph! The story of one whip-smart young thief’s audacious battle for her freedom, integrity, and true love.”
—Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series and Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

Praise for Karen Odden

“Period and place are exceptionally well-drawn.”
—Oprah Daily

“Enter a world of teeming and dangerous cities portrayed in vitality and amazing detail. Meet characters with tremendous courage and appetite for life, and be glad you can return at will to the present.”
—Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author

“Pulls the reader into the place and time as Karen Odden weaves this complex and compelling mystery! A must read for mystery fans!”
–Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Rutledge mysteries

“A captivating tale of mystery, history, and a dash of romance—with an ahead-of-her-time heroine who not only plays the piano with aplomb, but defies Victorian conventions, courts danger, and solves mysteries.”
—Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series

“This riveting historical debut is chock-full of details about Victorian England, spun into a masterful tale of romance, railroads, and mystery. Propelled by an engaging heroine and a deftly plotted conspiracy, it’s a great read!”
—Stefanie Pintoff, Edgar Award–winning author of Hostage Taker

“Odden never strikes a false note, and she combines a sympathetic lead with a twisty plot grounded in the British politics of the day and peopled with fully fleshed-out characters. Fans of Lyndsay Faye’s Gods of Gotham trilogy will be enthralled.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A lyrical tune whose words demand equality and justice.”
—Washington Independent Review of Books

“Impossible to put down.”
—Historical Novel SocietyKaren Odden received her PhD in English from New York University and taught Victorian literature at UW-Milwaukee. She is the author of five crime novels set in 1870s London, including her award-winning USA Today bestselling debut, A Lady in the Smoke. Her work has been nominated for the Lefty, Anthony, Agatha, and Derringer Awards, and appeared in Best Mystery Stories of the Year. A transplant from New York, Karen lives in Arizona with her family. Find her online at www.karenodden.com.