Review - Time Thief

I finally started, and finished, The Time Thief by Linda Buckley-Archer. I'm glad I read it. The second in the Gideon trilogy, it was hard to put down.

The book starts where the last one left off. Peter has been left behind in the seventeenth-century, while Kate and her Dad successfully transported back to their present time period. But as Peter was getting ready to transport, he was replaced by the villain in the first book, the Tar Man, or Blueskin. Kate and Peter's father, Mr. Schock, transport back to Peter's time, only to discover they have arrived 29 years later. As they look for the young Peter, the older Peter, who assumes the identity of Gideon's brother Jonathan, accompanies them as they seek to repair the time machine. They seek the help of a French aristocrat who is living at his estate while the French Revolution is taking place.

Meanwhile the Tar Man has adjusted quite nicely to modern day life. He discovers he can "blur" and does so frequently in order to steal money from banks, artwork, and other precious things in order to sustain his new lifestyle. Tom, a street urchin from the first book, also discovers he has transported to the same time and eventually teams up with the Tar Man, along with a local girl who acts as their guide in their new life.

The ending is fairly predictable but started to confuse me as it talked of parallel time dimensions and the such. I'll look forward to reading the last of the trilogy to see what happens. Hopefully she won't take as long to finish it as she did this book.

It was fun to read, nothing offensive. I'd recommend it to any child at a 4th grade reading level or above. now it's on to A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer.