The Thief Lord is set in Venice, sometime in the recent past. Victor Getz, a good natured small time detective, is approached by an unpleasant couple with an usual request: find two brothers, aged 12 and 5, who have run away to Venice and lost themselves amid the tangled streets and canals. Victor is more accustomed to finding lost dogs than lost boys, but he takes the job. Meanwhile, Prosper and Bo are desperate not to be found. Luckily, they are taken under the protection of a street gang run by a boy called the Thief Lord. But the Thief Lord is not what he seems, and even in Venice it's not easy to stay lost. A very enjoyable YA novel with a touch of magic and a touch of philosophy- I was surprised but interested by its ideas on why children want to grow up while adults want to stay young.