MORE THAN A THIEF

Patt presents a twist on the enduring real-life mystery surrounding suspected murderer Lizzie Borden in this historical YA novel.

It’s 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, where 16-year-old Victoria Robbins cares for her gravely ill mother with the help of Irish domestic worker Penelope; meanwhile, her absent father spends weeks on the family’s distant farm. The teenager finds solace and companionship with her 33-year-old neighbor and former Sunday school teacher, Lizzie Borden. When Lizzie’s father and stepmother are violently murdered and Lizzie arrested for the crimes, Victoria decides to use the principles of evidence and detection found in her beloved Sherlock Holmes stories to try to exonerate her friend. During her investigations, however, the teen discovers some unsettling similarities between herself and the accused murderer. For example, despite their middle-class backgrounds, both women are driven almost irresistibly to commit acts of petty thievery. In a Victorian world where one form of immorality is believed to lead inevitably to others, the girl can’t help but wonder if she’s capable of murder—or if her belief in Lizzie’s innocence stems from some darker link between them: “What if they really were alike in good ways—and bad?” she asks herself. The novel does a solid job with its late-19th-century New England setting, where class prejudices and bigotry toward Irish Catholics are rampant. Later, for instance, when Victoria finds an unlikely ally in young Irish police detective apprentice Declan Dempsey, she’s torn between her growing attraction to him and her father’s angry insistence that pursuing a relationship with him would bring disgrace upon her family. Meanwhile, she struggles to find evidence that could prevent Lizzie from going to the gallows, and to retain her own faith in her innocence. As the story reaches its dramatic conclusion, readers will be rooting for her to do both.

An engaging drama with an appealing protagonist.