THIEVES TILL WE DIE

The young-adult crooks and whiz kids of Thieves Like Us (2006) are once again set to steal ancient artifacts for their mysterious employer, Coldhardt. This time, Tye, Jonah, Motti, Con and Patch need to steal the lost sword of Cortes. A straightforward-seeming theft goes awry when Tye is kidnapped by worshippers of the goddess Coatlicue, who plan to orchestrate mass murder in order to raise the goddess. Though Tye could escape, she wants to rescue her ex-boyfriend, the planned human sacrifice of Coatlicue’s worshippers, from the villains—despite the fact that he’s a selfish prat. Tye’s seemingly turncoat behavior infuriates her friends, but they still work together to defeat the madmen and steal the sword. This classic Indiana Jones–style grave-robbing adventure places more emphasis on action than on character, and the over-the-top evil of the flatly painted villains fits well in this mixture of Aztec temples and high-tech thievery. Snarky, fun, action-packed adventure. (Fiction. 13-15)