Set during the time of Jesus Christ, The Thief by Stephanie Landsem gives us a different perspective of life in these times especially for a Roman Centurion and a Jewish woman.
The Thief is based on the lives of our two main characters, Longinus, a Roman centurion and Nissa, a Jewish woman. Longinus is haunted by death and his own failures. He has always felt a bit out of place by being not a full Roman by blood. When a group of thieves begin to steal from the marketplace he accepts a huge wager – if he can find the thieves before Passover he will earn a transfer out of the region and if he does not he will lose his Father’s sword.
Nissa is a young, Jewish woman who has a sharp tongue and because of her age no hope for marriage. She begins to steal in order to feed herself and keep a roof over her head.
When a healer named Jesus heals her blind brother, Longinus wants to learn more about this mysterious man. In his quest to learn more he is drawn to Nissa. When they are caught up in the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus, they begin to wonder who this teacher is and why he was not able to save himself.
The Thief was a moving story of forgiveness and the power it has to change our lives. I was not able to put this novel down! I stayed up all night reading it. I fell in love with our two main characters and watching them struggle with their own insecurities and beliefs was very difficult. You wanted to be able to help guide them. I loved how they evolved throughout the novel and found healing in the end. It was fantastic the way the story of Jesus was tied into the novel – I was not expecting that at all!
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Rating: 5/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
