The Readymade Thief

By: Augustus Rose

Narrated by: Emily Rankin

“The most must-read of all must-reads.” —Marie Claire

“A kickass debut from start to finish.” —Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad

Lee Cuddy is seventeen years old and on the run.

Betrayed by her family after taking the fall for a friend, Lee finds refuge in a cooperative of runaways holed up in an abandoned building they call the Crystal Castle. But the façade of the Castle conceals a far more sinister agenda, one hatched by a society of fanatical men set on decoding a series of powerful secrets hidden in plain sight. And they believe Lee holds the key to it all.

Aided by Tomi, a young hacker and artist with whom she has struck a wary alliance, Lee escapes into the unmapped corners of the city—empty aquariums, deserted motels, patrolled museums, and even the homes of vacationing families. But the deeper she goes underground, the more tightly she finds herself bound in the strange web she’s trying to elude. Desperate and out of options, Lee steps from the shadows to face who is after her—and why.

A novel of puzzles, conspiracies, secret societies, urban exploration, art history, and a singular, indomitable heroine, The Readymade Thief heralds the arrival of a spellbinding and original new talent in fiction.

Long-winded but art historical

It took me a while to get through this book. There was definitely some filler that made it harder to get through

Intriguing storyline & great performance!

Really loved this book! It was slow at times, but always kept my interest. Great mix of suspense, mystery, and darkness! Definitely recommend if you are into mystery & have an interest in science (I don't but still loved it).

You're going to hear great things about this book

You're going to hear great things about this book...and they'll be mostly true. It's a great debut novel, that suitably weaved fiction with fact and perhaps a little fantasy too. This story includes robbery, murder, kidnapping, art, drugs, more murder, romance, and did I say murder? It was an enjoyable read. I would have given it 5 stars had the ending been more to the point. There was a moment when the dialogue suggested the big reveal, but it was only partial...only to continue to read on, for another big reveal with a different character.

The Readymade Thief

This novel is original. It is sectioned off into different "books" which makes sense since there seems to be several smaller stories inside the larger story. The art / science undertones lost me at some points as the author weaves an intricate story about a secret society tied to an artist's work. The characters are believable and the narrator does an excellent job of portraying each of them. It's a long, detailed mystery but worth the listen.

Disappointing

Based on Robin Sloan's review I had great expectations.
Characters are poorly developed, writing poor quality, and plot fairly absurd.
Show, don't tell.
And give characters consistent personality traits.
I found myself rolling my eyes at the protagonist's actions.
Interesting info about the artist Duchamp was the only thing that kept me listening.