Fingersmith

January 1, 2002
Raised by a loving family of thieves, orphan Sue Trinder is sheltered from the worst of the seamy Victorian underworld until it becomes her turn to make her clan's fortune. She must help a professional rogue named Gentleman marry an heiress and then steal the poor girl's inheritance by declaring her insane. Sue wants to please her adoptive mother and friends and persuades herself that she can do the job, but once she's confronted with the seemingly hapless victim, Maud, she begins to have doubts. Sue and Maud's connection is just one reason the scam quickly falls apart. Each clearly drawn character is ensnared by secrets and lies that force his or her actions, and everyone is both a predator and a victim. As in her earlier works (e.g., Affinity), Waters slowly and inexorably builds the tension in this hard-to-put-down novel, which is full of atmospheric details about grand houses, petty slums, and Victorian madhouses. Readers will turn the pages with delighted dread. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/01.] Devon Thomas, Hass Assocs., Inc., Ann Arbor, MI

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2002
Waters' third novel, set in Victorian England, opens when Sue Trinder, an orphan raised by a band of thieves, is recruited by Richard Rivers, a con man known as Gentleman, to help him in his quest to marry Maud Lilly, an heiress living in isolation in the country with her eccentric uncle. Maud stands to inherit a small fortune when she marries, and Gentleman intends to marry her, steal her inheritance, and imprison her in a madhouse. Sue agrees to pose as a maid to Maud and to gain her confidence. But Sue finds Maud sweet and trusting, and, to her surprise, she begins to fall in love with Maud and have serious misgivings about Gentleman's plan. But Sue only knows a small part of the scheme, and it will affect both her and Maud in ways she does not realize. The intricate plotting and startling revelations will keep the reader enthralled, rapidly turning the pages to get to the exciting conclusion. Waters' gripping, engrossing thriller would make the Victorian master of suspense, Wilkie Collins, proud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)