** OVERALL WINNER OF THE BARNES & NOBLE CHILDREN’S AND YA BOOK PRIZE 2026 (published in the US as SCHOOL FOR THIEVES)**
“Top marks” Observer
"Utterly fabulous” ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG
“The real thing” MICHAEL GRANT
“A thrilling read!” JONATHAN STROUD
“A must!” Daily Mail
“Propulsive pacing and action packed plotting” Publishers’ Weekly starred review
** ONE OF AMAZON’S TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2025!**
SKANDAR MEETS OLIVER TWIST IN THIS BLOCKBUSTING NEW MIDDLE GRADE ADVENTURE SERIES!
13-year-old Tom Morgan and his friends live on the streets of an alternate London, shining shoes and picking pockets – until one day Tom’s friends are caught and sent to a brutal workhouse.
Frantic and without a way to save them, Tom bumps into the mysterious Corsair, who offers him an opportunity to train at an elite international boarding school for thieves. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Tom lets himself be whisked away to the snowy Alps in a zeppelin. Swept into a thrilling world of danger and intrigue, the more secrets he learns about the Shadow League, the harder it becomes for Tom to leave. But there are dark forces at work and real danger is coming…
Can Tom save his fellow pupils from disaster – and ever be able to get home again to rescue his friends?
Get ready for the stunning debut in what is guaranteed to become every reader’s favourite new series! Heart-pounding adventure, thrilling heists, remote boarding schools full of ancient secrets waiting to be discovered and much much more…
Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson!
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Readers LOVE Shadow Thieves!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“One of my favourite reads of all time"
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"Reading this book helped me to escape the real world and enter into a world full of imagination"
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“I couldn’t put the book down"
This is Book 1 in the Shadow Thieves Series. See all Shadow Thieves books here.
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Peter Burns is the author of ten critically acclaimed non-fiction sports books and has been nominated for numerous awards, including twice for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The truth, however, is that he’s always wanted to write children’s books, so Shadow Thieves is a dream come true.
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