This is a gritty story about runaway children and the terrible conditions they live in while they essentially hide from their families. The surrounding described in the book show what rural poverty looks like. All in all it's not a cheery tale. Despite that, it's an interesting short read.

The protagonist O'Toole is a complex character and suits the role he has in this story. He was raised in foster homes and knows first hand what it is like to be raised within the foster care system. This causes him to want to support the runaways, and perhaps adopt them. According to this book's cover, it is the third book in a series and it would be interesting to see what roles he plays in those books.

I received this as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer. ( )

I have read several of theses “Rapid Reads” series and have always found them entertaining in some way. This book is no different. They service a need for a certain type of reader who may have limited reading skills or just wants a quick book to read over a short time. The writing here is light and breezy without being condescending or childish. The story deals with Cedric O’Toole. Something appears raiding his farm and he is determined to find out what it is. Oddly enough it is a boy who appears to be homeless. Cedric’s own past doesn’t trust outside authorities to take care of the boy, but as the story goes on, he must decide to get help for the boy or trust his own instincts.

http://tinyurl.com/nnvyulo ( )

Cedric O’Toole is a farmer and a handyman who is determined to discover who is stealing his vegetables in the night. He suspects a deer or perhaps a rabbit; he is shocked to discover it’s a ten-year-old boy. He is determined to win the boy’s trust and try to keep him safe from both the elements and the authorities so when another crime is uncovered that seems to involve the boy, he is determined to solve it before the police and Child Services get involved.

When I saw The Night Thief in a Librarything Giveaway, I put my name in for it because I have read other books by Barbara Fradkin and I like her a lot. She is on my short list of writers including Anne Perry, Peter May, and Robin Hobb who write truly sympathetic characters while providing a cracking good story. I was not aware when I asked for this book that it was a Rapid Read – books written for people who have difficulty reading longer books for whatever reason. Had I known, I might not have asked for it; after reading it, I still have mixed feelings.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it – I did. It’s well-written and the story, what there was of it, was interesting. But I love reading; it’s my thing and I just felt, I dunno…unsatisfied when I finished the book. I found Cedric O’Toole a very likable character and I was impressed at how Fradkin could picture the plight of abused children and the failure of the services meant to help them in such a short book.

But, in the end, I felt like, with the exception of O’Toole, I didn’t get to know any of the other characters or what led them to this point in their stories. I felt like too much of their tale was missing for me to feel completely engaged or empathetic and I wanted more. I think the idea behind Rapid Reads is an excellent one – any tool that gets people to read is more than commendable and, if The Night Thief is typical of the types of books available through it, then this can only be a good thing. But, for me, I would love to see Fradkin expand the story into a full-length novel.

All of this makes it hard for me to rate this book. For its target audience, it surely deserves at least 4 stars. For me, though, it was more like a 3. So I’ll split the difference and give it a 3.5. ( )

I thought this book was okay, but mostly because it takes getting used to reading a 'rapid reads' book. Easy story and plot and perfect for folks who have learning disabilities or have trouble reading for whatever reason.

I have to say, I was surprised and disappointed to receive this book, which appeared to be a children's book when I received it in the mail. As I reviewed this tiny novel with children's font and few pages, I gritted my teeth and decided to read it anyways, in order to review the book as I had promised. In reality, "The Night Thief" is a book written for adults with an adult theme. The main character, Cedric O'Toole is a simple man who repairs farm machines and runs a small farm. He becomes outraged that some creature has been stealing his vegetables from his garden and sets out to find this elusive thief. After many nights of trying to track down the animal, he discovers a small boy who has been looting the garden and attempting to survive by hiding out on his property. This near-feral child refuses to explain where he came from and is terrified that Cedric will call the police. Biding his time, Cedric attempts to discover the child's secrets and comes face to face with the danger from which the child was attempting to escape.

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this very quick read. Although written simply, it was suspenseful and heartwarming. The author did a great job of bringing attention to the very real problem of neglected children who get overlooked or (possibly worse?) tangled up in our deficient child protective system. I would think this book may be hard to market in it's current format, as it is intended for adults who do not like to read. These adults may overlook this one because they think it is a children's book. It will be interesting to see if this marketing model is successful. ( )