The Night Thief

Cedric O'Toole #3

by Barbara Fradkin

Simple country handyman Cedric O’Toole relies on his organic vegetable garden to supplement his meager income, so he’s upset when vegetables begin disappearing. After several futile attempts to protect the garden, he stakes it out one night with his shotgun and spots a shadowy figure running into the woods. Cedric follows and finds a young boy living rough on his land. The boy has never been taught to read or write, and no one has reported him missing. No stranger to childhood neglect himself, Cedric takes the boy under his wing and tries to find answers. Who is the mystery boy, and why is he hiding in the woods?
The Night Thief is the third novel in a series featuring reluctant sleuth Cedric O’Toole.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Young Adult

130 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Barbara Fradkin (nee Currie), an award-winning Canadian mystery writer and retired psychologist whose work with children and families provides ample inspiration for murder. She is fascinated by the dark side and by the desperate choices people make.

Her novels are gritty, realistic, and psychological, with a blend of mystery and suspense. She is the author of three series, including ten novels featuring the exasperating, quixotic Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, and three short novels about country handyman Cedric O'Toole which provide an entertaining but quick and easy read. FIRE IN THE STARS is the first book in her new mystery thriller series which stars passionate, adventurous, but traumatized aid worker Amanda Doucette.

Fradkin's work has been nominated for numerous awards, and two of the Inspector Green books have won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel from Crime Writers of Canada. Fradkin was born in Montreal but lives in Ottawa.

Series:
* Inspector Green Mystery

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (2005): Fifth Son
◊ Best Novel (2007): Honour Among Men

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "Rapid Reads" book, for reluctant readers of ESL students.

This is the second book I've read in this series — I started with #4 and progressed to #3 (some might call me backwards).

A short book, heavy on plot and action, fast-moving, with complicated situations and no easy resolutions.

An enjoyable, and rapid, read.

[Jonathan]

Book Summary
Jonathan Short 9/13/17
Recently I read a book titled “ The Night Thief”, by Barbara Fradkin. This book is an excellent read, it’s full of mystery, adventure, and mystery solving. The book’s setting is up in Canada in a town called Madrid. The book starts off with a farm in a house that his mom had left him. It’s falling down and has lots of land that the farmer uses for vegetables. He supplies the town with produce goods and milk from goats and cows, he also supplies eggs along with many other farmers in madrid. Well the farmer’s plants start going missing and he decides to find out what it is. He stays out and waits for the thief to come for his crops when he discovered that the thief was a kid he instantly started taking care of him such as, feeding him, clothing him, teaching him english, and teaching him to write. He then finds out that it’s not just the boy but also his sister. Then everything starts get serious, tharmer starts finding himself in trouble with people two hours away from him in a town called Ossington. The man then gets police involved and finds the kids and gets them a new home. This story is one of the better books I have read before.

[Maxine]

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.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. Quick read. Cedric O'Toole is a great main character - a loner, yet compassionate; human and courageous.

[Karrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the story was fine, I have a problem with a book designed for beginning readers including a character that speaks broken English. So confusing for my reader.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story the “Night Thief” is about how man finds a boy in the woods behind his farm and how he starts to care for him. The two main characters are Rick and Robin, Rick is a middle aged man who lives on a farm with his dog named Chevy. Robin is a 10 years old boy who didn't have a name till Rick gave him one. Robin has no home, he lives in the woods and Robin hasn't learned to read, write or count yet. In the story there's a man on a farm that finds a boy in the woods behind his farm. Throughout the story it shows how Rick starts to care for Robin “I ran him a bath this time and handed him clean clothes when he was done.”

I really liked this story. I thought the author did a good job hooking the reader and keeping them interested in the book. Although the book made me curious about what was going to happen next it didn't move me emotionally. Something I learned from this story was that you can find family anywhere. For example “Before Robin, i’d never felt alone. Never wished there was someone else. Maybe that was the night thief's gift.” I think people should read this book because it's a good story that makes you want to read it more.

I would rate this book a 4-5 because it’s a well written story overall and it's easy to understand their point of view. The author did a good job describing the setting and was written in a way that made the story more interesting. It's a book that I would be willing to read again.

[Misbah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was a very interesting story, I just wished it was longer.

Cedric O'toole finds a boy in his barn and feeds him and gives him a bed. The boy keeps running off somewhere with food, when Cedric follows him he finds the boys sister. The sister has a very infected gunshot wound and neither of them tell him how she got it. Cedric gets the authorities involved and we soon learn that the girl is actually the boys mother. The girl had been kidnapped by her father and taken to the woods where they were living as husband and wife. The father had also murdered his wife as well. The girls maternal uncle had found her and tried to take her away from her abusive father and the girl had gotten shoot in the struggle. Social services takes the young boy and the girls grandparents want to take her in.

I gave it two stars because the story ended abruptly and they didn't elaborate on the back story of the children.

[Mona Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is magic in the understated style of Barbara Fradkin's novellas.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up knowing it was for a younger audience. But the character development was so interesting, I was sad it was so short. I’d like to see the characters in a full length novel.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is proof that an interesting story can be told in about 130 pages. I would like to know what becomes of Robin.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this installment Cedric gets caught up in the life of a seemingly wild child alone in the world. Trying to skirt the law and get to the bottom of it proves to be a bit more than he expected.

[Micheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple read with still the mystery that Barbara Fradkin is so good at.

[Sarah Lois Yong · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read, especially for one who tries to fit in reading into their busy life.
The story made me ponder about life's choices too.

[Cybercrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be an excellent read. Far too short though.
I loved the characters and could have read much more about Cedric and the children and what happened to them.

[Pgchuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this novel from Librarything. The description of this book in the Librarything Early Reviewers list did not make it clear that this was a Rapid Read (i.e. a book to be read in one sitting, aimed at adults who find reading (or reading in English) difficult or time consuming). I do not find reading difficult and would probably not have applied for this book if I had realized its target audience. I have given it four stars in the light of the stated aims of this imprint, but if I were reviewing it for personal enjoyment I would not rate it as highly.

The plot opens with Cedric realizing that food and other items are going missing from his farm. He waits up one night and discovers that a mysterious boy has been stealing from him. This boy will not (or cannot) tell Cedric his name, speaks with an unusual accent, cannot read or count and is not familiar with electricity. Cedric is unwilling to report him to the police as his own mother was not always able to care for him very well when he was a boy and he sympathizes with what he imagines to be the boy's situation. After a day or two Cedric discovers the boy has a girl with him and she is very sick...

I did indeed read the story in one sitting and I did find it easy to read. I understand that the vocabulary and writing style are limited to a certain level of reading fluency. I was dimly aware of this while reading it, and it reminded me in some ways of YA fiction. The character of Cedric was well-drawn and I felt that we became familiar with him quickly. There were references to previous stories about him, but this one stands alone just fine. I had problems with his naivety (not telling any one that his mother's shotgun had been stolen, believing that he "knew" Robin and Marian and could therefore trust them, even though they hadn't told him the truth about anything etc etc) but I was not sure if this was part of his character or a defect in the plot. He seemed strangely childlike and the references to his troubled childhood could, of course, explain that, but if the author is planning to introduce a romance between Cedric and Jessica in later novels, I would find that a bit unlikely and even a bit creepy unless Cedric matures significantly.

The mystery itself was set up well and I was turning the pages at the beginning to find out what was going on, but it was not really possible for the reader to guess the ending or pick up clues and it was left to Jessica to come by and explain the backstory at the end. I do prefer mysteries when you can at least look back at the end and see things you missed. The climax involving the gun and the bear trap was well-written for me - I have a tendency to find scenes like that either difficult to follow or boring and I often skim them, but this one was clearly explained and I read every word!

I think while I would recommend this to some one looking for an interesting uncomplicated read, I would probably only recommend it for older teenagers/young adults.

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Brian Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Dan Leblanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about a handyman Cedric Elvis O'Toole, who's living off the land out in the middle of the woods. He's been noticing that something or someone is raiding his farm and stealing items daily, farm related or personal, he's determined to catch whatever is responsible. He then catches a homeless ten year old boy that's uneducated, the situation quickly starts to unravel when the boys leads Cedric too a young woman that is gravely ill from a gunshot wound to her side that's badly infected. Where are the kids from, where are they living and should he get the local authorities involved, are all questions that were relevant in his past.

[Laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barbara Fradkin's book, The Night Thief, about a homeless boy surfacing at night to raid handyman Cedric O'Toole's garden is a Rapid Read book and does considerably well given its 100 odd pages. The story has potential, but to be fully developed it needed a much longer venue. Also, given its greater focus (how we turn bad and the treatment and wellbeing of children), I was surprised and bothered by a couple of minor incidents in the plot (to avoid spoilers, they revolve around a shotgun and also, Cedric and his Aunt Penny going to the police station). The author's bio at the end is most impressive and makes me again wish for a longer book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first encounter with a Rapid Reads book. I had the preconceived idea that this would be a simplistic story, meant to be read quickly with little substance to it. I was pleasantly surprised. The book does read quickly but the story is basic and good. Very engaging. The setting is Canada and the MC, Cedric O'Toole lives in a remote area on his own. When things begin to disappear from his place he looks to find the culprit. He eventually discovers an 8 year old behind the thefts and the child's story becomes the balance of the book. Older boys, reluctant to read, may find this a good series to follow. For it is a series.
Read as an ARC from Library Thing.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cedric O'Toole is trying to figure out who is stealing his vegetables from his garden. When he discovers that it is a 10 year old boy doing the stealing he sets off to discover just who he is. The storyline is good and I liked the characters. My only disappointment is really the ending. It seemed just as it was really getting interesting it was over. A page or two explaining who the boy and girl are and where they were just wasn't satisfying enough.

That being said I did like the book it was just too short for me.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shortlisted for the 2016 Arthur Ellis award for Best Crime Novella. I was hooked right from the beginning of the story. It introduces a 10-year-old boy who does not speak well, seems bright and resourceful, but has never even seen a pencil or know how to use it. I couldn't imagine what his story was. This is the first "Rapid Reads" book I have read, and the first of the Cedric O'Toole series. It seemed to end too quickly, but I enjoyed it.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unusual mystery set in rural Ontario, Canada. A local eccentric farmer, Cedric O'Toole, discovers he has a young boy stealing from him. As he tries to help the boy he realizes that the boy might have been the victim or witness to a violent incident. There are other mysteries with the same character and I look forward to reading them.

[Margaret Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This simple tale of a poor farmer who finds himself in over his head when he tries to befriend a young runaway boy has smart, clear writing with enough tension to propel things along at a nice clip.The denouement is a tad too swift, however, and one is left with a suspicion that the writer's intent was really didactic rather than enlightening.