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Theophilius Grey #1
Theophilus Grey and the Demon Thief
Book one of a two-part intriguing mystery series set in the perilous back alleys of Georgian London. From the multi-award-winning author of A Very Unusual Pursuit.
Twelve-year-old Theophilus Grey - Philo to his friends - heads a team of linkboys who guide Londoners home through the dank eighteenth-century alleys by the light of their torches. In the process, the boys pick up useful information for their master, Garnet Hooke, who runs a spy network from his sickbed.
When thieves and rogues start dropping without a scratch, rumours spread of a dangerous faery demon on the loose, and Philo begins to fear the worst. Then a sudden wave of crime sweeps the neighbourhood, and he can't help but wonder if the two are connected.
With help from his new friend, Mr Paxton, Philo finds himself battling a threat far more sinister than any he's faced before. He will need to use all his cunning to uncover the truth behind the demon thief in time to save his friends.
This gripping tale of spies, spells and secrets plunges the reader into a dark and perilous world where superstition clashes with the Age of Enlightenment.
Twelve-year-old Theophilus Grey - Philo to his friends - heads a team of linkboys who guide Londoners home through the dank eighteenth-century alleys by the light of their torches. In the process, the boys pick up useful information for their master, Garnet Hooke, who runs a spy network from his sickbed.
When thieves and rogues start dropping without a scratch, rumours spread of a dangerous faery demon on the loose, and Philo begins to fear the worst. Then a sudden wave of crime sweeps the neighbourhood, and he can't help but wonder if the two are connected.
With help from his new friend, Mr Paxton, Philo finds himself battling a threat far more sinister than any he's faced before. He will need to use all his cunning to uncover the truth behind the demon thief in time to save his friends.
This gripping tale of spies, spells and secrets plunges the reader into a dark and perilous world where superstition clashes with the Age of Enlightenment.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Jinks
63 books541 followersCatherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award(three times), the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Thailand.
Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.
From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.
She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.
Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.
Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin
Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.
From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.
She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.
Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.
Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 3, 2022
2.5⭐
The ending was good.
The overall writing was difficult which made the book a struggle to read.
Nice story but too descriptive.
Also, the characters were too many with difficult names and to make it "easier" had equally difficult nick names (not easy to keep track of if you don't find the story engaging enough).
The ending was good.
The overall writing was difficult which made the book a struggle to read.
Nice story but too descriptive.
Also, the characters were too many with difficult names and to make it "easier" had equally difficult nick names (not easy to keep track of if you don't find the story engaging enough).
October 28, 2020
This was a good read and would be a great recommendation to anyone wanting to suggest an enjoyable title to a young reader. This is the first of a two part title about a link boy in late 1700's London. Link boys were charged with guiding people home at night by their lanterns, and were a deterrent to thieves who would rob people on their way home.
This story is full of great characters. The names of the character reflect their personalities which I particularly liked, and the book is a tribute to the London tradition of "The Knowledge". Today "The Knowledge" is a practice art of London cab drivers who can take you anywhere in London the quickest way as they know all the streets.
Not wanting to spoil the reading experience and surprises, this is simply a very enjoyable read. Written by an established Australian author who has a great track record in writing fiction for young people, this title is highly recommended, and not just for kids.
This story is full of great characters. The names of the character reflect their personalities which I particularly liked, and the book is a tribute to the London tradition of "The Knowledge". Today "The Knowledge" is a practice art of London cab drivers who can take you anywhere in London the quickest way as they know all the streets.
Not wanting to spoil the reading experience and surprises, this is simply a very enjoyable read. Written by an established Australian author who has a great track record in writing fiction for young people, this title is highly recommended, and not just for kids.
December 28, 2018
Picked this up randomly browsing shelves in the library and I'm glad I did. I really liked how it dealt with the lives of London's poor in the mid 18th century, particularly the children. I really liked that the author didn't fall into writing in dialect as some authors do when they write historical British fiction. She used slang very well, and this evoked the characters well.
The plot is clever, but the real strength is the protagonist, Philo. He's a great character. He is clever, and caring and brave, but he shows moments of weakness, and fear that make him more believable.
I liked the little epilogue and can't want for Philo's further adventures.
The plot is clever, but the real strength is the protagonist, Philo. He's a great character. He is clever, and caring and brave, but he shows moments of weakness, and fear that make him more believable.
I liked the little epilogue and can't want for Philo's further adventures.
August 18, 2025
When bad guys start suffering from a mystery illness and a crime wave sweeps through the neighbourhood, Philo (Theophilus) and his gang gather information to uncover the truth of what is actually going on and bring justice down on them. For a children's book it took a long time to actually get drawn in. The second half was much better than the first. The ending felt somewhat tacked on, as if only to set up for the sequel. I didn't feel much compassion for any of the characters except Susannah. Philo's crew of boys were forgettable, Philo himself was written well, the setting was good, I feel the author did a good bit of research, but for some reason it just didn't feel authentic.
October 16, 2017
I found this a bit hard going to be truthful. It is apparently set in 1750s London but I just kept thinking it was Victorian so at least 100 years more. All the old slang was just aggravating. Yes there was a glossary at the end but that wasn’t very useful when I was reading thru the book Not one of my favourite books.
July 3, 2025
the book was good.. the ending was not too special and the overall wording of the book made it difficult to read but overall it's a good book
June 25, 2023
Amazing. Superb. Stunning.
Dont mistake the 4/5 as bad, ive never given anything 5 stars.
Other people may not have liked the book due to the kinda difficult language that was a bit hard to grasp but the world was built immensely well and I found it easy enough to understand through context clues.
Its a bit sad that only 13 people have reviewed this book honestly because I think it deserves way more attention.
I'm in love with the characters and the people and all their interesting lives. Makes me want to be a linkboy in 18th century London.
I do wish the book had more girls in it that actually played roles but thats just so I could relate a bit more and imagine myself in a daring adventure such as this one, though I know, if the author wished to stay true to the source material then it's not really realistic.
Dont mistake the 4/5 as bad, ive never given anything 5 stars.
Other people may not have liked the book due to the kinda difficult language that was a bit hard to grasp but the world was built immensely well and I found it easy enough to understand through context clues.
Its a bit sad that only 13 people have reviewed this book honestly because I think it deserves way more attention.
I'm in love with the characters and the people and all their interesting lives. Makes me want to be a linkboy in 18th century London.
I do wish the book had more girls in it that actually played roles but thats just so I could relate a bit more and imagine myself in a daring adventure such as this one, though I know, if the author wished to stay true to the source material then it's not really realistic.
March 10, 2017
I am a huge fan of Catherine Jinks and her city of orphans series in particular. I expected this to be a similar read, and although I found it interesting, and I liked the main characters, overall there were too many characters, too many words, and not enough actual action (and no magic at all). I really really wanted to love this book but I struggled.
January 1, 2016
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
Philo runs a tight-nit team of link-boys whose role is to guide Londoners home in the dark. Their secondary goal is to collect information about all of the people of importance – and carry it home to their master for rewards. When thieves start dropping senseless to the ground, Philo can’t seem to get any information about it. What appears to be a simple argument between rival groups gets more complicated the more Philo thinks about it.
Philo and the boy are unique. Philo seems a very alert kid, yet unworldly in his own way. He’s far to used to taking orders! But you do see his character develop in the novel, and that’s a big thing for me. I can see the other link-boys getting more time in the sequel. They’re easy to remember the differences between them, which is important for someone like me who forgets names.
This novel twists and turns just like the streets of London. Just as you think you’ve worked out who the culprit is, the amount of information you have changes, and you are forced to reevaluate the whole situation. You feel with Philo when things go wrong, and you match his confusion with your own. I got right inside the character.
I’ve never been to London, but I have read a series of novels about being in London. Olden London somehow seems more interesting than current London to me! This noel effortlessly puts you into Philo’s shoes, and opens your eyes to the everyday life of Georgian Londoners.
There is plenty of room left open for a sequel, but at that same time I was entirely satisfied with the story. I finished it in a brief gasp, and hated that I had gulped it so quickly! The story was just so compelling towards the end that I had to keep reading.
I’ve given this a very generous 5 stars. I realise that I’m heading out of the target age zone for this novel, and so its entertainment value for me is potentially less than it was before. But it was a brilliant novel that I would suggest reading again.
Philo runs a tight-nit team of link-boys whose role is to guide Londoners home in the dark. Their secondary goal is to collect information about all of the people of importance – and carry it home to their master for rewards. When thieves start dropping senseless to the ground, Philo can’t seem to get any information about it. What appears to be a simple argument between rival groups gets more complicated the more Philo thinks about it.
Philo and the boy are unique. Philo seems a very alert kid, yet unworldly in his own way. He’s far to used to taking orders! But you do see his character develop in the novel, and that’s a big thing for me. I can see the other link-boys getting more time in the sequel. They’re easy to remember the differences between them, which is important for someone like me who forgets names.
This novel twists and turns just like the streets of London. Just as you think you’ve worked out who the culprit is, the amount of information you have changes, and you are forced to reevaluate the whole situation. You feel with Philo when things go wrong, and you match his confusion with your own. I got right inside the character.
I’ve never been to London, but I have read a series of novels about being in London. Olden London somehow seems more interesting than current London to me! This noel effortlessly puts you into Philo’s shoes, and opens your eyes to the everyday life of Georgian Londoners.
There is plenty of room left open for a sequel, but at that same time I was entirely satisfied with the story. I finished it in a brief gasp, and hated that I had gulped it so quickly! The story was just so compelling towards the end that I had to keep reading.
I’ve given this a very generous 5 stars. I realise that I’m heading out of the target age zone for this novel, and so its entertainment value for me is potentially less than it was before. But it was a brilliant novel that I would suggest reading again.
December 6, 2015
reminds me of Oliver and an adult book I read recently about the real Fagin, who ended up in Tasmania as a convict with his family. Theo is an orphan taken in by Mr Hooke, who runs a gang of boy spies from his sickbed, gathering information which he then sells to thieves. Theo come across a few bodies lying as if dead, but without a scratch on them and rumours start that there is an evil demon on the loose creating havoc. With a cast of other characters well described to make the life at that time in London come to life. Comes to a satisfactory conclusion.
May 5, 2016
A mystery set in Ye olde times (Think cobblestone roads, fire lit torches, etc) for children aged probably 10-12. A bunch of orphans are in business lighting the way for travellers in the dark when mysterious happenings and rumours occur. Is it a thief, is it supernatural? You'll have to read to find out. There's plenty of action but also a little bit of finding the high path, morally, lawfully and heartfully.
October 28, 2015
I absolutely loved this. It may have just become one of my favorite novels by Catherine Jinks. Entertaining, mysterious and action-packed with an incredibly endearing main character, Theophilus Grey is perfect for fans of the Rangers Apprentice series.
March 4, 2016
Historical Crime from the perspective of a young Orphan on the cusp of adulthood. Very reminiscent of 'Smith' by Leon Garfield.
January 14, 2017
3.5 stars, but inclined to round it up rather than down.
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June 16, 2016i thought it was very long and difficult to read
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews