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The Good Thief
Set in and around St. John's, Newfoundland, in the late 1960s, The Good Thief is the story of eighteen-year-old Sonny McCluskey, the son of an eccentric father, a man on a mission. Like his hero, Robin Hood, Charlie McCluskey is hell-bent on justice for the poor, one day at a time.
Sonny’s father dies, leaving him the family business, a small auto repair shop, and a long-standing family secret, with a summary of his unique philosophy on how to make money and do good.
Sonny promises to uphold the family tradition, but the more he discovers about his father's checkered past, the more difficult it becomes to keep his promise. Despite his good intentions, Sonny is drawn further and further into a dangerous underworld, forcing him to face some life-changing challenges he could never have foreseen.
"Leo Furey’s The Good Thief is tension-charged, roaring with suspense. The plot runs like a speeding motorcycle on a twisting road. A cast of characters so rich and crusty and deep, you’ll never forget them. Romance and bravery, criminal hijinks and high moral stakes, tender filial love, and a hunger for spiritual truth, all crashing up against rampant greed. Here are sticky fingers—pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down.” — Lisa Moore
Sonny’s father dies, leaving him the family business, a small auto repair shop, and a long-standing family secret, with a summary of his unique philosophy on how to make money and do good.
Sonny promises to uphold the family tradition, but the more he discovers about his father's checkered past, the more difficult it becomes to keep his promise. Despite his good intentions, Sonny is drawn further and further into a dangerous underworld, forcing him to face some life-changing challenges he could never have foreseen.
"Leo Furey’s The Good Thief is tension-charged, roaring with suspense. The plot runs like a speeding motorcycle on a twisting road. A cast of characters so rich and crusty and deep, you’ll never forget them. Romance and bravery, criminal hijinks and high moral stakes, tender filial love, and a hunger for spiritual truth, all crashing up against rampant greed. Here are sticky fingers—pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down.” — Lisa Moore
- GenresFiction
281 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2022
6 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 16, 2022
Charlie McCluskey runs a garage and all he wants to do is to pass on the family business to his son, Sonny before he dies. But Charlie doesn’t just want to pass on the garage, no. He fancies himself a modern-day Robin Hood and also wants to pass on the responsibility for “Rosie,” the printing press in the pit of the garage where Charlie makes counterfeit bills, mostly $20’s, that he cleans, passing along to those in need, churches and charities and the like. But Charlie went and got himself mixed up on a few other not so legal enterprises and now that he’s gone, Sunny is left holding the bag.
Sonny finds himself dealing with a lot all at once: grief, guilt, girlfriend troubles. And he’s got trouble breathing down his neck from all sides. He’s learning things about the father he once worshipped and the shine on Charlie McCluskey has begun to dim. How in the world is Sonny going to get himself out of this one?
“The Good Thief” is an all-around excellent book. An eclectic cast of characters, an engaging plot and plenty of intrigue to keep you guessing and turning those pages, Furey has created a believable, multifaceted world that is delightfully Newfoundland-esque. The ending is quite bittersweet but I feel like it could not have gone any other way. I wish there had been more. Perhaps we might be lucky enough to get a sequel!
I highly recommend "The Good Thief." It was an absolute pleasure to read!
Sonny finds himself dealing with a lot all at once: grief, guilt, girlfriend troubles. And he’s got trouble breathing down his neck from all sides. He’s learning things about the father he once worshipped and the shine on Charlie McCluskey has begun to dim. How in the world is Sonny going to get himself out of this one?
“The Good Thief” is an all-around excellent book. An eclectic cast of characters, an engaging plot and plenty of intrigue to keep you guessing and turning those pages, Furey has created a believable, multifaceted world that is delightfully Newfoundland-esque. The ending is quite bittersweet but I feel like it could not have gone any other way. I wish there had been more. Perhaps we might be lucky enough to get a sequel!
I highly recommend "The Good Thief." It was an absolute pleasure to read!
June 6, 2022
Sonny McCluskey, the protagonist of The Good Thief [Flanker Press] is eighteen years old, a young fellow “as handsome as paint”. After his father’s death he is left to carry on his family’s secret enterprise.
Secret enterprise. Ooh, suspense, eh b’ys?
…but, to backtrack…
In a previous century, merely days after Sputnik-I was launched and the Space Age began, I — a callow bay-boy — read Robin of Locksley for the first time.
It was impossible for me to have known I was reading about religion.
Hold the thought.
Like Sonny, I grew up watching my father read western novels. Westerns, only westerns. Following Pappy’s lead, I swung into the saddle and rode the trails through every western Pappy’s favourite author, Louis L’Amour, had penned and would pen.
It was impossible for me to have known I was reading about religion.
Continue to hold the thought.
The Good Thief is the story of Sonny McCluskey — the World According to Sonny, so to speak — a world inherited from his father.
Which brings us back to the thought you’re blue in the face from holding.
Charlie McCluskey believed in helping the poor, the downtrodden, the underdogs, who are always with us, according to … well, to Jesus, I dare say.
Anyway, Jesus championed the underdogs, sort of an outlaw in Roman eyes.
Robin Hood, an outlaw hiding out in Sherwood Forest, robbed from the rich and gave to … the underdogs.
Every hero (I’d bet a loonie on it) in Louis L’Amour’s catalogue strapped on his guns and fought for …right, the underdogs.
Jesus. Robin. Every single one of L’Amour’s rootin’, tootin’ cowboys helped the …ah, you get the point.
So, religion, eh b’ys?
The McCluskey’s secret, outlaw business is designed to lend a hand to the unfortunate, to aid the same folks the aforementioned Outlaws supported.
Obeying the tenets of his father and grandfather before him, Sonny catches the torch, takes up the challenge with the foe.
In hidden chambers behind a secluded door in the grease pit of Charlie’s Auto sits an entity named Rosie, a fundamental part of the McCluskey’s family business.
Ooh, more suspense.
For frig sake, I failed to mention (but you’re a keener and likely figured it out anyway) that the McCluskey’s secret family business is, strictly speaking, highly illegal.
And as sure as there’s whoopsie in a pussycat, if a person is trying to keep a secret there’s always a chance someone else will, intentionally or otherwise, sniff it out.
Like Charlie’s supposed friend Crenshaw.
Like the policeman who drops into Charlie’s Auto with a faulty muffler.
Like Sonny’s girlfriend, Arlene, who begs to work in the grease pit alongside Sonny.
Or, worst of all, some of the drug crowd who, should the secret remain unrevealed, wouldn’t hesitate to chop off the secret keeper’s hand or foot.
Safe to say, Sonny is tormented.
Sonny’s story takes place in 1967-68. The tale ends scant months before I commenced fifty-odd years of wedded bliss. So, if the McCluskeys had been real, not fictitious, and truly practicing religion in accord with cowboys, Robin, and Jesus, it would have been impossible for me to know it.
My mind was otherwise occupied.
The Good Thief is a gem-dandy yarn despite the odds against such a thing as a “good thief” being as likely as the existence of such a critter as a “jumbo shrimp”.
Regardless of nomenclature, some would say, a thief should get his comeuppance.
Does Sonny?
Ooh, suspense.
Thank you for reading.
Secret enterprise. Ooh, suspense, eh b’ys?
…but, to backtrack…
In a previous century, merely days after Sputnik-I was launched and the Space Age began, I — a callow bay-boy — read Robin of Locksley for the first time.
It was impossible for me to have known I was reading about religion.
Hold the thought.
Like Sonny, I grew up watching my father read western novels. Westerns, only westerns. Following Pappy’s lead, I swung into the saddle and rode the trails through every western Pappy’s favourite author, Louis L’Amour, had penned and would pen.
It was impossible for me to have known I was reading about religion.
Continue to hold the thought.
The Good Thief is the story of Sonny McCluskey — the World According to Sonny, so to speak — a world inherited from his father.
Which brings us back to the thought you’re blue in the face from holding.
Charlie McCluskey believed in helping the poor, the downtrodden, the underdogs, who are always with us, according to … well, to Jesus, I dare say.
Anyway, Jesus championed the underdogs, sort of an outlaw in Roman eyes.
Robin Hood, an outlaw hiding out in Sherwood Forest, robbed from the rich and gave to … the underdogs.
Every hero (I’d bet a loonie on it) in Louis L’Amour’s catalogue strapped on his guns and fought for …right, the underdogs.
Jesus. Robin. Every single one of L’Amour’s rootin’, tootin’ cowboys helped the …ah, you get the point.
So, religion, eh b’ys?
The McCluskey’s secret, outlaw business is designed to lend a hand to the unfortunate, to aid the same folks the aforementioned Outlaws supported.
Obeying the tenets of his father and grandfather before him, Sonny catches the torch, takes up the challenge with the foe.
In hidden chambers behind a secluded door in the grease pit of Charlie’s Auto sits an entity named Rosie, a fundamental part of the McCluskey’s family business.
Ooh, more suspense.
For frig sake, I failed to mention (but you’re a keener and likely figured it out anyway) that the McCluskey’s secret family business is, strictly speaking, highly illegal.
And as sure as there’s whoopsie in a pussycat, if a person is trying to keep a secret there’s always a chance someone else will, intentionally or otherwise, sniff it out.
Like Charlie’s supposed friend Crenshaw.
Like the policeman who drops into Charlie’s Auto with a faulty muffler.
Like Sonny’s girlfriend, Arlene, who begs to work in the grease pit alongside Sonny.
Or, worst of all, some of the drug crowd who, should the secret remain unrevealed, wouldn’t hesitate to chop off the secret keeper’s hand or foot.
Safe to say, Sonny is tormented.
Sonny’s story takes place in 1967-68. The tale ends scant months before I commenced fifty-odd years of wedded bliss. So, if the McCluskeys had been real, not fictitious, and truly practicing religion in accord with cowboys, Robin, and Jesus, it would have been impossible for me to know it.
My mind was otherwise occupied.
The Good Thief is a gem-dandy yarn despite the odds against such a thing as a “good thief” being as likely as the existence of such a critter as a “jumbo shrimp”.
Regardless of nomenclature, some would say, a thief should get his comeuppance.
Does Sonny?
Ooh, suspense.
Thank you for reading.
August 8, 2023
The Good Thief, set on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, in the 1960s tells the story of Sonny McCluskey, a young student auto mechanic faced with a mounting series of moral dilemmas. The story buzzes with a low hum of tension throughout as Sonny, through present-tense first-person narration, shows the reader his world and the many intriguing characters who people it. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of Newfoundland and how the author weaved so many layers into this story of a young man in a near impossible situation forced to decide who he wants to be in the world. Religion, politics, war, morality, truth, drugs, greed, love, and even bodybuilding, all swerve around one another, sometimes finding a “good” lane and sometimes crashing into each other with explosive results.
An engaging and thought-provoking read.
An engaging and thought-provoking read.
May 7, 2023
Started out good but then found the story slow and didn't like the ending.
Sonny is asked to do something that he really does not want to do, but his father is asking so he feels he must. Afterwards he plans to take over the family business; the garage and the other family business many people are unaware of.
Sonny is asked to do something that he really does not want to do, but his father is asking so he feels he must. Afterwards he plans to take over the family business; the garage and the other family business many people are unaware of.
June 29, 2022
A little romance mixed with risk, greed, and criminality combine to create a suspenseful story of one teen's struggle to escape the shadow of his eccentric father. Check out my review of The Good Thief by Leo Furey at https://firesidecollections.blogspot....
July 31, 2022
4.25 ⭐️s. I was in a reading rut and looking for something different. This was an enjoyable read. Set near St Johns in 1960s, it has memorable characters, romance, suspense. It’s well paced and has great dialogue. Would recommend.
June 10, 2023
A really great story about a young man and his family secrets- his struggle with honouring his father’s wishes and going what’s right in his mind.
October 29, 2023
Really interesting story, flowed well, good characters.
Not the ending I would have wanted, but really the only one you could see coming.
Recommended read.
Not the ending I would have wanted, but really the only one you could see coming.
Recommended read.
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November 24, 2023This was one of my favorite books this year. Set in newfoundland, fast paced, whitey characters, and an interesting story line, it kept my interest the entire way to thr end.
January 15, 2025
Very well written. Writer truly understands the mind of an 18 year old. Found the overall plot a little far fetched
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews