The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas

What Da Cover Says:  A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel.

The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls for over 200 years. But their dolls aren’t coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn the family craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and a blood tie to the Kendricks, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires.

But then, one night, the family’s most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her. Only a Kendrick could have committed this crime…

What I Says:  2020 has been a crazy eventful year and reading this book was like a breath of fresh air, it had a real feel good edge to it.  Dolls can be creepy 75% of the time but Mascarenhas manages to capture their beauty and hidden magic and weaves a beautiful story that easily pulls in the reader.

I loved the history behind Kendricks, doll makers for over 200 hundred years and a company full of as many secrets as Wonka’s Choccy factory.  There are also a very good group of characters here and I was constantly changing my opinion of them again and again.  Persephone’s story was particularly good,  a real coming of age event whilst fighting for women’s rights at the workshop, I did find myself giving her a little cheer now and then.  The plot of the book revolves around a crime, a valuable doll has been stolen and it is very tricky to settle on one thief, I had my theory and was correct but I had no idea how to prove it was them….once all was revealed I was suitably impressed with how it all played out.

This is a book that is so easy to get caught up in, such a fun read, Mascarenhas is such a witty writer that you settle in very quickly and before you know it you’ll have finished the book and be left wanting more.  I haven’t read the first book by Mascarenhas but will certainly be adding it to my wishlist.

Thank you to Head of Zeus Books for the copy of this book.  You can get a copy of the book HERE.

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