The Lies of Locke Lamora

I know I am little late to the game on this one but boy am I glad I grabbed a copy when I did. The “Gentleman Bastard” series has a fantastic reputation and I was not disappointed one bit.Being aware of the quality in my hands and having a few other things to read, I was in no rush. I picked it up read a few pages and put it down, such is the writing that is very memorable and easy to jump back into, but any time I gave it more than a few minutes I invariably found myself completely sucked in to the world Lynch created and thoroughly enjoying those who populated it. The first third took a month and I read other books between. I read the last 400 pages over 8 hours and finished at 2am last night having polished off many a can.Lynch takes his time setting up his characters and his world and indeed Locke Lamora deserves the times spent, as he is such a cheeky rascal it is impossible not to like him. He is brash, audacious, overconfident, unafraid to take risks for the love of the game and loyal and protective to those he holds dear. I love the way the story transitions between his time as a young street urchin learning his trade to the present day where he is running his grandiose scams. You cannot help but fall in love with this your group of kids, the skilful and deceptive benefactor and father figure Chains, and wish them the best of luck in the future. That we get to see some of the future is why it is so fun and at times so shocking but I am so glad we do as I constantly found myself laughing out loud during the scenes with him as a younger man.One of my favourite lines, and one that seems to have struck a chord with a lot of readers, was “There is no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated” as it seems to capture the extent to which our protagonist revels in his role as a mischief maker and master thief. I particularly liked seeing a similar line come back at Locke when someone else is revealed to be, not quite what they present themselves to be, as the Spider tells him “I have always found the presumptions of others to be the best disguise”.There is a lot here about not taking things for granted and at the end of the day the whole thing is an exceptional long con. Plans are made, burned, remade, carried out, improvised upon and improved upon all under the leadership of Locke Lamora. He is not infallible but you do get the feeling he is smarter than everyone else, including you and me.I cannot wait to read the second book.4.5 Stars