The Fitzglens are a leading theatrical family in 1908 London and owners of the Amaranth Theatre. They are also all charming criminals, thieves who only steal from the rich. Jack Fitzglen has a plan for the family's latest filch. Fifteen years earlier, the Talisman Chalice disappeared. Jack has two photographs and a letter to his late father, who died in a fire at the Amaranth. The photos show a woman named Maude with the chalice just before it disappeared, with a warning to Jack's father, Aiden, not to come near Vallow Hall. Jack has found Vallow Hall in northern England, in Northumberland. He plans to find the chalice, steal it, and use it in the next production at the Amaranth. While Jack sets his plans in motion, Byron Fitzglen, the family writer, and Jack's dresser Gus will dig into the superstition that the chalice brings bad luck to those who aren't the rightful owners. With Jack's arrival at Vallow Hall, a dark drama of violence and murder and old tragedies, combining Maude's story and historical legend, comes to a head. VERDICT The author of the Phineas Fox mysteries launches a series featuring a family of thieves, beginning with this dramatic gothic mystery.—Lesa Holstine