Critical Praise

"Gibbon writes beautifully of the heartbreaking gulf between expectation and reality that women continue to endure, and the tragedies that await those who refuse to abide by these difficulties. It is her heroine’s refusal to be afraid, her understanding of the violence at the heart of things, her embrace of the world’s beauty, and her great conscience that save her, and inspire the reader."

—Susanna Moore, author of The Big Girls and In the Cut

"In her relentlessly compelling new novel, Thief --- which I read in a single sitting --- Maureen Gibbon’s plainspoken, tough-minded heroine gives herself an unsentimental education and issues a sorrowful yet stirring declaration of independence."

—David Gates, author of Jernigan and The Wonders of the Invisible World

"Maureen Gibbon writes with a relentlessly honest voice, willing to reveal the intricate psychology of desire and redemption. Her characters seek to reconcile the past and the self with all the hunger and power and violence that live within all of us. The prose is lyrical and strong, the story compelling. The protagonist of Thief says, ‘What I felt was real and I could not walk away.’ Neither could I."

—Chris Offutt, author of Kentucky Straight