The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a friend to the poor, a ghost that walks through walls.

Slightly built and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves. The Gentleman Bastards.

The capricious, colourful underworld of the ancient city of Camorr is the only home they have ever known. But now a clandestine war is threatening to tear it apart. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends are suddenly struggling just to stay alive... 

-- Goodreads.com description --

This book is simply fantastic. Locke Lamora is amazing, absolutely nothing can stop him! He can outsmart anyone! This book had it all, mystery, intrigue, violence, great unpredictable plot twists, and more. 

This is the first real adult fantasy novel I've read and I must say I really enjoyed it. I struggled a bit with the beginning of the book but after more or less one hundred pages I was hooked. It is unlike any other book I've ever read. It took me a while to get used to the writing style, especially the consistent switches between flashbacks and flash forwards annoyed me at times. Ultimately, I knew the flashbacks were important to the story and some I even preferred to the flash forwards. My main problem with the flashbacks was the fact that it stalled the action of the main part of the book. Every time the plot switched to flashbacks I had a little bit of trouble continuing, especially near the second half of the book. All in all, this book was amazing and very original. 

Although, this is a fantasy book, there aren't that many fantasy elements present in this book, they are mostly found in the descriptions of the setting and customs. So even if you don't normally read a lot of fantasy, this book will still be accessible to you. Don't hesitate to pick it up. It took me a while to read it but it was worth it! Ultimately, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars (to me 5 would be a bit to much, since I had to struggle to continue sometimes, especially with the flashbacks) and I highly recommend it to anyone! This is one of the books you have to read at least once in your life and I am so glad I achieved it and I will definitely continue this series!