I picked up 'A Wolf In Thief's Clothing' because it had a clever title, a stylish cover and offered a quick way of sampling Lily Anne Crow's fantasy world of Erlahain.

Lily Anne Crow packs a lot into this sixty-four pages. The story immediately drops the reader in the moment when a heist being run by a young team of thieves against a corrupt local official starts to go badly wrong. Just when everything seems lost, the story winds back and we get the background to how our heroine, Phrai, hooked up with the crew. From that point on, this is a heist story with a twist. We get a convincing overview of the planning and execution of the heist but with the knowledge that it will go wrong and that Phrai has an agenda she hasn't shared with the rest of the team.

The plot was clever enough to keep me guessing. The atmosphere was tense and the action scenes worked. The scene where Phrai gets involved in a gambling session was nicely done. I d the details of how the game of Ships worked.

The writing at the start of the book was a bit adjective-laden for my tastes but that settled down once we reached the dialogue and the action took off.

There wasn't much world-building, I think the assumption was that everyone was familiar with Erlahain, but there was enough for me to visualise the action.

If you your fantasy fast, clever and mischievous, then you may enjoy a visit to Erlahain.fantasy kindle novella6 s Kayla Kay's Hidden Shelf141 118

4/5 Stars

A clever novelette following a young group of thieves’ as they set out to rob a greedy Constable. The story itself follows Phrai, a mysterious young woman welcomed into a small gang the day before they enact their heist.

The opening chapter starts off with a bang and easily hooked me into the plot. The main character also had intriguing developments and there are plenty of moments that kept me guessing. In addition, the story did feel more plot-driven, setting up for continuation while also being able to stand alone.

I was surprised to find a detailed board/card game in the world. Now, this might seem a silly detail to focus on, but being able to include a fictional game into a short page count while balancing character work and plot shows great skill.

As this is 64 pages and fast paced, it's one best experienced for yourself.5 s Jamedi453 87

Review originally on JamReads

A Wolf in Thief's Clothes is a novella set in Erlahain, a shared world in Lily Anne Crow's books, giving us more lore on a character that will appear in other novels, Phrai. We will be following her after joining a gang of thieves in a heist which has the promise of big riches if successful.

But Phrai hides more than it shows to a first sight; and that will be proven once the heist is ongoing. Revealing her true nature will be certainly surprising for the rest of the group, formed by a varied cast of characters, each one recruited in order to play a key role in the action.

Despite its shortness, Lily Anne Crow manages to pack so much worldbuilding into this novella, even including her own fictional board game. No magic makes appearance during the story, so if low fantasy is your jam, this story will work great.

It is also a good show of Crow's writing style, putting an extensive amount of detail into descriptions of characters, creating detailed portrays of each one of them, even if they play secondary roles in the story; personally, I find this kind of prose really enjoyable to read.

A Wolf in Thief's Clothes is a fun and well written standalone novella, introducing a character that later will be important in other books, and that will be enjoyed if you heist stories.

Disclaimer: This novella has been read as part of the SFINCS 2023. This review/rating only represents my personal opinion and it might differ with what the team decides.5 s Tabitha Tomala731 96

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: A Wolf in Thief's Clothing

A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing starts off right in the middle of a heist, fully engaging the reader as the stakes are set. The main character Phrai is portrayed as nervous and counting down towards her goal alongside fellow thief Nuri. But Phrai’s goals might not be aligned with the rest of the thieves. As the heist begins to go horribly wrong, readers will be drawn back to the beginning of how it all started.

Action and mystery collide as the story is set into motion, driving the reader forward with the desire to know Phrai’s true intentions. Along the way, Lily Anne Crow drops enough worldbuilding to accent the story and immerse readers in the world of thieves and shadows. There is no doubt readers who enjoy heists will be captured by the first chapter. And with the way this novella ends, there is sure to be more high-stakes adventure in this world.3 s S. BaveyAuthor 7 books48

9/10
I read A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing as part of the Team Behind the Musings’ Round 2 allocation for the SFINCS competition.

A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing is a fun little prequel novelette based in the same world as Lily Anne Crow’s full length novels, starring a character who also appears in them.

I really enjoyed the many intricate layers of this main character, Phrai, and would love to go on to read other books featuring her.

The primary arc of the story is an action-packed heist – which drew me in immediately, although it played out a little too quickly due to the short length of the book.

I was a little surprised by how much page time was given to the game of ‘Ships’ that Phrai went to play the night before the heist. It was an interesting game but was explained in great detail and I would have preferred less time spent on the complicated gameplay and more on the reason for including this episode and on the description of the heist itself, which I felt was a little rushed. I also thought more emotion could have been imbued into the scene in the ‘chamber’ (no spoilers here). Apart from this, the pacing was excellent and the writing was very tight.

There were some fantastically unexpected reveals at the end of the story which worked really well and made me want to read more by this author.2 s Nils ÖdlundAuthor 13 books51

The story begins with a heist that goes terribly wrong. It then goes on to tell of the events leading up to the heist, and soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Our main character is Phrai, and we learn how she joins the group plotting the heist, and we follow her as she makes her own preparations.

There's always a suspicion that she's up to something else, but it's not clear what. Only at the very end of the book does everything come together and we learn what's actually going on. That's also where it becomes clear that this is just an introduction to something else – a bigger adventure that I'm curious to dive into when time allows.

I enjoyed this book, but I felt a few events took a little too much space relative to how important they were to the story. It also seemed a little strange that the group of thieves accepted Phrai into their ranks so easily just before their big hit.

The actual heist parts were great, though, so if you're looking for a quick read with an option for more, this is worth checking out.

Disclaimer: I read this book as part of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship where I’m part of Team Jamreads. This review contains my own thoughts and may not reflect the opinion or final rating of the team.2 s ash |580 110 Read

Read for sfincs- rtc1 lookmairead568 Read

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https://sfincscompetition.wordpress.com1 Kristopher1 review

A well written and fun novelette.

A Wolf in Thief's Clothing may be shorter than full-length novel, but it doesn't come up short in bringing a well written, high quality low- or no-magic world for us to spend a moment or two in.

There is more going on than directly stated in the piece, which adds a layer of mystery while not distracting from the main story progression.

It seems obvioius that characters come with their own history and motivation, even if not all are revealed within the scope of this story.

I look forward to reading more adventures about the band of thieves we get introduced to in this story.

Well done, Lilly!1 Kate455 27

4.5 rounded up.

A Novelette in The World of Erlahain

SFINCs Finalist

This heist gone bad novella was full of realistic characters that kept me engaged. The pacing felt just right. This novella could be read in 1 sitting - in fact, if I weren't reading it along with a bunch of other books, I probably would have done just that. Quick, easy and engaging prose that always kept moving.

CAWPILE Breakdown:

Characters: 9.5 - I loved the characters - all of them. They were full of life, realistic and characters that I enjoyed following. I just wanted more :)

Atmosphere/Setting: 8.5 - The setting of this port town was written really well. I never hda a hard time imagining where we were. The atmosphere, I felt, could have been heightened a little bit more, but then it might have also changed the flow and feel of the story.

Writing Style: 8.5 - Crow's writing style was quick moving and action packed; it was easy to read and always engaging. I was thrown off a step with the decision of the timing - we stared with a heist gone bad then go back in time: which set me up for following the "what led us to this" type of narrative but then we went backto the heist in the middle of the novella - and the formatting was just a little unexpected. But it didn't affect my enjoyment, just squashed my expectations.

Plot: 9 - The plot came together nicely. It never lagged, pacing was great. Just the one minor issue mentioned above.

Intrigue: 8 - I loved the suspense and intrigue built into this novella. Usually heist books build up to the heist and this one started with it. Answered questions - and still left me wondering something else.

Logic/relationships: 9 - Everything made perfect sense. It was explained so well I never thought to question it. The title kind of told us everything that we needed to know. OUr MC's relationships in this novella were all transactional. She was using them to get what she needed. ANd that worked with this character in this setting.

Enjoyment: 9 - I enjoyed this novella so much and can't wait to read more books by Lily Anne Crow.

CAWPILE Total: 61.5/7 = 8.7 = 4.5 stars WS_BOOKCLUB365 11 Read

A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing is ostensibly a heist fantasy. I am a huge sucker for heists, so I was already intrigued before even starting to read. There’s much more to the novella than a simple (or complicated, in this case) robbery and it kept me guessing.

The side characters are interesting, if not massively developed (there’s a reason for that, which makes perfect sense by the end). There’s a band of thieves who plan to break into a room full of treasure. As with many heists, things end up going in unexpected directions. Un many heists, this is due to the main character, Phrai. She’s a new addition to the group, which is my only niggle with the story at all: why would a group of thieves trust an unknown person to help with a heist where so many things could go wrong?

That being said, Phrai is a great main character. She blends in, although she is not at all what she seems. Seeing her unique skillset and how it changed the outcome of the heist was fascinating. I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, her secret is an awesome one that adds so much to the story and left me appreciating A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing even more.

I thought the pacing was great, with just enough setup for the reader to get an idea of the world, eschewing world-building details in favor of action. The novella moved at a great clip, lending to a sense of danger and excitement (which I think is essential in any tale revolving around thievery). This is set in the world of The War of Whispers series and, after enjoying A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing immensely, I can’t wait to read more by this author.

If you rogues, deceptions, characters who think on their feet, and action aplenty, A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing is for you.

https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.hom... FantasyBookNerd379 74 Read

Author Lily Ann Crow’s A Wolf In Thief’s Clothing expands on what must be assumed is an incident in one of the main characters in her A War of Whispers Series.
The story centres around a heist in which a group of thieves are meticulously planning for some reason or other, but which the ultimate gain is the chink chink of lots of gold in pockets.

Starting in the middle of the heist, and then moving backwards to fill in the details, A Wolf In Thief’s Clothing follows protagonist, Phrai, an impromptu member of the gang who has joined when one of the other members mysteriously drops out.

As the book progresses , we see that Phrai has an agenda all of her own and as we follow her, we soon learn that her goals are not the same as her compatriots.
With detailed world building and character descriptions, the story gives the reader a good introduction into Lily Ann Crow’s already established world. The plot moves along at a cracking pace, but unfortunately it is difficult to create a bond with the characters. As you read the book, you know that one of the characters is important, but it is not until the end that you find out who it actually is. This is one of the problems when coming into a novella that is based on a previous series, whilst it is accessible for someone coming into this blind, there is always the feeling of disconnect and that you are missing important aspects of the story. It’s eating a delicious meal, but with one ingredient missing which ultimately makes it fall short. Joel AllanAuthor 1 book13

What first appears to be a heist gone wrong, turns out to be something much more as Phrai puts her skills to good use. A Wolf in Thief's Clothing is a very quick novelette set before the events in Lily Anne Crow's A War of Whispers Series. We get brief glimpses into a cast of characters and a pretty detailed exploration of Phrai for such a short story.

'“As long as it’s full of rich fools who want someone dead, it’ll suit me just fine.”'

I really d this story even if it was perhaps a bit too short, which is always the way with a good novella/novelette. The structure was very well thought out and something I quite , starting with the big event and then jumping back to lay the foundation and reveal the secrets before the explosive finish. I cannot wait to read more Phrai centred stories starting with If Light Above.

Lily's writing was very succint and smooth, there was no overly verbose wordage or flowery prose which I appreciate. There were just a couple of lines of dialogue that were a bit stilted, but it was few and far between that I never got hung up on minor details. This was a great entry point to Lily's writing and I can't wait to see how it translates into a full length novel.

A Wolf in Thief's Clothing is a SFINCS finalist and I can see why. I wish Lily the best of luck in the finals!

Rating: 4/5 Tom Bookbeard73 3

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