A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles

A Thief in the Night

Author: KJ Charles

Rating: B

Vibe: : A charming, tightly written novella that does a lot with very little—just wish the heist had more bite.

Toby is a thief. Not a career criminal, just someone doing what he needs to do to survive. So when he seduces a handsome stranger at an inn and steals his watch, it's business as usual—until he shows up to impersonate a valet at the estate of Miles, Lord Arvon, and realizes his new employer is the man he robbed two days ago. Oops.

What follows is a deceptively simple story: two men, a crumbling estate filled with the detritus of Miles's dead father's hoarding, and a priceless bracelet that needs stealing back. At under 100 pages, A Thief in the Night doesn't waste a word. KJ Charles knows exactly what kind of story she's telling and delivers it efficiently—no filler, no unnecessary subplots, just two men getting to know each other while sorting through literal and metaphorical baggage.

I liked Toby. He's resourceful, pragmatic, and kind despite his circumstances, and Charles never lets him tip into being unrealistically sunny. He's doing what he has to do, and he's good at it, but there's a weariness underneath the charm that feels real. Miles is harder to read at first—he's guarded, grieving, and deeply uncomfortable with the mess his father left behind—but watching him slowly let Toby in was satisfying.

My biggest complaint is the heist itself. The bracelet plot is fine—it gives them something to do together, and the forced proximity works—but I wanted more from it. A twist, a complication, something that made the stakes feel higher or the resolution more surprising. As it stands, the treasure hunt feels a bit too straightforward for a story about a thief and an earl teaming up to steal something back.

But even with that, this is a solid B. It's warm, well-crafted, and knows exactly what it's trying to be. If you're looking for a quick, satisfying romance with just enough plot to keep things moving, Charles delivers.