The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch is the third book in the Locke Lamora series. There was a very long gap in time between the second and third books, with the protagonist, Lamora, poisoned and dying with no known antidote available.

Republic of Thieves continues the story of Lamora with a clever solution to the poison problem and goes on to focus on the relationship between Lamora and the love of his life, Sabetha.

The book alternates between the current battle of wits between Locke and Sabetha and the past history of their relationship from the first time they met to the first time they became lovers.

The core of the story is how they are forced to oppose each other in a political contest while trying to rekindle their relationship. There is some good action and clever plot twists. While there is some good character development I think the overall story arc suffers from changing too many times while being developed. The bondsmagi sub-plot seemed wedged in to force the continuation of the series.

Overall a great read. Can't wait for the next in the series, which sounds like it will be more action adventure and less romance.