Book Summary and Reviews of Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen

Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen

Holy Terrors

Little Thieves #3

by Margaret Owen

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2025, 560 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she's still paying the price.

As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire―and no matter what, she works alone.

But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja's signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire's seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer's sights.

Vanja tells herself she's wading into the royalty's vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he'd always find Vanja―until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they'll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.

With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adversaries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she's fought for. In this thrilling final chapter of the Indie Next series Little Thieves, New York Times-bestselling author Margaret Owen shows us the pain and beauty of choosing which demons to face, and which to forgive.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Deeply affecting and satisfying." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Owen's writing will make readers laugh and cry within a single sentence, painting heartfelt nuance onto an intricate plot three books in the making. A tour de force trilogy for all collections. This final installment of the Little Thieves trilogy makes every page count as Vanja's character arc comes to a close, grappling with forgiveness and restitution." —School Library Journal (starred review)

This information about Holy Terrors was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Margaret Owen

Margaret Owen was born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail and has worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. She is the author of the instant Indie Bestseller Little Thieves, which received five starred reviews and was a Kids' Indie next pick and YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection. Her debut, The Merciful Crow duology, was an NPR Best Book of the Year, a Tor.com Best of the Year, and a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection.

In her free time, she enjoys exploring ill-advised travel destinations, raising money for social justice nonprofits through her illustrated work, and negotiating a hostage situation with her monstrous cats. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

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