Florence arrives on the doorstop of Lord Belfield's home, claiming to have been sent by her father to perform duties as a bookbinder. Through persuasion Florence able to secure employment. As Florence begins the task of repairing the books, she discovers a mystery surrounding the death of Lord Belfield’s wife Persephone. A mystery that Florence is compelled to solve no matter the personal cost.

The main character is Florence, as she goes on her journey, we are allowed to see the influences good and bad that have shaped her past and influence her future. Florence soon realises as a woman she has limited autonomy, an insecure financial outlook and that having a mind of your own can be a dangerous thing. Florence is book-smart she is not very life-smart and some of the issues she comes across are completely new to her. As Florence is exposed more to the personal circumstances those around her face, she endeavours to be accepting and supportive. However, seeing this through Florence’s view tends to lessen the impact that they themselves feel in being ostracised. Being limited to experiencing every situation through Florence’s point of view meant a reliance on her empathy and comprehension of the situation. For me, there was just a tad too much character introspection that just slowed the story, as Florence tried to resolve her internal conflicts.

The supporting characters are well drawn on the page, are vibrant and all have secrets. Each of them assists or hinders Florence and invariably become a prime suspect in who murdered Persephone. The relationship between Florence and Lord Belfield is dynamic and complex, as you are never sure just where it will go. Wesley is the much-needed confidante, who is forced to hide their true self. The women who come into Florence’s world, all have their own motives, hopes and dreams.

At the beginning you feel that this is going to be a gothic mystery and there are shades of Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Fingersmith. About the halfway mark, the story takes a slightly different direction and there is a sprinkling of the Dictionary of Lost Words with women’s rights at the time explored.

Shenje has a clear sense of narrative direction and weaves into the story messaging around race, sexuality, identity, violence, social structures, misogyny, and power imbalance. This is not lectured at you but deftly highlighted in the story through the characters and their actions.

It is a strong debut, giving voice to characters normally silenced in history and providing a much needed feeling of hope at the end.

I really enjoyed the premise of "The Library Thief." It kind of read like a diary - a stream of thoughts and observations from the protagonist, Florence. At times this format was endearing and I loved Florence's curiosity. It also made for many humorous moments between some of the other (very well-written and fleshed-out) characters. However, it also caused the story to drag.

I think this book is a decent historical fiction, and it's a particularly important story because it explores the largely ignored history of Black people in Edwardian England. There was also a lot of wonderful character growth and self discovery. However, "The Library Thief" would have been ten times stronger - at least as a gothic historical fiction (as it's being marketed) - if it was written from a third person limited perspective. Everything would have felt more ominous and eerie and, well, gothic.