thief review

"The Thief" by Stephanie Landsem is the second book in the Living Waters series.  It is not necessary to read book one first.  "The Thief" is the fictional telling of the story of the last year of Jesus' life in Jerusalem.  It is told through the eyes of Nissa, the sister of the blind man Jesus cured with mud.  Nissa is a thief.  Not just any thief, but the best thief in Jerusalem.  She supports herself and her brother with her earnings.  Nissa meets Longinus, a Roman centurion, and they share a love/hate relationship.  Longinus is the character of the soldier that cut Jesus' side while on the cross.
I was supposed to have read this book a couple of weeks ago, but got a little behind on my reviews.  On the day I started, our church had the blind man as the sermon and scripture reading.  Which was beneficial; I am glad I waited.  I would suggest reading the biblical story first.  It brought a lot more to the story.  This novel is told really well.  She keeps to the biblical story while still drawing the reader into the main character, Nissa.  She keeps the Nissa and Longinus to the front of the story exploring the culture and history of the time period and area.  I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.