Narrated by James Joseph and Ryan Laughton

In KJ Charles’ 2021 novel A Thief in the Night, we get to meet Toby, who, like his brother and sister, lives by his wits, with one eye (metaphorically) always looking over his shoulder, and the other always on the main chance.

The story opens at an inn where Toby, while waiting for the drink he’s ordered to arrive, is keeping an eye on the attractive man of military bearing sitting by the fire. His clothing is travel-stained, but looks to be that of a man of means, so Toby nonchalantly walks over and strikes up a conversation. After exchanging names (Toby doesn’t give his real one, of course), they get to talking, and Toby learns that his companion, Miles Carteret, has recently returned from fighting on the Penunsula and is on his way home. Toby is quick to recognise the signs of interest, and to make his own interest clear; before long, they’re out back, exchanging greedy touches and frantic kisses and Toby is on his knees. After putting themselves to rights, they had back inside where Miles dozes off – and Toby helps himself to his watch and pocket book and scarpers.

Not surprisingly, the money doesn’t last long, and when we next meet Toby a short while later, he’s thinking he really needs to get a job of some sort. His contemplation is interrupted by the entrance of a snooty individual he correctly judges must be a gentleman’s gentleman – a valet. Toby discovers that Edwin Harrowby is on his way to take up a post with the Earl of Arvon, and very quickly, through a mixture of charm and obsequiousness, wrangles a seat on the coach to Arvon Hall where he hopes he might be able to secure some employment. On arrival, however, Mr. Harrowby is so appalled by the dilapidated state of the house, he demands to be taken back to the village, but Toby decides to stay. After all, with the place in such a mess, there must be plenty that needs doing. He walks hopefully towards the man he sees staggering down some steps clutching a teetering pile of boxes, his head and torso hidden behind them, cheerfully introduces himself as Edwin Harrowby and offers his assistance. When the man puts down the boxes and turns to face Toby, he recognises him as the man he’d sucked off and then robbed.

Oops.

This is the first time in five years Miles Carteret has been in England. Estranged from his father over a number of youthful indiscretions and an even larger number of gambling debts , he’s returned home hoping to reconcile with him, only to learn that he died just a week earlier. When Miles left, his father had furiously vowed to leave him nothing to inherit, and it seems he’s made good on that promise; the house is in desperate need of repair and is full of junk (it seems his father was a hoarder), there’s no money to put things right and nothing to sell to raise any. Miles is despondent – not so much because of the lack of funds and state of his childhood home, but more because the last letter he’d written to his father asking if he could come back home had met with a favourable response and he was looking forward to seeing the old man again and repairing their relationship. And now, that can never happen. The fact that the man standing in front of him now is the same one who stole from him – and whose mouth he hasn’t been able to forget – just adds insult to injury. Miles is understandably wary, but when Toby doesn’t so much as mention the fact that he could ruin Miles with a few well-placed words, he relaxes a little and decides to take Toby up on the offer of help. It’s not as if he’s got anything left to steal.

KJ Charles takes the “oops, the person I had sex with last night is my new boss” trope and runs with it, turning Miles and Toby’s inauspicious beginning into a charming and tender love story between a couple of misfits who discover they fit together very well indeed.

Toby is, despite his circumstances, one of those people who seems never to let life get them down too much. He’s charming, cheerful, pragmatic and very kind; he senses how unhappy Miles is and longs to offer comfort and companionship for no other reason than that he – Miles – so obviously needs it. Miles decides Toby is too much of a temptation and that he needs to keep his distance, but he finds it impossible to resist the pull of a sympathetic ear and frank, intelligent conversation, and soon, as he and Toby work to clear the various rooms of rubbish and clutter, a real – though unlikely – friendship develops between them. The attraction that sparked between them at the beginning is still there, too, thrumming away in the background, and it’s not long before they give into it again, both needing the connection and comfort offered by mutual pleasure and simple human contact.

Although A Thief in the Night comes in at under three hours, it’s a little gem of a listen. The close proximity Miles and Toby find themselves in engenders plenty of opportunity for them to get to know and fall for each other, and I especially liked how intuitive Toby is, and how the caring he so unostentatiously offers Miles is exactly what the other man needs. That love and caring doesn’t just go in one direction though – Miles gets his chance to shine later when he gets Toby out of a very tight spot.

The narration is enjoyable, although I don’t think something this short with so few characters really needed two narrators. Ryan Laughton is new-to-me and although the name James Joseph is also new-to-me, his voice isn’t; if you listen to a lot of m/m romance, chances are you’ll recognise him as a ‘veteran’ of the genre. (He records under two other names that I know of!). Mr Laughton’s voice is an attractive mid-range baritone with a nice clarity of tone and timbre to it, but he does manage to mis-pronounce several common words (“stifle” is said as “stiffle” for instance) and in the earlier chapters, there are times Miles and Toby sound a bit too similar. Mr. Laughton differentiates them entirely through pitch – which is fine for this two-hander – but although he reads with expression, there’s not a great deal of depth and colour to his voice. Maybe that will come with experience. I can’t fault James Joseph’s performance, however, which is skilfully characterised and imbued with emotion. His portrayal of both leads is excellent – Miles’ despair and loneliness come through strongly, and is nicely contrasted with Toby’s more upbeat manner. He’s an extremely capable and very experienced performer, and I’d have been more than happy had he narrated this one solo.

A Thief in the Night is, as the adage goes, short and sweet, a lovely romance laced with warmth, humour and tenderness featuring two well-defined and engaging protagonists. I really enjoyed it and am more than happy to recommend it.

Note: This is an Audible Original and will be available in audio ONLY for six months; print and ebook versions will be available in 2023.