A Thief in the House of Memory

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Family secrets, forgotten memories, and the transforming power of truth

It's been six years since sixteen-year-old Dec's free-spirited mother, Lindy, disappeared. Dec feels so trapped in the present, he's avoided examining his past. But when an intruder dies in the museum-like family home, the man's death sends forth tremors that reawaken forgotten memories. Suddenly Dec is flooded with visions of his mother so tangible it's hard to believe they're not real. At least Dec has his best friend - gifted, funny Ezra - to help him sort out what's real and what isn't. But as Dec's dream visions of his mother turn into nightmares, Ezra announces he's going away, leaving Dec haunted by questions that must be answered. What did happen to his mother? And who really is the thief in the house of memory?

In this masterful new novel, Tim Wynne-Jones explores with wit, compassion, and humor the fictional territory he knows best - the prickly ties that bind families, the murky connections between imagination and real life.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Teen, Family, Fantasy, Suspense

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2004

About the author

Tim Wynne-Jones (born 12 August 1948) is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2001): The Boy in the Burning House
Edgar Award
◊ Best Young Adult (2002): The Boy in the Burning House

Reviews

[sky ⋆]

love the title but im not seeing great reviews

[Maire · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What happened?" he asked solemnly.
"Nothing happened, honey."
"Really?" He so wanted to believe the noises he'd heard coming from the master bedroom had been nothing. "Nothing" usually wasn't so loud.
"Believe me," she said.
"You were yelling at Daddy."
She nodded, slowly, her eyelids half closed. "I had my reasons," she said.
He wanted to go to her but he could still hear her shouting in his mind, and it frightened him. She seemed to guess his thoughts.
"You need to understand something," she said. "When the big old wolf sinks his teeth in the lamb, it's the lamb that does all the bleating." (52)

Again he met his father's reflected gaze. "When there's something to tell you, we'll tell you," he said. Bt his eyes said something else. His eyes said, What has come over you? His eyes said, Why all this acting out? His eyes said, I hope this is not a foretaste of things to come. (72)


"You think your daddy never stole anything?" Her voce had changed. He couldn't tell any more if she was fooling.
He kicked at the white-walled tire. "Daddy's not a crook."
"Don't you be so sure," she said, wagging a finger at him. She held onto the car door and leaned way back.
"The man who bought this car was young and daring. When he showed it to me, I thought, He, girl, he may seem like a pussycat, driving his beige Le Sabre with the cruise control set right on the sped limit, but there's a Wildcat in there somewhere." Then she exploded with laughter. "Crazy mama," she said.
She grew quiet again and he watched, not sure what she would do next. Then the grin was back and she gave Dec a hurry-up wave.
"Hop in, Big Stuff," she said. "Come on, quick now." He crawled in behind the steering wheel. She clambered over him and lounged in the passenger's seat. "Take me somewhere," she said.
"Where?" asked Dec, both hands on the wheel, only wishing that his foot could reach the pedal.
"California," said Lindy. "I need a little sun in my life. How 'bout you?"...
Then they sat quietly with only the sparkling green lawns of Steeple Hall before them. "you don't think your daddy was a crook?" she said, her voice tetchy now. "Well, I used to have a life. Where'd that go, huh?"
Dec sat staring at her, her bare feet up on the seat, her knees supporting her chin, her sad face, her puffy eyes. He didn't life it when she got sad. He crawled up on his knees, leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around him.
"Get me out of here, Declan," she whispered between smooches. "Get me out of here. Before it's too late." (76)


Dec scanned the cliff in the magazine and copied it. He wondered how far it was from where his mother had lived. His mother had talked about California all the time. It was one of her dreams. He had forgotten that, but then she had so many dreams. He had forgotten a lot, but it wasn't a careless kind of forgetting. When she left, he had gathered together everything of hers he could and shoved it down hard into a secret box, locked it and thrown away the key. And then he had found the key and opened up the box. There was more in there than he bargained for. (177)

[Maryam Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Thief in the House of Memory” was an okay book, it’s about a boy named Declan who wants to learn about his biological mother who left him when he was only six. Declan spends the novel trying to figure out clues for why his mother went missing, he’s constantly going into Steeple Estate to find clues. The plot was well driven, but the lack of detail makes the book confusing to follow along with at some points. The story starts to get repetitive eventually, but it does start off strong. The novel is great for people who enjoy mystery novels and want a quick read.

[okeipayn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favorite books. I like the style of writing, which is probably why I am drawn to it. I like how it's timeline goes from here to there. How everything seem to happen at the same time. I like how Declan grew over the course of 200+ pages even if it's just baby steps. It wasn't easy but it made him feel lighter and softer on the edges.

[Emily McFarland Oliemans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this story intriguing but it didn’t go as deep as I thought it would. It felt pretty “meh”, but it was an easy read!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential. I was hooked in the very beginning with the mystery accompanying the death of a thief in the House of Memory, the large museum-like family estate just up the road from where Declan lives with his father, sister, and mother's best friend. Now the mother, Lindy, is another story. Almost literally. She took off six years earlier which precipitated the family's move from the large estate to the small house down the road. Dec's memories of Lindy start to surface after the thief gets smashed by a bookcase in the large house and the web of details starts to get more complicated. Why was this particular man in the House of Memory? How well does Dec really know his father? What actually happened to his mother? In short, these questions were answered by the end. However, it was so unbelievably anticlimactic. I was expecting certain foreshadowing and clues from early on to resurface and just smack me in the face with the force that all answers to great mysteries seem to do. But that did not happen. I was left deflated. The bright side is that it was pretty realistic, but who wants realistic when you're dealing with thieves, disappearance, a big creepy house, and possible murder?

Now don't get me wrong. I still enjoyed the book, in a "that was pleasant" kind of way. The characters were really likable and unique. There were also subtle literary intricacies that I really appreciated. For instance, Dec's father, Bernard, was plagued with disappointments of the past and the author represented that through his interest in building historical models. His character almost literally lived in the past by spending hours every day dissecting the details of war battles and recreating the models in his garage. The writing was also gorgeous. Wynne-Jones uses a lot of poignant metaphors (like settling and stirring dust as memories) and implements alternate style writing, like fragments, but it all works so well within the context of the story.

All in all, the writing itself was inspiring but the story fell flat for me. There were so many directions and possibilities for this story that would have surprised me. I couldn't predict the ending and that's always a thrill for me as I near the end of a book, but it ended up being anticlimactic. So in a way I guess it did surprise me, but more because it was a lack of surprise.

[HeraSays · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half the time, I didn't really know what was going on. The beginning was so slow and bland, and nothing about the characters really interested me.

It redeemed itself somewhere in the middle though. Things started to pick up and the potential murder!mystery levels escalated. At that point, I couldn't stop reading. (I especially liked the interaction between Dec and his father; I could really feel that tension between them--the suspicion, the anger, the mistrust. I think that was conveyed nicely.)

But the ending.

I have... mixed feelings about it.

In retrospect, the concept of the ending seems fine. It was good and fitting, and provided that closure the main kid and his family needed. I felt like it wasn't told nicely though. There was a lot of build-up over the chapters, and I was expecting it to end in a grandiose manner, but it just... didn't happen.

After all the searching and probing and annoying the heck out of his father, after the heated arguments and the lying, all the main character seemed to express after finding out the truth could be summed up in just two words: "Oh. Okay."

The end.

Or maybe I'm just being picky. I guess there's just this part of me that's yearning for something much more believable than that.

But overall, this family drama was... okay.

____

Afterthought: I'm not sure if it's just me but Dec's younger sister doesn't seem to act like her age. In my head, she feels... older.

Afterthought 2: Actually, throughout the whole book, I was half-expecting (half-hoping) that this would take a big turn to Fantasy World. I'm not sure why I was expecting monsters and magical creatures to show up and save/ruin the day.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

4Q, 3P, J
Dev Assets 1, 2, 10, 14, 20, 29
Best Books, mystery. After he and his little sister find a body in their family’s abandoned home (which sits near their vanilla split-level house), Dec decides that it is time to explore the secrets that his dad and his mother’s best friend have been protecting since Dec’s mother left years ago. This book serves as an exploration of a boy’s past and helps him sort out the people and circumstances of his life. He has to rule out his panic that wrongdoing had befallen his mother in order to be able to accept that she had left of her own volition. His comes to understand that his father and his mother’s friend have been wronged, too, and have made decisions based on what was best for the family. For teens, the book may not have a wide appeal, as its focus is on understanding and growth rather than adventure or struggle. As soon as I read this book, I realized that I would have a difficult time promoting it, for I did not particularly enjoy it. Perhaps I am selling teens short. A teen who is quietly trying to work things out in his/her own life may very well identify with Dec, for he has distinct and specific memories that wend their way through the journey he experiences.

[Connor Denning · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book,It discussed key themes of a mystery and had substantial support to, as the book goes on you learn a lot about the characters and you can really connect to them and they are relatable. It starts off a little bit slow but as it goes on you get to the action and you start to understand the book.

I personally couldn't say i honestly loved the book, i constantly found myself making me read it or wanting to put it down because it was too boring,i was always wondering to myself why and how come, the Author (Tim Wynne) lacked as you could say creative imagination and really killed the book. I will admit the ending was descent but i will not ruin it for you by telling you, if you find yourse;f stuck with an option to read i guess i would suggest this book.

Finally, i honestly wish i had talked to someone who had read the book to find common interest, i say this because it was a different kind of mystery than any other i have read, it was more of a whats happening now more than a clue solving thriller that got the reader going. Wth no more to say i leave you with this book getting 2.9 stars out of 5 and hope in the future i read nothing like this again.


Connor Denning
Mr.Ryans English 9B !st hour

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I felt about this book. On one hand, I loved the quirky, interesting characters and the writing style is extremely good. On the other hand, it feels like a lot of build-up for nothing. At the end when it's discovered that most of Declan's theories were in his head, you feel almost cheated. As if you had spent all this time in suspense, wondering, and even the resolution leaves more questions than answers. I suppose that's how life is at times, but it seems to end just a bit too "roses and puppy dogs" for my taste, and left me feeling rather bitter. Suddenly, nothing else matters. Declan doesn't question the stories from Birdie or his father one bit any longer, doesn't have any bitter feelings that he just discovered his mother is dead and completely abandoned him without another word, only a slight upset that Birdie completely lied to him and so did his father. It just ends up a bit too peachy-keen. The build-up was much more fascinating than the resolution, ten-fold. While the ending seems strange and rushed, the rest is actually very enjoyable, though it does drag in spots. Overall, I enjoyed it. But would I read it again? No.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre/Category: Mystery

It took me nearly sixty pages to get into A Thief in the House of Memory, but once I finally learned to distinguish between reality and Dec’s imagination I was hooked. Wynne-Jones did an incredible job in this mystery novel of providing just enough—or just too few—clues to keep me interested, yet completely in the dark as to how all of the pieces fit together. The story is about a sixteen-year-old boy, Declan, who finds a dead body in a house that his family used to live in before his mother left them. Through a series of discoveries and flashbacks of incidents with his mother, Dec learns the truth about his mother’s leaving and her relationship with the man found dead in the house of memory. He also gains respect for both his father and his father’s girlfriend, who used to be his mother’s best friend. An intriguing mystery, this coming of age novel perfectly portrays adolescence through the changes Dec experiences and the way in which he deals with the things he learns throughout the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a not-too-scary mystery, but especially to younger adolescent readers.

[Ryan Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIM WYNNE-JONES
Declan Steeple is 15 year old son of Bernard, who is the sole heir to the Steeple estate. The Steeple's have a long tradition of ambition, wealth and posterity. Declan seems to think that chain has stopped with his father. Dec thinks his father is stuck in the past as the history buff spends the majority of his time doodling with models of some of the world's most historic wars. Declan's mom disappeared when he was 10, and he hasn't seen her since. However, a mystery at the old Steeple residence,"The House of Memory" which the family has vacated at the request of Bernard's soon to be wife, prompts old memories of Lindy, Declan's mom. He searches to find out what happened to her and the mystery becomes more and more confusing as he learns that the man found dead in the old home was the ex-lover of his mother, both before and after her marriage to Bernard. The book becomes a pretty interesting mystery that Declan is finally able to uncover. Although disappointed that he learns his mother is not exactly who he thought she was, Declan is finally able to put the past behind him and move on.

[Heidi Grether · Rating 4 out of 5]

TIM WYNNE-JONES CATEGORY

This novel is about Declan, a teenage boy living in Canada. Despite the fact that Declan's mother left when he was only ten and his father pays more attention to model soldiers than his family, Declan keeps everything under control. Until the day a crime takes place and Declan begins having flashback memories and starts searching for answers about his mother's disappearance. As he works through these questions of identity and belonging, he finally comes to peace about where his life is at and the people that care about him in his life. This book was a wonderful read! Wynne-Jones does an amazing job of describing the setting and the characters in such a way that the reader is pulled into the inner struggle of the main character. Additionally, not all the information is revealed at once. This causes the reader to stay invested as well as provides an opportunity to think deeply and analyze the book. I thought it was a well-written young adult novel with many literary devices and themes. I would recommend this book to any adolescent audience that is interested in mystery, and probably someone who is about 15 or 16.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Mystery Fiction/Supernatural/Family Secrets

Dec's mother's mysterious diappearance leaves Dec wondering about his past. He begins to have visions of that are echoes of memories he once had. His childhood home is perserved in the exactness it was when he lived there and it is the backdrop of these visions. When Dec finds a theif dead under a bookshelf in the house, his head starts turning and he begins to uncover the family secrets. Dec's visions coupled with his mystery hunting skills lead him to discover his family secrets and disregard some of his suspicions.

This novel takes the reader for a trip between what is real and what is fake. There were times when I thought Dec was losing his mind because of the visions he had about his mother. Wynne-Jones' style makes for a suspenseful story that is easy to follow despite the complex plot. While maintaining the elements of mystery and supernatural fiction, Wynne-Jones is able to weave in a coming of age story between the lines as Dec finds out as much about himself as his family's past.

[Hollowspine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about a family mystery. Declan Steeple lives in a small house at the bottom of a hill, but above him on the hill is his old house, where he used to live before his mother ran away. It's a big house filled to the brim with relics of his old life. A random visit with his little sister turns into a mystery when Declan discovers a man buried beneath a large bookcase, dead. He starts visiting the house more often, seeing visions of his mother there. Is she trying to tell him something?

One mystery piles onto another and it is up to Declan alone to figure out the truth. Did his mother really run away? Or is she trapped in the House of Memory until he can set her free?

It was a very quick read and pretty good, suspenseful and well written. I liked all the quirky characters Wynne-Jones introduces throughout the story as well. For a short book it is well developed and the narrative is easy to follow and engrossing.

A good book for younger teens. Although they may feel that some of the kid characters are a bit older than their years.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little wary of this book at the beginning. The prologue and the flashbacks in particular felt like reused fantasy tropes, and the fact that the house is called "Camelot" didn't help. However, I'm glad I gave this book a try. The writing style soon sucked me in and I stopped worrying about fantasy tropes. Quirky characters like Ezra and Vivien made me feel right at home in the novel and kept this extremely psychological book lighthearted at appropriate moments. Dec's journey to find himself--complicated by adults who refuse to communicate with him--never frustrated me to the point that I wanted to throw the novel at the wall, unlike some teen books.

I'll admit I also expected something bigger at the end, some big revelation. Now I've decided that I like this conclusion better. Dec finds what he was searching for--not his mother, but peace and closure.

This was one of the most worthwhile reads I've picked up in awhile.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

mystery

Dec is just a teenager trying to find out what happened to his mother, who supposedly left his family several years previous. Living just down the hill from his childhood home, Dec, his father, sister, and soon-to-be stepmother try to move on from their past. But when a man is found dead in the old house, Dec makes several trips back to the House of Memory trying to remember what really happened when his mother disappeared from his life.

This book explores the understandable and common need to know the truth. This story deals not only with truth but also with trust and parent-child relationships. Dec's mother, Lindy, leaving defined his entire childhood and adolescence, forcing him to grow up faster than he might have had to otherwise. This could be a good book to introduce teenagers to more weighty literary themes.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Wynne-Jones' masterful storytelling comes to the forefront in this novel of mystery and suspense. Dec is a mostly normal high schooler--he's smart, has good friends, loves his family. His family might be considered a little strange, though, given that they live in a new-ish house on the same property as an old house, the house Dec grew up in, the house of memories. This weirdness of this situation increases when Dec discovers a corpse in his family’s as-is-creepy, spare house. Adding to this, Dec’s mother is mysteriously missing and his father, who was awake the night of the now-corpse’s accident, seems to be keeping something from him. The actual surprises in A Thief in the House of Memory moved beyond mystery to psychological for me and beyond impossible to real, making this a powerful coming-of-age story with themes of truth and family and trust.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery

This book is about Dec's search for his mother and his past. When someone is killed in the "house of memory," the house that Dec lived in until his mother left, Dec is flooded with all sorts of memories about his mother. Not really knowing what to belive, Dec sees lies and suspicions in everything, including his father and his father's girlfriend. Through his probing and searching, he learns more about himself as well as his father as he searches for his mother. This book kept me turning pages as I tried to discover with Dec who his parents really were and as I tried to sympathize with two boys who were left behind by someone they loved. This novel brings home the importance of having a stable family life and hope that normalcy can be found amidst the chaos.

[Jennifer Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book. About a smart boy whose mother left him and his father as a child. He is now living in a house with his sister, father, and his father's girlfriend. The house he used to live in is near by and they still use it. They call it the house of memory. Whenever they have something they want to store they put it in the house of memory. It was a big house that had run in their family. Then everything is disturbed when a thief is killed in the house. Dec starts to have memories come back to him of his mother. He begins to remember how unhappy and almost crazy she was. He begins to believe his father is the murderer. During his quest for the truth he finds it, and it wasn't what he expected.

[Brittani Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIM WYNNE-JONES

This book is about a boy named Declan who comes from a wealthy family. When he was very young his mother disappeared and he is trying to find out what happened to her. After meeting a mysterious stranger, who mysteriously ends up dead in Declan's house. After digging around and asking questions he finally figures out what happened to his mother.

This book had a great storyline and a lot of potential. I gave it 3 stars because I was really disappointed by the ending. It was really anti-climactic. Like I said, it had a lot of great potential, but it just didn't live up to it. I would recommend this to those who like mystery and trying to figure things out, but I really wouldn't tell them it was great or anything.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIM WYNNE-JONES CATEGORY

Declan Steeple has never come to terms with the disappearance of his mother Lindy, who hasn't been seen in six years. A series of unfortunate and unusual events bring his feelings to the surface and cause him and his family to confront the truth they must all live with. While I didn't find the book to be very fast-paced, it was still well told and I really felt for Declan. I had a very difficult time telling when he was dreaming and when he wasn't, or where the overlap was, but I think that was intentional on the author's part in helping us see things from Declan's perspective. The world needs more Wynne-Jones stories, ones that make you think, rather than merely entertain.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent sounding mystery, but I felt like I was waiting for something, an explosion or something that never came. The characters, while somewhat interesting, never really caught my interest enough to make me care about what happened to them.

Declan's search for his mother was interesting, but his reaction when he finally figured it out just didn't seem enough to me. Yes, he was upset, but it felt restrained, muted. There just didn't seem enough of an emotional connection to it all, which didn't help the character's believability. That feeling covered practically every aspect of the book, the feeling of waiting for something that never happens.

VOYA codes: 3Q, 3P, J.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: YA, Mystery
Thief in the House of Memory is the story of a boy whose mother left when he was young and through threw the death of a robber in the house he used to live in, the past becomes real to him and he starts to sort through what happened, why his mother left, and where she is now. He wades through the deception of his father, his own doubts and his emotions as he discovers the truth. This book seemed wedged between the categories of Mystery and Magical realism. I enjoy fantasy and wasn’t particularly pleased with this half-fantasy book, and I found it blasé to the point of being annoying. However I can see that as a young teen I might have enjoyed it.

[Gary Tydryszewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery/Psychological

Thief in the House of Memory is a thriller that follows a young rich boy as he tries to discover the truth about his mother and the thief found in his former house. With the help of his friends he embarks on a mystery quest to discovery the truth missing from his life. The book is face-paced and a pleasure to read that can appeal to a variety of readers. Some themes may be not suitable for a middle-grade audience, but a teen audience will enjoy the psychological thriller aspect that follows the mystery. This book may be ideal for boys moving up and away from other popular mystery series such as the Hardy Boys.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I need to officially call it quits on this one. Maybe it's just me being unfair to Mr. Wynne-Jones for not living up to the late great Diana Wynne Jones he's shelved next to, but I really can't get into his book. He lacks the easy eloquence, the subtle humor, the straightforward (yet ultimately surprising) plotline and pacing that I was craving when I picked up his book. I got like 10% through, so I'm entitled to an opinion on the entire book, right? I doubt that the writing style changes. And the back blurb (and other reviews) don't really make the book sound like a world I want to play in. Ever.

[Misbah U]

Look on page 80,116,154-155



"Your mom was a woman, who would never appreciated for any positive that I have given her from the first day of our marriage till now" pg116 said Bernard to Dec. in this book, there are many lessons to admit to our lives. For instance main character who is the son, he goes through many doubtful days since he lost his mom. Now his dad the only one living with him but he never found that way of their lives supposed to be. I got board while I was reading from beginning till nearly 100th page. After 100 pages I decided to go continue since there was no other option to read and I finished half of the book.

[Charla Aranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dec's mother disappears and he is left alone and scared. His repressed feelings and fears are awakened when a man dies in the house. His good friend helps him to distinguish between his nightmares and reality...but then Ezra too leaves.

People leaving Dec seems to be a common occurrence in his life. The novel has a great psychological ring to it as the reader is taken into Dec's thoughts and examines his nightmares. it's worth a read. Tim Wynne Jones is a skilled writer. Junior high and up for recommendations.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book was really suspenseful, like when Dec was being haunted by unanswered questions that he is desperately trying to answer in his mind. Like what happened to his mom 6 years ago? Why his dad never mentioned her before? And who was really the culprit of stealing in the house of memory? What shall Dec do on his journey through the house of memory? What will become of him in the house? And will he ever realize of what happened to his mom and why his dad never spoke of her before? Who knows.

[CB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the book was full of wonderful writing (the reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2), it had that studied feel of a book written by someone with an MFA (which it was). The characters felt flat to me, as if the author was holding back...I just didn't end up caring about them - I wanted to, but I couldn't. The ending also felt a bit safe and predictable. Too bad, it was a spooky, unusual setting - I had higher hopes for this one.