The Thief Knot

***"And when I asked why he supposed I might be able to do the impossible, he said, 'Because I believe you are special.'"*
Liao to Lucy on Blister, *Bluecrowne*, p. 133
*This article is on a subject existing outside the universe of the Greenglass House series.***

## *The Thief Knot*

* Official Book Cover
* Original Cover Art

## Publication order

### Followed by

*The Raconteur's Commonplace Book*

*****T********he Thief Knot*** is the third book in the Greenglass House series. It was written by Kate Milford and illustrated by Jaime Zollars, and published by Clarion Books in 2020.

## Publisher's summary

Marzana and her best friend are bored. Even though they live in a notorious city where normal rules do not apply, nothing interesting ever happens to them. Nothing, that is, until Marzana’s parents are recruited to help solve an odd crime, and she realizes that this could be the excitement she’s been waiting for. She assembles a group of kid detectives with special skills—including the ghost of a ship captain’s daughter—and together, they explore hidden passageways, navigate architecture that changes overnight, and try to unravel the puzzle of who the kidnappers are—and where they’re hiding. But will they beat the deadline for a ransom that’s impossible to pay?

Legendary smugglers, suspicious teachers, and some scary bad guys are just a few of the adults the crew must circumvent while discovering hidden truths about their families and themselves in this smart, richly imagined tale.

## Plot

Marzana Hakelbarend and Nialla Giddis sat outside a shop in the Liberty of Gammerbund, tailing a man in hopes of a mystery. He entered a jewelry shop, seeming quite suspicious, but it turned out that he was proposing to his girlfriend. Marzana and Nialla were immensely disappointed, and Nialla commented that the Liberty was the town where nothing happened. The two then visited Surroyal Books and collected the new Quester's Crossroads book.

Marzana went home, where she found Emmett Syebuck, to her surprise. Emmett explained to Marzana and her parents that a girl, Peony Hyde, had been kidnapped. Peony's father was Winston Hyde, who was running for mayor, and Peony had been taken on her way home from camp. Emmett had a friend in Criminal Investigation who believed that the culprit had holed up in the Liberty, and Mr. Hakelbarend and Mrs. Hakelbarend agreed to investigate the suspects Emmett laid out, including Rob Gandreider, who had somehow just walked out of jail. Emmett then left, and Marzana's parents made her leave while they talked, to her annoyance.

Marzana decided to investigate on her own. Marzana wrote down what she knew, preparing to call Nialla. However, Honora entered, and since a letter to Mrs. Hakelbarend had come that night and she had not answered, Honora told Marzana a story of Violet Cross. Honora told Marzana of how the crew of the *Lancet* had smuggled truffle-hunting pigs despite Deacon and Morvengarde making their best efforts to stop them. Marzana then called Nialla and told her that she had an adventure.

Marzana met Nialla at their school, Marymead, and told the excited Nialla about the kidnapping. They then went to their first class and found that their math teacher, Mrs. Agravin, was not there, but there was instead a substitute, Mr. Otterwill, who had apparently taught at Peony's school. They decided that they needed to find out about Mr. Otterwill, and for that they needed a Commorancy Kid. They nominated Emilia Cabot to join their group, and Marzana was made to meet her at the game group in Surroyal Books, as Nialla could not go. Marzana did, and told Emilia what was going on. Emilia seemed to have agreed to join the group. Marzana then called Nialla, who revealed, to Marzana's annoyance, that she had invited J.J. without asking Marzana, and told him what was going on. Marzana agreed to meet J.J. and decide if he could join.

Marzana went home. Moth and Christopher Fletchwood, the sons of Tumbler Fletchwood, arrived in the morning, wanting to know about their deceased father. Mrs. Hakelbarend, however, did not tell them anything. Mr. Larven then arrived, but Marzana unfortunately had to go to school. Marzana went, and she and Nialla met Emilia on one of the Commorancy floors and told her more about the kidnapping.

That afternoon, Emilia took Marzana and Nialla a secret route out of Marymead, through Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop, to Surroyal Books. They met J.J. Mowbry and his friend, Ciro del Olmo, whom he had brought along. J.J. showed off his magic tricks, and Ciro in turn explained his own skills: he was, like most others in his family before him, a camoufleur. Marzana was declared the boss and the group decided to accept J.J. and Ciro. Marzana told the two what they knew about the kidnapping, and they joined.

Marzana went home. She called Milo Pine, who was at camp, and managed to tell him that there had been a kidnapping. He suggested a way for her to contact Brandon Levi, the Belowground conductor, then had to go. Marzana asked Honora about different kinds of knots, looking for a name for the group, having gotten the idea from *The Sidledywry Knot.* Marzana eventually chose a thief knot.

Ciro came for a visit, to secretly photograph Marzana's parents' notes so that they could be copied for the group's use. Meanwhile, Nick Larven had brought back Rob Gandreider, and he and Marzana's parents were interrogating Rob. Marzana listened in while Ciro watched a movie. Ciro took out his phone and photographed Marzana's parents' notes, then listened in some more on the interrogation of Rob, who had, it seemed, been let out by a bribed police officer. Rob was then sent home, and Marzana tried to pretend that she had not heard the conversation while her parents discussed what they'd learned.

In the morning, Marzana found a package at the door. Inside was a note from Milo, instructing Marzana to keep a figure, which he called Sirin, in the vial it was in. Marzana did not know what it meant, telling her parents that it was for a game of Odd Trails. Marzana left to go to school, and outside the door she found a girl, whom she recognized as the ghost Meddy, and realized the package's purpose. Marzana told Meddy what had been going on as they walked to school. Marzana introduced Meddy to Nialla and Emilia, and Emilia took them to see Mr. Otterwill's school file via the Marymead dumbwaiters, which, they found, moved oddly. They went to the library and read a book on snakebirds, which Emilia seemed to find familiar, then went to math class and mentioned the Sidledywry Knot books to Mr. Otterwill, using information they'd found in his file. He seemed to react as if he'd known about Peony's kidnapping, and Marzana realized that Victor Cormorant, whoever he was, was Mr. Otterwill's great-uncle. Emilia then deemed that Victor Cormorant was the mysterious carrier the Snakebird.

Marzana, Nialla, Emilia, and Meddy headed to Surroyal Books, discussing clues along the way, including the odd absence of Mrs. Agravin. When they arrived, Meddy was introduced to J.J. and Ciro. Marzana then explained the name she had chosen for the group: the Thief Knot. The group discussed clues; the new knowledge about the Snakebird, Mrs. Agravin's absence, and Ciro shared what he had learned about the Belowground Transit System. The name of a cemetery was brought up, causing Emilia to begin to cry, and it was soon revealed that her father, who was buried there, had been Alexander Cabot. Marzana was very upset because Emilia's father had told her things from his work, unlike Marzana's own parents. They eventually returned to the discussion of the stations, and discovered that Marymead had a Belowground Transit station in it. Nialla explained the possibility of a secret message in the ransom note.

Marzana, Meddy, and J.J. went to Mrs. Agravin's house to check on her. On the way, Meddy told Marzana about Emilia's father, and J.J. did card tricks. When they arrived, they found that Mrs. Agravin lived above a Belowground Transit station. Meddy let them in, and upon entering, Marzana, J.J., and Meddy discovered Peony Hyde tied to a chair. Marzana began to cut the rope, and Marzana's parents then arrived. Police arrived as well, and they began to take care of Peony. Mrs. Agravin showed up and explained that she'd been on a last-minute trip because she had won the sweepstakes, and was very confused about all that was going on.

Marzana, her parents, and Meddy all went to Marzana's house, and Mrs. Hakelbarend rebuked Marzana. Marzana explained what her group had been doing, and Mrs. Hakelbarend mused about the whole event and Victor Cormorant. The Snakebird himself then showed up. He wanted to know why Marzana had asked Peony about Victor Cormorant, and seemed from his posture and tone to be expressing how powerful he was. Mrs. Hakelbarend was not put off her game, however, and answered each of his questions calmly while Marzana listened in as directed. Marzana's parents then discussed some things that had seemed odd about the whole business, and the Hydes answered questions on TV (Mr. Hyde was withdrawing from the mayor race, and the whole family was going on vacation).

Marzana called Nialla, who was not in trouble. She and Meddy set out for Surroyal Books the following morning to meet up with the Thief Knot, because they could. Marzana was upset because, she realized, she had been treating it like a game all along, but the other members of the Knot were happy, to Marzana's confusion and annoyance. Nialla discussed the ransom-note message, J.J. and Meddy did magic tricks, and Ciro called Emilia, who was not there. Marzana slowly realized that the girl they had rescued had not been Peony, and Peony had, she said, never been there at all. The members of the Thief Knot all made surprised reactions to that. They then discussed whether to call in the adults, but Emilia invited them to come to the Belowground station at Marymead, feeling that it fit in with the crime somehow.

The Knot went to Marymead, and Emilia showed them the station. On their way, Marzana noticed a portrait of Tasha Cormorant, the granddaughter of the Snakebird, whose name she'd heard a couple times. The Thief Knot deemed that Tasha had been the accomplice who had pretended to be Peony, and the carrier who had pulled off such a complicated crime. The group entered the station, and realized the purpose of the crime: to get the Hydes out of their house, which was built above the hub of the Belowground Transit System. Ciro del Olmo then discovered the code in the ransom note, though they did not understand what it meant.

Brandon Levi then arrived in a train, and they realized that they had called him by accident. Brandon was not sure if he should take them to the station (he could, despite the old iron, because he knew a way) and Nialla and Ciro decided to go back and call the adults. Marzana did not want Nialla to go, but Nialla convinced Marzana that it had to happen. Ciro kissed Marzana before leaving, to her surprise. Marzana then joined Emilia, J.J., and Meddy on the train.

Brandon started the train, and the four filled Brandon in on what they knew and discussed a sort of plan. They arrived at the Mergenthaler Street station, and found it full of wild iron. There was unmistakably the sound of someone trying to break in, and Marzana was surprised and delighted that they had been right. The Knot and Brandon discussed strategy, and scrambled to their places when the kidnappers broke through. J.J. and Meddy used magic tricks to prevent the two men from opening a locker. Marzana, however, got caught, and one held her hostage.

The rest of the group tried to get him to let Marzana go, but he didn't. Marzana then realized that the two kidnappers were Moth and Christopher Fletchwood. Marzana presumed that the thing in the locker was from their father, which from their reactions she deemed to be true. The two kidnappers were angry at Marzana, and her mother, and tried to insist that Tasha had done the kidnapping without them.

Emilia picked the lock on the locker, and the Fletchwoods opened it up to find it empty. They assumed that Marzana and her friends had taken whatever was in it, and did not believe Marzana when she insisted that she had not. Marzana called to Tumbler's ghost, which Meddy made it seem like the balloon was. J.J. burned a message into two of his cards, calling for Peony to be returned, and made it seem as if the ghost had left them that message. Moth and Kit were shocked for a moment, and Brandon took advantage of that time to capture them, keeping them against the wall.

Brandon sent the Thief Knot members upstairs to call the police, but adults were already arriving. Marzana's parents, Emmett, and Thad were there, and the Fletchwoods were quickly apprehended. Moth threatened to reveal to the world who Mrs. Hakelbarend really was, something that would get her and her family quite likely killed, but Mrs. Hakelbarend stopped him, reminding him of the consequences that could arise and that he was Tumbler's son. According to the adults, Peony had been found and Tasha Cormorant had escaped. Emmett and Thad took Moth and Kit out of the station.

Marzana noticed that the lock on locker 152 was engraved, and followed a trail around the other locks in the station to discover a poem written by Tumbler, presumably for his sons as a scavenger hunt. In the final locker, Emilia discovered two of Violet Cross's kites, the Windrose and the Portolan, which they deemed Tumbler had intended as a present for his sons. Mrs. Hakelbarend agreed to let Marzana tell Nialla and Ciro the story behind the kites, and the group went back to the train. On the way, Meddy mentioned that she had not controlled the balloon at the end, and the Knot wondered whether it had truly been another ghost. They arrived back and found Nialla and Ciro waiting for them, and Mrs. Hakelbarend arranged for the Thief Knot to come to the Hakelbarend house for dinner. Mrs. Hakelbarend approved of the Thief Knot, then agreed to tell Marzana a story of one of her expeditions.

## Appearances

Characters

* Ada/Allie
* Addie Whitcher
* Alex Cabot
* Alex Moody
* Amelias
* Barnaby
* Brandon Levi
* Brian Otterwill
* Carrier
* Ciro del Olmo
* Coles
* Commorancy Kids
* Cotgrave family
* Customs agents
* Deacon and Morvengarde
* Del Olmo family
* Ed Tivrutsky
* Eddowes
* Eliza Agravin
* Enza
* Emilia Cabot
* Emmett Syebuck
* Ghosts
* Henny Unwin
* Honora Catharping
* J.J. Mowbry
* Jeffrey
* Kevin
* Kit Fletchwood
* Lazaride
* Lily
* Loxi Chell
* Lucky Julnissen
* Lucy
* Lula Macready
* Maria
* Mariah Hyde
* Marzana Hakelbarend
* Milo Pine
* Monty/Murray
* Moth Fletchwood
* Naz
* Nialla Giddis
* Nicholas Larven
* Nora Pine
* Peter Hakelbarend
* Pratt
* Rob Gandreider
* Samir
* Tasha Cormorant
* The Waits
* Thief Knot
* Toby Giddis
* Victor Cormorant
* Violet Cross
* Violet Cross's crew
* Ward's
* Winston Hyde

Mentioned characters

* Alexander Cabot
* Annamaria Gallfreet
* Anthony
* Ben
* Ben Pine
* Bobby
* Caine
* Caton
* Catriona Cotgrave
* Clem Candler
* Doc Holystone
* Ezra Cormorant
* Francis
* Georgie Moselle
* Griffin
* Hank
* Hannah Jones
* Harriet
* Hester
* Hickson Blount
* Ilaine Hotson
* Jacinthus Beadle
* Jane Marymead
* Jessie Colporter
* Jimmy Costak
* John
* Katia del Olmo
* Leroy Jenkins
* Lewis
* Lila
* Maeve-Alice Cotgrave
* Matthews
* Maurice Cotgrave
* Meg
* Morris Flynn
* Morvengarde
* Nadia Cotgrave-Cormorant
* Nick Jones
* Nick Nackatory
* Octavian Deacon
* Oliver Cotgrave
* Ophelia Cotgrave
* Owen
* Padraig del Olmo
* Palkowick
* Peony Hyde
* Peter
* R. Burroughs
* Rose Mirassat
* Simeon Fray
* Snyder
* Songhan del Olmo
* Sopwith
* Sylvester Alforn
* Thad
* The Jewel Thieves
* Topham
* Turin
* Tumbler Fletchwood
* Waltersson
* Warder

Objects

* Flask of Winds and Voids
* Hellcat
* Helm of Revelations
* Holdfast Beartrap
* *Lancet*
* Official Commorancy Key Collection
* Old iron
* Portolan
* Sirin figurine
* *Stanton's Aviary*
* The Oracular Records Department
* The Sidledywry Knot
* The Sneaksby Gambit
* Windrose

Culture

* *Mrs. Kerwallow*
* Odd Trails
* Q Register
* Quester's Crossroads
* The Oracular Records Department
* The Sneaksby Gambit
* The Waits

Locations

* Nagspeake
	+ Bayside Quarter
	+ Belowground Transit System
	+ Camp Bewild
	+ Eel Street
	+ Hever Street Prison
	+ Liberty of Gammerbund
		- Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop
		- Marymead
		- Surroyal Books
	+ Magothy Bay
	+ Printer's Quarter
		- Watermill Elementary
	+ Quayside Harbors
	+ Shantytown
	+ Skidwrack River
	+ Whilforber Hill
		- Greenglass House
		- The Slope

## Trivia

* Before it was called "The Thief Knot", the book was actually titled "The What Knot".
* The dedication reads: *To Gracie and Charlotte, the newest members of the Knot; and, as always, to Tess, Griffin, and Nathan, my favorite adventuring companions.*
* The thief knot is a real knot, a variant of the reef, or square, knot.
* *The Thief Knot* has 30 chapters.
* *The Thief Knot* is decorated with fireworks.
* The book title and the chapter titles are set in the font Ulsteros.

## Gallery

**Take a look at our **gallery for The Thief Knot****.

## References

1. ↑ http://clockworkfoundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screenshot-2018-08-14-13.32.21.png
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *The Thief Knot*
3. ↑ https://www.netknots.com/rope\_knots/thief-knot
5. ↑ https://www.whatfontis.com/