A Nest of Vipers by Johnson, Catherine;

Long description:

'Characterful, page-turning drama and a vivid mixture of research and imagination' - The Sunday Times

A gripping tale of a group of larger-than-life con artists who roam the streets of eighteenth-century London.

Cato Hopkins is the youngest member of Mother Hopkins's 'family' - a group of skilled fraudsters and pickpockets. There's Addy, who can become a very convincing boy when she needs to; the beautiful Bella, who can charm any rich young man out of his fortune; Sam, an escaped slave and Cato himself, a young boy, who Mother Hopkins has taught everything she knows.

But old age is slowing Mother Hopkins down, and she wants to carry out one last con, a con to outdo all the cons that have gone before. And so the gang set about bringing ruin upon Captain Walker, a proud and cruel slave captain, who deserves to be taught a lesson or two .