The Thief Lord

Hmm I was really enjoying this until the 3/4 mark.

Lets start with a little summary:
The Thief Lord is quite a mashup. There are multiple stories going on. Two boys running away from their Aunt. A gang of little thieves. The secret of their leader (the thief lord). A missing item and the man who has spent his whole life hunting it. The private detective hunting the boys. Most of the stories were flowing really well together. Then at the 3/4 mark the author introduced magic. It was an interesting concept, but it turns everything upside down and really messes with the story lines. The characters all suddenly accept the magic and its consequences. It just didn't match well with the first half of the story.