I don't think Thief is a bad book at all, really -- honestly, what I don't like about it is that I intensely dislike having information withheld from me on purpose. Others' mileage varies.

You will probably also be rather taken aback by one large disturbing thing in Queen, just to warn you. I would encourage you not to let that ruin your enjoyment of the rest of it, which I really like :) (And, though I don't like it either, I can actually defend the Disturbing Thing, but I shall wait until after you read it.)