Friday, July 19, 2013

Book Review: The Heist

The Heist (O'Hare and Fox #1)

By Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
****
“[The pirates] were about ten yards away, coming up the starboard side, when the men suddenly dove off their boat. Nick looked over his shoulder and saw Kate standing behind him with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher resting on her shoulder. It may have been the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.”

This was a quick, fun read. Kinda like White Collar, but with a potential for romance instead of bromance. Kate O'Hare is a former Navy Seal and currently works for the FBI. She's been hunting conman Nick Fox for years and finally nabs him. Ever the conman, Nick manages to avoid jail by working with the FBI to catch other criminals, and Kate becomes his partner/handler. Heists and hijinks ensue.


I really enjoyed reading about a heroine who doesn't need to be "saved" and is actually competent (and eats! I love a heroine who isn't afraid of eating something made with real butter, a la Agnes Crandall and Lorelai Gilmore). Even though Kate was the Fed and Nick the conman, a lot of books would have had Nick rescuing Kate at some point because she was incapable of action (scared, weak, stupid, whatever, which happens so often) and that never happened (yay!). Instead, they each had their own skill sets and used them together well, acting as a team, despite Kate's concern about partnering with the criminal she chased for years. I appreciate that.


My favorite character, though, is Kate's retired military father, who gets to leave afternoon naps behind to help Kate out in various covert operations. I've chosen to picture him as Bruce Willis in RED. Love!