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!

Book Review: Faking It

Faking It
By Jennifer Crusie
****

“If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to be a horrible warning."
-Gwen Goodnight 

This super-cute rom-com was so fun to read! I picked it up after reading a few gut-wrenching YA novels because I needed a bit of an emotional break. Crusie is my go-to for a fun read. Now, nothing can compare to her Agnes and the Hitman (seriously, if you haven't read that one, go get it right now and get started! I promise, you won't regret it!), but honestly, nothing can.

Faking It is the story of the Goodnight family, who own an art gallery and are having trouble making ends meet. Some things happen and a painting that should never have been sold was sold. This is a bad because that painting could prove that some other paintings were forgeries. So, Tilda, the most normal member of an abnormal family, has only one choice: steal the painting back. As she's in the process of stealing said painting, she hears something and hides in the closet, where she meets another thief. Davy Dempsey is a con man trying to steal money back from the woman who stole it from him, after he stole it from her. Something like that. Shenanigans ensue.

I really enjoyed this book. Cons, heists, forgeries, crazy family members, and art fill all the pages. For some reason, and I don't know what this says about me, but I am intrigued by art forgery, cons, and heists. Don't worry, I'm completely incapable of doing any of those illegal activities, even if I wanted to (which I don't), but I find the art and practice of it fascinating. That's one reason I loved Leverage so much (RIP, Leverage. You were the best of TV shows, though you were sadly unappreciated. I will miss you.). Anyway, the romance was what you'd except from a chick-lit rom-com, with an added bonus of lovely secondary characters, three additional romances, and comeuppance to the nasty characters. If you're looking for a quick, light read, you can't go wrong with a Crusie, and Faking It doesn't disappoint!

Book Review: Uncommon Criminals

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2), Ally Carter (*****)

Ally Carter does a great job of writing teenage girls who are above-average-awesome and capable of anything. In her Gallagher Girl series, her girls are spies-in-training at an exclusive all-girls spy boarding school. In the Heist Society series, the heroine is a born and bred uber-thief. Kat has been on the grift since she was 3 years old, and now at the age of 15, she and her teenage crew have already accomplished one impossible heist (see Heist Society, book #1), and now are planning another; both are heists that the older, more experienced generation claim are impossible. But Kat isn't stealing for the money or glory, she's returning stolen treasures to their rightful owners. This book opens on Kat stealing back Nazi loot for this purpose when she's called to another mission of mercy; one that goes very, very wrong.

The Heist Society series is a light, fun read. While Carter may be writing an Ocean's 11-style heist, it doesn't read like an intensive glimpse into the life of master thieves. It's more of a romp with a little added teenage angst. Kat may be a master thief, but she's still a teenage girl. I think Carter gets a bit deeper with the Gallagher Girl series, and I like that one a smidge better, but I think these are both great series and I highly recommend them.

Book & Media List: Cons & Heists

Cons & Heists:

One of my favorite shows on TV right now is Leverage, a story of a thief, a hitter, a hacker, a grifter and a mastermind who con and steal from the bad guys and give back to the mistreated everyman (watch it - it's awesome!). It made me wonder, what books are like it?

Movies and TVs
Ocean’s Eleven (1960), Ocean’s 11 (2001), Ocean’s 12 (2004), Ocean’s 13 (2007)
Italian Job (1969 & 2003)
The Sting (1973)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 & 1999)
The Usual Suspects (1995) - thanks to Mike for the recommendation!
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
The Brothers Bloom (2008) - thanks to Mike for the recommendation; I can't believe I didn't think of this one, since I loved it so much!
Leverage (TV show 2008-present)
White Collar (TV show 2009-present)

Children, Tween, and Young Adult
Heist Society, Ally Carter (book 1 in Heist Society series, 2 books published)
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
The Thief (The Queens Thief #1), Megan Whalen Turner
Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl #1), Eoin Colfer
The Outlaws of Sherwood, Robin McKinley
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? (Montmorency #1), Eleanor Updale
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, Jonathan Auxier
The Good Thief, Hannah Tinti

Classics
The Gambler, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Sting, Robert Weverka
The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
Robin Hood, Alexandre Dumas
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief (Arsène Lupin #1), Maurice Leblanc

Fiction
The Grifters, Jim Thompson
The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith (book 1 in 5 book series)
Fingersmith, Sarah Waters
Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch (book 1 of The Gentleman Bastard, 2 books published, at least 3 more expected)
The Grift, Debra Ginsberg
City of Thieves, David Benioff
White Cat (Curse Workers #1), Holly Black
Baudolino, Umberto Eco

Non Fiction/True Crime

Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale
The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man, David Maurer
Charlatan: America’s Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam, Pope Brock
A Pickpocket’s Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York, Timothy Gilfoyle
A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers, and the Extraordinary True Stories of History's Greatest Hoaxes, Fakes and Frauds, Michael Farquhar
The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century, Edward Dolnick
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts, Julian Rubinstein