Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Synopsis:
Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting-or stealing-whatever they want.

No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir-this time, Hale might be the mark.

Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.
Review by Patrick:

So this book took a whole three days to read. Just like the two other books in this series, I couldn't put it down. 


Okay, so this book had not one heist, but a heist, a recon, an Anastasia, a Big Store, a dead con, and a final long con. I mean, Heist Society was really just one con, Uncommon Criminals had two, but this book was just filled with them. You had no idea what the next chapter was going to bring.


And then there was this relationship drama. Not my cuppa tea, but I can tell you my wife was all about that. I'm sure that it appeals to many folk out there, but I know I wouldn't act and react like Hale, so it was a little out of touch for me.


So here's what I didn't like about this book. *Spoilers* - There was no mention of Visily Romani in this book at all. He didn't play any part. It was just some old guy trying to get rich, and he happened to pick on the wrong family. The other thing I didn't like was we don't know what Hale's name is. I need to know! *Spoilers*


So I also came up with this idea for a sequel series. It's 15 years later and Hale and Kat are married, much to Hale's monther's chargrin, and in the hallway Hale is talking quietly to two young boys, maybe five or six. You quickly realize that while Kat is in the kitchen, Hale is trying to teach the twins to sneak past her, in hopes they can snatch a cookie out of the cookie jar. As the boys are silently entering the room, Kat scolds all three of them without even turning around. Give a thief with heightened senses the eyes in the back of the head that only a mother would have, and you have a deadly combination. And you know that twins run in the family. So Ally, if you want to take this idea and run with it, I would buy those books.


So in the end, I'm going to rate this a 4.5. It was almost a 5, but I wanted to have some resolutions, some questions answered that didn't get answered. I loved the book though. Definitely a recommended series for anyone who likes the tale of a good heist.

Up Next:

I'm finishing up the last chapters of The Silmarillion, and still reading Inkspell.

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