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.

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Synopsis:

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she's simply been known as the girl who robbed the greatest museum in the world. 

That's why Kat isn't surprised when she's asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem is owned by the most secure auction house in the world. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat's world, history almost always repeats itself. But it's the third problem that makes Kat's crew the most nervous and that is simply the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she's not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend-the gorgeous Hale-and the rest of her intrepid crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the world, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Review by Patrick:

Remember my last review where I said I couldn't wait to start reading this one? Well, I got it on Saturday from the library, and finished it the next Friday. Pretty quick read. Also, I never would have guessed that's how you spelled "Visily." (If you didn't read my previous review on Heist Society, then you wouldn't know that I listened to the audio book version of that book instead of reading it.)

Uncommon Criminals was an action packed book. I literally couldn't put it down. It started off with a bang, and I knew from the beginning (as every experienced reader would) that things aren't as simple as they seem.

Even up until the end, when I knew they had completed the heist, I didn't know how they did it. And then it was obvious, almost as if I saw a movie flashback in my mind of exactly how it was done. It was like a Sherlock mystery that once explained was obvious.

I really liked this book. It was still teenagery, even more so than Heist Society, but I didn't mind too much.

In the end, I give this book a rating of 4.

Think you'll like it too? Go buy it: www.google.com.

Reviewed by Patrick.

Up Next:

I'm still reading The Silmarillion but I will be starting Beautiful Creatures soon.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Synopsis:

For as long as she can remember, Katarina has been a part of the family business-thieving. When Kat tries to leave "the life" for a normal life, her old friend Hale conspires to bring her back into the fold. Why? A mobster's art collection has been stolen, and Kat's father is the only suspect. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

The only solution is to find the paintings and steal them back. Kat's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history-and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Review by Patrick:

My first review is of a new book series I have started: Heist Society by Ally Carter. I started this series because I have read the Gallagher Girl series, and liked the author's writing, and this series is about thieves instead of spies so it seemed like it would be a good series for me. I think I was right.

First off, a little background. I listened to this book in audio book format, performed by Angela Dawe. Checked this one out at the library, and took me about two weeks to listen to it on my way to and from work.

I'll be the first to admit, I read more "teenage girl" books than the average mid-20's male, but when the books are good, I don't think it really matters. Most of these types of books come from recommendations from my wife though.

To the review: Heist Society is a fun, light book, that mixes Ocean's Eleven with Hostage. Every chapter you read, you want to read more and find out what happens. The book developed as if I were in their shoes, and I had their skill set; very realistic. In the middle of the book, I was already starting to guess who the mystery character was, and I'm pretty sure I got it wrong a couple of times by the end of the book. And the ending! I was ready for the heist and could see where the plot was going and how something might go wrong, but then a surprise I totally wasn't expecting caught me off guard.

This book was teenagery, but not as boy crazy as Gallagher Girl's were, although she did describe one of the main (male) characters as "hot" in the first chapter. The comic relief throughout was good, especially the quirky nerdy characters. The characters were all well defined (maybe too well) and had very individualistic traits. But the way she describes aspects of the security features of a school, or which technique to do a job, made it feel like the characters really knew what they were doing.  

Overall, I liked it. I can't wait to read the next book. I will give it a rating of 4, and begin the next book immediately.

Think you will like this book? Go buy it. Here's a Google search that might help you: www.google.com.

Reviewed by Patrick. 

Up next: Uncommon Criminals, and The Silmarillion.