ARC Review: The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Title: The Scam Series: Fox and O'Hare #4 Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg Published: September 15, 2015 by Balantine (Random House) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Nicolas Fox is a charming con man and master thief on the run. Kate O’Hare is the FBI agent who is hot on his trail. At least that’s what everyone thinks. In reality, Fox and O’Hare are secretly working together to bring down super-criminals the law can’t touch. Criminals like brutal casino magnate Evan Trace.  Evan Trace is running a money-laundering operation through his casino in Macau. Some of his best customers are mobsters, dictators, and global terrorists. Nick and Kate will have to go deep undercover as high-stakes gamblers, wagering millions of dollars—and their lives—in an attempt to topple Trace’s empire.  It’s a scam that will take Fox and O’Hare from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu’s North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau. Their only backup—a self-absorbed actor, a Somali pirate, and Kate’s father, and an ex-soldier who believes a rocket launcher is the best way to solve every problem. What could possibly go wrong?

*** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This fact has not changed my opinion of the book ***

I so love my annual Fox and O'Hare read. It always comes at the perfect time. Right after I read a book full of feels that threats to  overtake me with a book hangover (cough cough Queen of Shadows cough). This series is the perfect palate cleanser. It's a lighthearted globe-trotting adventure, an interesting and engaging heist style mystery, and fun and quirky characters. The Scam once again took me for a great ride.

My favorite thing about this book is the characters. Thy are so fun and quirky and you can't help but love them. We of course have our main characters, Nick Fox who is a notorious thief on the America's Most Wanted list, and Kate O'Hare an FBI agent. Nick and Kate could not be more different. Their relationship started very adversarial but at this point they have so much respect for one another and they make a great team. And as their professional relationship grows, so does their personal. And oh what banter they have. My favorite thing about them might be that they break the gender norms. Kate is the brawn. She's kickass and tough and more than once in the book she shows that to unsuspecting characters. Meanwhile Nick is the brains of the operation. He creates these elaborate plans and is always two steps ahead of everyone. In the course of four books it had been great getting to know these characters and seeing their development.

However it is the secondary characters that really shine with this series. Many of them have very little screen time but they make a big impression. I'm a huge fan of Kate's father Jake. He reminds me a bit of Kieth Mars. He treats his daughter as more of an equal but he has so much love and compassion for her. I also loved seeing more of Boyd, who is a terrible method actor who takes his parts entirely too seriously but that makes him so fun in these cons. He gets to play a Canadian mobster in this one and his mention of Tim Horton's and poutine made me so very happy. There were also some fantastic new characters who would fall in the villain category. But when you have dubious main characters who have to also have some dubious villains.

And once again Evanovich and Golberg have given me an interesting and engaging plot. It's a cinematic globe-trotting adventure but it's also a heist style mystery. The schemes and cons that they plan are always so elaborate and interesting. But as the reader you are privileged to how they are going to achieve their goal but things never go according to plan. It's great to watch them go through all the steps and then see things get all messed up. Keeps you on your toes. I was even worried about how they were going to get out of a particular scrape. Nothing ever goes according to plan, which is totally fine because then you can watch them improvise. But because things don't go as planned the larger plot was a bit muddled. Things had to change about 2/3rds of the way in which made the pacing a little strange as well as the second plot point had to rap up a little too quickly for my taste. Plus the way the book ended was so frustrating. It wrapped up the general plot of the story and left me needing the next book right away!

The Scam is the perfect change of pace for mystery month. It's lighthearted and fun but a interesting and engaging story that I just powered through. I'm just loving this series more and more with every passing book. I love the characters and the adventure the authors take us on.

I give The Scam by Janet Evanovichand Lee Goldberg a 8.5 out of 10

Buys/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you are a fan of Cozy Mysteries especially books by Janet Evanovich or Lee Goldberg then pick this one up. If you're looking for a fast and fun read with quirky characters to get you out of a book slump or just a refreshing change of pace grab this.

Have you read The Scam? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Job by Janet Evanovichand Lee Goldberg

Title: The Job Series: Fox and O'Hare #3 Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg Published: November 18, 2014 by Bantam (Random House) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: He’s a charming con man and she’s a dedicated FBI agent, and they’re about to drive each other crazy . . . again!  The FBI had one demand when they secretly teamed up Special Agent Kate O’Hare with charming con man Nicolas Fox—bring down the world’s most-wanted and untouchable felons. This time it’s the brutal leader of a global drug-smuggling empire. The FBI doesn’t know what their target looks like, where he is, or how to find him, but Nick Fox has a few tricks up his sleeve to roust this particular Knipschildt chocolate–loving drug lord. From the streets of Nashville to the back alleys of Lisbon, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the middle of the Thames, Nick and Kate chase their mark. When they find themselves pitted against a psychopathic bodyguard and a Portuguese enforcer who gets advice from a pickled head, they decide it’s time to enlist some special talent—talent like a machete-wielding Somali pirate, a self-absorbed actor, an Oscar-winning special effects artist, and Kate’s father Jake, a retired Special Forces operative. Together they could help make this Fox and O’Hare’s biggest win yet . . . if they survive

*** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This fact has not changed my opinion of the book ***

I really enjoyed the last book in this series that I read The Chase, and when I was pre-approved for this next book I immediately added it to my schedule for this month and I was not at all disappointed. The Job was refreshing change of pace for me and I loved continuing with the story of these character and their shenanigans.

And that's exactly what they were, shenanigans. The whole plot of this book was to take down a notorious drug kingpin in disguise by conning him into believing he was buying billions in the treasure from a shipwreck that has been lost for centuries. It was quite an enjoyable globe-trotting adventure that had me wishing I could tag along on their trips to Turkey and Portugal. I'm used to Janet Evanovich for her mysteries but this is not really a mystery here. It's not about solving something. It's about not solving something, or rather, convincing the antagonist not to solve something. But this joy in this series is watching the characters attempt to pull=off their cons. There were moments where I thought that they weren't going to succeed, and it definitely added an unexpected level of suspense, but I forgot how complicated these schemes tend to be. On the whole The Job was full of adventure, humor, and suspense.

But the con is only part of the fun. These characters are seriously quirky and delightful. Our main characters of Nick Fox and Kate O'Hare may be your stereotypical unlikely duo but some tropes exist for a reason. Kate is the tough as nails FBI investigator while Nick is the suave and devious con man. I love every interaction that the two of them have. They have such spectacular banter and the perfect amount of sexual tension. They both have have such charm and I'm totally into it. But Nick and Kate are just he tip of the iceberg. With each passing book their crew of accomplises is growing and they are such a ragtag group. In this one we are once again joined by Kate's father the ex-Marine who packs an arsenal of firepower and Boyd, the terrible method actor who does some of the most hilarious over-acting I have ever seen. But we also added a former Somali pirate and a computer graphic designer who added quite a few laughs. All that plus some interesting and quite devious antagonists to the mix. The characters in this series are very over-the-top but that's what makes them enjoyable.

The Job was the perfect change of pace after spending so much of my reading time with complicated thrillers, supernatural adventures, and fantastical world that were messing with my mind. It was a quick and fun read with quirky characters and lots of adventure that had me hooked until the very end. I raced through it and finished it in just a few days, but I enjoyed every second of it. I recently saw a post by Jamie at The Perpectual Page Turner about "Sacrificial Lamb Books." And I now understand why those can be important. It was the perfect shift in genre to cleanse the palate and get me excited for my next read. Perhaps I should try something like this more often.

I give The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg a 9 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. If you are a fan of Janet Evanovich looking for something different from her usual or if you like stories about cons ala Ocean's Eleven and Blue Collar then definitely check this series out and grab on your next trip to the bookstore. If you are a fan of mysteries or contemporary romances and/or want to try something fun and different pick this series up on your next library run.

Have you read The Job? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!