Swept up in a caper

Woo-hoo, what a fun read! I've had Heist Society for a year or two, bought on a whim and buried in the TBR pile. I'm so glad I picked it up to read yesterday also on a whim and then couldn't put it down. A brilliant teen protagonist and her crew get into danger way over their heads. Or maybe not.

I loved all the art references and historical import embedded in this thrilling mystery/caper about a family of thieves and con artists. Fun and smart is a winning combo. Ally Carter you've got a new fan.

Here's a sample from the opening chapter, which says a lot about Kat and her family:

"Kat's bags were packed in twenty minutes. She might have lingered, saying her good-byes, but there were no good-byes to say. And so, after three months at Colgan, Kat couldn't help but wonder if the day she got expelled from boarding school might become the proudest moment of her family's long and colorful past. She imagined everyone sitting around Uncle Eddie's kitchen table years from now, telling about the time little Katarina stole a whole other life and then walked away without a trace."

There are hot boys, of course, but, like the rest of this story about beautiful things, they are far more than eye candy. Here's another writing sample, still early in the story but setting up the danger to come:

"She tried to pull away, but Hale's chest was pressed against hers. His hands were warm against her skin. There was a new urgency in his voice as he whispered, 'Listen to me, Kat. He's not a bad guy like your dad and Uncle Eddie are bad guys.' He took a deep breath. 'Like I'm a bad guy. This guy? His name's Arturo Taccone, and he's a whole different kind of bad.' In the two years since she'd met him, Kat had seen Hale wear a lot of expressions: playful, intrigued, bored. But she had never seen him scared before, and that, more than anything, made her shiver."

And, finally, here's a snippet of a scene when she is closing in on the terrible secret at the center of this mystery:

"Despite the freezing wind, she pulled her black ski cap from her head. In the glass of the door's small window she saw her hair standing on end, felt the static coursing through her--a charge that had been building for days. She knew answers lay behind that red door. Not all. But some. And she feared that if she turned to walk away now, gripped the metal railing of the stairs, the charge might stop her heart."

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For regular followers of my blog, my father did pass away last week. I will, no doubt, write more about that loss, but I don't want to now. There is gratitude that I spent time with him and we talked, as well as grief, of course. Lauren Oliver's Liesl & Po, which I wrote about in the last post, helped me tackle some issues, and this review of Heist Society is just what I needed to regain my footing in life, which goes on and is always filled with import and wonder despite its sorrows. And, anyway, my dad loved to read and he always enjoyed a good mystery. Here's to you, Dad.