The Heist
O’Hare and Fox, Book #1
By Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
ISBN# 9780345543066
Authors’ Websites:
Janet –http://www.evanovich.com/
Lee- http://www.leegoldberg.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Kate O’Hare is an FBI agent who has been hunting one of the department’s most notorious con men, Nick Fox, for the past five years. She has gotten close to nabbing him several times, but he always gets away at the last possible minute, leaving her frustrated and with an even larger drive to catch him.
You can imagine her excitement when she finally succeeds; Nick is finally in her custody, and she is ready to lock him up for a very long time. But the unthinkable happens and he escapes during his transfer to court. Kate wasn’t the one that lost him, but she is taken off the case, and it’s handed to an incompetent agent. So she does the only thing she can; takes vacation time to go hunt him herself! Only to discover that he had help in his escape, from her boss and the FBI Director himself! The two have decided that they can use Nick to catch other felons that they can’t capture by legal means and that Kate is the perfect person to aide him. So now the unlikely duo must work together; their first case is to capture a corrupt investment banker that has taken off with a half a billion dollars. And, if Kate and Nick get caught while creating their own con, they both could end up in jail.
I was drawn to this book for a couple of reasons. First, I do enjoy Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, so I know she can write:) Second, I found the storyline to be an interesting premise for a new series. An FBI agent forced to work with the man she has been hunting so doggedly for years. It reminded me a lot of the movie Catch Me if You Can and my interest was definitely piqued!
“Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her flawless skin had a slight sheen from her dash across the parking lot and up the stairs. Sexy, but he suspected the fantasy the sheen inspired was better than the reality. She was the job. Probably wore Kevlar to bed. End of story. Still, he did enjoy playing with her. He liked her big blue eyes, cute little nose, slim athletic body, and her earnest dedication to making the world a more law-abiding place. It made his dedication to crime much more interesting.”
After reading this book, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. The cons that Nick has put together over the years were smart and cunning. Granted, I don’t think he’d mange to make them work in the real world, but they were still a ton of fun to read. You can’t help, but love his work ethic… and his confidence in which he pulls off his stunts (hence the blown kiss as he’s swept away on the helicopter in Kate’s last failed attempt to catch him). This latest con that he creates with Kate is definitely his hardest.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Nick and Kate; the give and take between a career con man and the FBI agent he’s been ducking for so long. His hunter becoming his partner. An unexpected twist in both their lives for sure.
“I hate shopping for clothes,” Kate said. “I liked when I was in the military and all I needed was camouflage gear.”
“Shopping can be fun. Especially when it’s for a con. It’s the first step in creating a character. Isn’t there anything you enjoy buying? Lingerie? Shoes? Jewelry?”
“Shoes are okay. I don’t have to take my clothes off to try them on.”
“You don’t like to take your clothes off?”
“It’s the lighting in the dressing rooms. It makes you look fat and anemic. And pulling clothes on and off wrecks my hair.”
Nick put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “Like this?”
Kate jumped away. “Stop it! I have enough hair problems without you making it worse.”
“Maybe if you ran a brush through it once in a while.”
“Maybe if you’d keep your hands off it!”
Nick grinned and hugged her into him. “Are we a team, or what? Stick with me and I’ll get you to enjoy taking your clothes off.”
“You’re flirting with me.”
“Stating a fact,” Nick said.”
The two definitely have a mutual attraction to one another that I’m sure we’ll see play out as the series continues.
“Yeah, I’m a thief.”
“Honey, that’s such a turn-on.”
He reached for her, and she jumped away.
“Stand down,” Kate said. “My hands are lethal weapons.”
Nick backed her against the wall and leaned into her. “I’ve go a better lethal weapon than you do,” he said. “Wanna see it?”
“No!”
Good lord, she could feel his lethal weapon pressing against her belly. It was big and hard. And as much as she hated to admit it, his big, hard weapon was exactly what she needed. She looked down and gasped because it was so perfect.
“Is this for me?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Take it if you want it.”
“I want it,” she said. “I really, really want it.”
It was a Toblerone bar. Giant size.”
And, I can’t help, but wonder who will end up corrupting who by the end of their five years working together. I definitely think one of them will jump to the other side of the line of legality. It’s just a matter of who.
I also found myself enjoying Kate’s family; especially her dad. He was fun and always willing to leave the normalcy of his casita to run headfirst into danger to help his daughter. He is another character that I think will play a huge role in this series.
Overall, I found this to be an amazing start to an interesting new series. I am completely and utterly hooked! I think both Evanovich and Goldberg have struck gold with this smart and sexy series that is filled with just the right amount of attitude! I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
