Book Review: Heist Society by Alley Carter

Goodreads Synopsis

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

My Review:

I have always enjoyed mystery novels and stories. But this is my first time having read from the criminal's POV and let me just say...IT WAS ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, FOR SURE, ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE EVER READ! Heist Society was something that I will absolutely be going on the "Sacred" spots on my bookshelves.

We start off with Katarina Bishop telling us about her school, Colgan. She is being transported to the Dean's office to be questioned about moving the Dean's car on top of a fountain. Of course Katarina doesn't have anything to do with it and tries to tell him that she has been framed! But Katarina stops herself she knows that she can prove she is innocent but for some reason she feels as though a lie is better than the truth. She is good at lying, but the truth is not one of her specialties. She is expelled from Colgan, and she packs up her things and walks outside to a limo. The driver starts for her bags. She climbs in and says, "Well, I guess that's over." And It would have been ... if another voice hadn't said, "actually, it's just beginning."

Let's Talk Characters!

The characters all had flaws that made them PERFECT! In my opinion they were FLAWLESS IMPERFECT PERFECT characters!

Katarina Bishop is the daughter of Bobby Bishop. She is a great con artist, very smart, and is very serious about what she has to do. Again I have found another strong female lead. She has her flaws you know? She left the family business to try and have a normal life. I understand how she doesn't want to live the way she does. Her family gives her a lot of grief about leaving the "Family Business" for...3 months!! (COME ON GUYS!) You can tell she and Hale have a past. She tries to hide her feelings for Hale. I can't help but to wonder why she doesn't want to lay it all out on the table!

W.W Hale the Fifth. The W.W. a mystery, 16, and Mmm.Mmm.Mmm. DELICIOUS! He is a family friend of Kat's. He is her partner in crime. You know? The Hot- Boy Billionaire.... I'm drooling already. And despite all this Kat seems to stay on track with what she has to do. Hale is a charming young man. He has great skills. he is smooth and had a way with words. He is good at thinking on his feet. We don't really know that much about his parents. We have his faithful butler, Marcus. Hale is sort of a mystery to me. Despite his wealth, he is drawn to Kat's way of life. I wonder what aspects of her life he is drawn to. Is it her? Is it the thrill? Hmmmm...

Gabrielle is one of those characters you feel like you don't want to see because you are scared she is going to take the attention off of the main girl you know should be the interest. She is also Kat's cousin. Gabrielle is our Femme Fatale, she is curvy and drop dead gorgeous. She is witty and makes a lot of cute comments. She is the diversion. She plays the
hot-ditzy girl. Kat doesn't really take fond to Gabrielle. She seems like an airhead but she is very bright. She is great con artist. You can't help to love her, but you don't want to see that much of her.

Simon is the brains and tech-man in this story. He seems like the cute nerdy guy. He is very very bright! You can tell he is easily nerved and moved.

The Bagshaw Brothers are Angus and Hamish Bagshaw. More family friends. They remind me of Fred and George Weasly from the Harry Potter Series, or Phil and Lil from the Rugrats. They seem like troublesome but helpful characters. Even though they mess up, they mean well. They are very good work men. They are easily forgettable and unnoticeable to everyone. They get their job done.

Nick is our "New Hale" and he may seem cute and sexy. But I feel like something is off about him. I love Hale. Even though I only new him for about 4 days. Nick pick-pocketed Kat and she pick-pocketed him. They needed more men for their crew so she recruited Nick. He is good competition for Hale but he is mostly eye-candy. He can't compare to Hale in my eyes.

Bobby Bishop he reminds me of the hard-ass man who loves his daughter and gives her everything. I love Bobby. He is Kat's father and he is doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of what is about to happen. Kat loves her father dearly and does whatever is necessary to keep him safe.

Uncle Eddie is that Dear Old Uncle. The one who is wise and careful. He seems very superstitious to me. Uncle Eddie's house is the place dubbed "The Table" its where a lot of family memories, stories and cons are discussed. Uncle Eddie cares about his family deeply.

Abiram Stein is like our head librarian, or our historian. He values art and he is basically a walking computer. He knew Kat's mother. He is a wise and smart historian character.

Last but surely not least is Arturo Taccone. He is our savvy, dangerous mobster. He is a break your leg, you'll be sleepin with the fishes! kind of guy. Even though he is the bad guy he is a pleasant man. He is THE bad guy and you can't help but to be like, "Ooooo! Is someone gonna get a finger in a box now!?"

The Plot!

The Plot was amazingly written and very very devour-able!! The plot was fast paced and steady. I would have loved more back story but without it, the story was still delicious! It was something I could not put down. I am a fast but slow reader. I love to get the full affect and I really only read at night. And I loved all the places we were taken throughout this book. I could imagine every place so clearly! It was very well written and very descriptive.

Kat left the family business to have a life of her own. But then her right hand man, Hale came and gave her a message from her Uncle Eddie. Her father is being framed for stealing paintings from a dangerous mobster, and its up to Kat to steal them back and save her father. Except... she only has 2 weeks!!

I give....5 STARS TO HEIST SOCIETY!!