The heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

For the past few years FBI special agent Kate O'Hare has been focused on one thing and one thing only - capturing conman Nicholas Fox.  Nicholas Fox has made an art form of running some of the biggest cons and scams in the United States, and Kate has spent blood, sweat, and tears trying to capture him.  He always seems one step ahead of her, and he is not afraid to escape by the skin of his teeth - and he seems to delight in taunting her about her near misses as he skips away to freedom yet again.

When she finally manages to catch up with him it seems as though her years of living life on the run are finally over - which has its own share of challenges.  Coming back down to earth after years of action and high thrill chases is more than a little bumpy, especially when Kate goes from chasing international fugitives to DVD pirates (yes the FBI really does do that).  When Nick escapes from custody Kate ignores a direct order and goes after him, a task that she might just succeed in because her dad still has some contacts left over from his military days that could prove very helpful indeed.

Instead of finding Nick living like a hermit in some remote corner of the world, Kate soon discovers that she has been conned in the worst way possible by some of the people she has trusted the most.  To make matters even worse she has just found herself saddled with a new partner - Nick Fox!  After years of chasing him down, Kate now has to work alongside him as they work on bringing escaped felon Derek Griffin back to the United States to face the music after he stole $500 million dollars.  The only way to catch Griffin is to con him into trusting them, but for that to happen Kate has to find a way to trust Fox first.

I loved the early Stephanie Plum books so I was not surprised that I loved the quirky world that is Kate O'Hare and Nick Fox.  I was also not surprised that it was a book that seemed to read itself, and that I resented every time I had to put the book down!   The heist is a fabulous start to a new series that shows the smooth writing chemistry between Evanovich and Goldberg - and it really makes me want to go back to the beginning with Stephanie Plum to see if I enjoy the series as much as I remember I do.  I can't wait to clear some room on my reading shelves so I can pick up the second book in the series.

If you like this book then try:

• One for the money by Janet Evanovich
• Two for the dough by Janet Evanovich
• Murder past due by Miranda James
• Dipped, stripped, and dead by Elise Hyatt
• Lending a paw by Laurie Cass
• Pies and prejudice by Ellery Adams
• Death of a kitchen diva by Lee Hollis

Reviewed by Brilla