Let me begin by the obvious: The Heist is not particularly original nor particularly well written.
Agent Kate O'Hare's goal in life is to catch Nicolas Fox, a con man whose specialty is to run elaborate scams to extort money to rich and powerful people. When Kate finally captures Fox, the convicted criminal negotiates an agreement with the FBI. He will help them catch criminals in exchange of his freedom. Nicolas and Kate will have to work successfully together to catch their first target, Derek Griffin, a dishonest investment banker who stole $500mio to his victims before he disappeared.
If you are a fan of the TV show White Collar, you can stop reading this review now. Yes, The Heist follows exactly the same plot except that this time, Janet Evanovitch and Lee Goldberg add a romantic layer to the story (not really a spoiler as you are told from the first pages that Kate pictures Nicolas as the "man of her dreams").
If you are non-American, be prepared to be annoyed by some small details:
i) Kate has a perfect body despite eating junk food every ten pages of the book (burgers, burgers, fries, fried chicken, Toblerone, burger, massive steak, fries, Snickers...). Seriously?!!!
ii) Kate's favorite activity is to go to the shooting range with her dad to blow up some steam. Her second favorite activity is to eat fried chicken and drink Light Bud... go back to point i)
ii) Clearly Janet/Lee have never travelled to Europe or Asia. I got to read some Wikipedia copy/paste on Berlin sights. Their depiction of Indonesia government system, geography and autochthonous culture was so cliché that it became actually funny. Thank God we are in America because everywhere else is positively dreadful.
My review so far has been quite harsh so let me end on a good note: The Heist is actually entertaining. I had no trouble finishing the 400 pages and it makes for a very quick read. I had some good laugh at the action scenes and yeah, I feel sympathetic to Kate despite her horrible food diet. If you are looking for an enjoyable/no fuss read for your holidays, The Heist will tick the box.
Author: Janet Evanovich/Lee Goldberg
Publisher: Bantam
Agent Kate O'Hare's goal in life is to catch Nicolas Fox, a con man whose specialty is to run elaborate scams to extort money to rich and powerful people. When Kate finally captures Fox, the convicted criminal negotiates an agreement with the FBI. He will help them catch criminals in exchange of his freedom. Nicolas and Kate will have to work successfully together to catch their first target, Derek Griffin, a dishonest investment banker who stole $500mio to his victims before he disappeared.
If you are a fan of the TV show White Collar, you can stop reading this review now. Yes, The Heist follows exactly the same plot except that this time, Janet Evanovitch and Lee Goldberg add a romantic layer to the story (not really a spoiler as you are told from the first pages that Kate pictures Nicolas as the "man of her dreams").
If you are non-American, be prepared to be annoyed by some small details:
i) Kate has a perfect body despite eating junk food every ten pages of the book (burgers, burgers, fries, fried chicken, Toblerone, burger, massive steak, fries, Snickers...). Seriously?!!!
ii) Kate's favorite activity is to go to the shooting range with her dad to blow up some steam. Her second favorite activity is to eat fried chicken and drink Light Bud... go back to point i)
ii) Clearly Janet/Lee have never travelled to Europe or Asia. I got to read some Wikipedia copy/paste on Berlin sights. Their depiction of Indonesia government system, geography and autochthonous culture was so cliché that it became actually funny. Thank God we are in America because everywhere else is positively dreadful.
My review so far has been quite harsh so let me end on a good note: The Heist is actually entertaining. I had no trouble finishing the 400 pages and it makes for a very quick read. I had some good laugh at the action scenes and yeah, I feel sympathetic to Kate despite her horrible food diet. If you are looking for an enjoyable/no fuss read for your holidays, The Heist will tick the box.
Author: Janet Evanovich/Lee Goldberg
Publisher: Bantam