The Heist -- Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

I'm a big fan of the work of Lee Goldberg, and Judy's a big fan of the work of Janet Evanovich. So when the review copy of this book arrived, I hid it from her.  Yes, it's true. I wanted first crack at it, so I didn't tell her about it.  She says she's going to forgive me, but only because I finished reading it quickly and passed it on to her.

Kate O'Hare is a former Navy SEAL and current FBI agent. She's smart, she's tough, she's tenacious.  Sure, she has a rotten social life, but so what?  She gets to put bad guys behind bars, and the bad guy she wants to nail (in more ways than one, actually) is Nicolas Fox, a consummate con man who's defeated her again and again.  The book opens with Fox running a superlative con and then a complicated heist and then . . . . That's all I'm saying.  You should let it be a surprise.

Okay, so I lied.  I'll say a little more. [POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD]  O'Hare and Fox wind up working together to fight crime.  Really big crime, perpetuated by the kind of criminals the FBI can't legally go after.  In this case, they're after a famous scammer who took people for millions and got away with it.  Now he's where the law can't touch him.  O'Hare and Fox assemble their team of oddballs to go after him and pull off a big con to get their man. 

The Heist takes off at a run and hardly ever pauses for breath. The action scenes are wonderfully choreographed, and you can see the movie playing in your head.  I wouldn't be surprised if the film rights had already been sold.  There are heists, narrow escapes, great acting performances, pirates (yes, pirates), cons, sexual tension, and laughs on every page.  If you're in the mood for pure summertime fun, grab this one as soon as it hits the streets.