RATING: 
(Heist Society #2)
Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.
There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.
Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.
Book 1: Heist Society Review
*****
I for one like chaos. Chaos looks good on me.
SHADY.
I’m hovering on a 3.5 rating. The development of Kat’s character is a 4, but the overall execution of the story is a 3. I really liked Heist Society, but Uncommon Criminals fell a little short on my expectations for the sequel.
I loved how Kat managed the job quickly and efficiently, unfortunately she got reckless – and so, the plot thickens. The major plus for me in Uncommon Criminals is how Carter portrayed Kat as the heist-drunk, risk-taking, and remote-feeling girl who does not know that’s she’s all of those things until Gabs and Hale pointed them out to her. The part where Kat alienates herself from her family while doing solo heists was wonderfully written. I understood where she’s coming from, even though i don’t agree on how she deals with it.
Hale‘s character became stronger, more solid but still not enough. I still saw him as a sidekick, not as the male lead character. He’s still charismatic and funny. I just wish he’s more assertive to Kat’s evasiveness.
With the constant twists and turns, I sometimes find myself lost – meaning i could not sensibly follow the story once they started pulling the biggest job of their lives. Carter’s writing is addictive, but i encountered a lot of holes before seeing the big picture, the explanation on how the plan worked out. Did i mention that Kat and Hale’s relationship is still as vague as from book 1? Less vague, maybe. But still vague. I don’t want to assume anything, and given this story setting, more romantic scenes couldn’t hurt now, would it? 😉
Uncommon Criminals is a good read, but compared to Heist Society, it lacked the glue that made the first book solid and substantial.
Every decent con man knows that the simplest truth is more powerful than even the most elaborate lie.
#8 Off-the-Shelf Reading Challenge 2011
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.: maria :.
“giving up is the ultimate tragedy.”
reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac. 