Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Summary

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short 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.

• Number of pages: 304

Review

Kat Bishop and her crew are back for an all new riveting adventure including traps, yachting, curses, and cons. I devoured the first book, Heist Society, and I couldn’t stay away from Uncommon Criminals for long. After taking some solo jobs around the world Kat Bishop is finally going back home when she and her oh so suave best friend, the infamous and gorgeous W. W. Hale the Fifth find themselves with the opportunity to steal the Cleopatra Emerald . . . which happens to be cursed (of course). And Kat of course can’t resist such a tempting job, but when things start to go terribly wrong, she and her crew of teen thieves work together to undue the mistakes made and return the emerald before it can make any more trouble for them.

I think this book was just as wow worthy as the first book, and I believe that over and over we can see in the books how Kat is maturing and making her way through the family business without technically becoming the bad guy. Really, every one of the characters were maturing in their skills and personalities, and yet always had those funny ways about them that made them special and quirky and fun. I really loved Ally Carter’s work again in this second book. So much tricks and turns that kept me guessing until the very end—literally. I think that was one thing that kind of bothered me even if it was for a little. Near the end of the book when all the pieces were coming together I had to strain my brain a little to keep up with the book. And even after the way they pulled off everything was revealed I had to pause and think a little while to understand everything better. From 1-10? I give Uncommon Criminals a 7 (:

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Summary

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her 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 vest 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 her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster’s art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. 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 (very crooked) history—and, with luck, steal her life back along the way.

• Number of pages: 304

Review

Completely ignoring what I was taught since birth about stealing being bad I totally wish I were part of this society. Is that bad? Probably, but I can’t help it. The Heist Society is so cool. This was a good book with lots of excitement and brainwork I guess you could say. Kat is not the average thief—even by her family’s standards. She’s the best of the best (ignoring the fact that she’s just a teen) and has amazing strategist skills, but one thing she has is a conscience—at least for a thief. So she makes her way out of the family business, which is like a HUGE no no. When she is expelled from the boarding school she snuck herself into she finds herself in the biggest job she’s ever done . . . that will also save her father. And along with the rich and handsome best friend, Hale, Gabrielle, The Bagshaw Brothers, Simon, and Nick they are about to find out how much talent they actually have.

This book was very entertaining in the way that Ally Carter makes everything out to be like a real society. One that not many people know of course, but one that exits nevertheless. I loved how it is like a type of living (even if it is corrupt). These people got skills. I kind of got jealous. So from 1-10? I think this society of thieves gets an 8!