Early Review: The Scam (Fox and O'Hare #4) by Janet Evanovich, and Lee Goldberg (Releases 9/15/2015)
Book by book, this series just keeps getting better and better. My favorite type of series!
What I liked: When I first started the Fox and O'Hare series, I was afraid it would be too much over the top for the type of series it was projected to be. I love Ms Evanovich as a writer of the Stephanie Plum series and I was worried this series might have the same style. It does and it doesn't.
The style of Ms Evanovich and Mr Goldberg (who I had never read before this series), is a good blend of humor, mystery and suspense. And of course, there are the characters....who slowly but surely are growing on me. This quote from my ARC explains most clearly what this series is about. "Together they were tasked with going after major-league criminals who couldn't be caught through legal means. So Nick remained a major-league criminal himself, secretly working for the FBI, and Kate remained a top FBI field agent, secretly working with an international fugitive." By no means are Kate and Nick the only major characters. Their surrounding cast and their "talents" just add an extra dollop of fun and skill.
What is fascinating is Kate and Nick are rubbing off on each other. Nick seems to be more responsible even though his devil may care attitude is still there. Kate, however, is finding the blurring of lines much more fun than in the first couple of books. While I did enjoy Nick, Kate is the star to me. Watching her change and grow is part of the draw of this series. Her relationship with her Dad is indescribable. And yes, I'm still a bit enamored by her Dad, Jake. Maybe it's his military background that I find so attractive or the way Kate and he totally understand each other. He's my new book crush! And that's not all of the unlikely characters who surround Kate and Nick and make their cases just a tad more interesting and exciting.
The Scam had me holding my breath a few times as I was sure Kate and or Nick were going to make a mistake or get caught by the bad guys. Well, yeah, I can't tell you that part. What I can tell you is Kate is totally kick-butt and Nick is a natural born liar and both come into play in The Scam they are involved in this time. The time and pacing of this book is just excellent. I literally only put it down to eat, drink and go to the bathroom and when my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer!
What I didn't like: I ripped through The Scam in record time and then read it a second time just for fun. So, yeah, I have nothing to write in this space EXCEPT, the ending. It was good and bad and that's all I can say. (This is not something I had a problem with as I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review but....if you have a book allowance, The Scam might break it. It's Kindle edition is over $11 and the hardcover is over $20. It depends on your book budget on what you decide to do, buy or borrow).
The tension between Kate and Nick steps up a bit or should I say overheats. I can't wait for the next offering in this series from Ms Evanovich and Mr Goldberg. That's the problem with getting an ARC from NetGalley; you have to wait just a bit longer for the next book!
Highly Recommended but please, please read the books in order! (Here's the link for the reading order).
