Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Since the Henley heist, Kat has a new(ish) purpose in life: reclaiming stolen property and getting it back to its rightful owners. That's why when a woman approaches her with a story about how a precious jewel was once stolen from her family, Kat is intrigued. But the lost item is no mere jewel - it's the Cleopatra Emerald. Besides being something that is rumoured to have belonged to Cleopatra herself, and besides being one of the most guarded items in the world, and besides apparently being cursed, it is the one thing that Kat's Uncle Eddie has forbidden the family from stealing. Kat's crew has made history before with an impossible heist - will lightening strike twice, or will Kat be the one who gets burned?

Sometimes, as I'm trying to coherently gather my thoughts about a book, I wonder why I didn't start writing one-word reviews. (Side-note: how helpful do you think a one-word review would be? I think if it tapped into things like appeal factors, it might be more helpful than it sounds). I think my one-word review for this book might be "zippy," because the book just zips along from plot point to plot point, location to location, occasionally pausing for the reader to catch their breath, and then zipping right back along. I loved the details that narrow in on how Kat thinks, how she sees the world as a puzzle to be figured out. I was tickled by all of the names of the various heist plots (Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty). I'm really enjoying Kat as a character, and in this book I feel like we saw a bit more of supporting characters Hale and Gabrielle (and what I saw, I liked). I want more: more of Kat, more of Hale, more heists, and more Heist Society in general.



Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Swindle by Gordon Korman