Review Detail

Heist Society 

By Ally Carter

Mystery/Contemporary fiction

4 out of 5 High heels and Diamonds

Review by Kate Coggins

Main character Katrina Bishop starts off as a girl in a standard boarding school.  She gets average grades and wears normal clothes but Katrina Bishop is not your typical girl. She belongs to a family of thieves and con men.  She has tried to leave this life behind, but when she is framed for something she did not do, Katrina has no choice but to get back into the game. As a world-traveling thief, her father made his share of enemies. Her father has made the leader of a mob, Arturo Tuccone, mad. Tuccone believes Katrinas father has stolen some priceless paintings from his mansion.  Katrina must figure out who really did steal the paintings, and then get them back to Tuccone or her father might get seriously hurt.

It gets even more complicated when Katrina realizes she needs to form a team without the help of her uncle.  The recruits are Gabrielle the blond haired, blue eyed long legged cousin, sure to draw some attention.  The twins, Hamish and Angus, are always getting into trouble with explosives or stealing unawarely from nuns.  Simon is the technology genius.  He is a nervous guy and is comfortable behind the scenes.  Hale,  is a good looking best friend who happens to be a million heir, but could he be more?  Then Nick, a new addition to their group, is a pick pocket from London and is slowly trying to win Katrinas love.  Who will Katrina choose, the friend who has always been there as just a friend or the exciting new guy? Together they travel the art world meeting excitement and adventure.

This intriguing 289-page mystery by Ally Carter is a wonderful example of what we all wish our lives were like, traveling from Italy to Germany on a private plane with just a few handsome guys as company on their way to spy and con.  It is narrated by the main character Katrina and is sometimes a little hard to follow.  She will hint at something but the reader has no idea and the next thing the reader knows, the characters are in Austria.  But it is still a great book.  E. Lockhart (author) said, Heist Society is an edge-of-your-seat caper with more twists than Oceans Eleven and cooler gadgets than Casino Royal.  Also cuter guys than either one.   Ally Carter also wrote] The Gallagher Girl books.  A fun series to read as well, and is coming out with a second book in the Heist Society called Uncommon Criminals expected to come out June 21st 2011.  I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of ten or eleven, and to people who like action, romance, and mystery.  This story reminds me of when I was little (or possibly yesterday, who really knows) and I snuck around the house in my moms high heels and make-up while talking into a walkie-talkie.  Ah, the good old days.  This book makes me want to do it all again.