0
0
If you’ve read author Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, you know her for her outrageously over-the-top sense of humor. But there’s more to the author than just wacky crime comedies—as she once again proves with The Job, her latest Fox and O’Hare caper, written with co-author Lee Goldberg.
The story finds FBI agent Kate O’Hare and con man Nick Fox teaming up to capture another international criminal. A series of copycat thefts around the world leads the pair to one of Nick’s former colleagues, who asks for their help in bringing down notorious drug lord Lester Menendez—the man who killed her brother.
Since he was last seen, Menendez has changed his name, altered his identity, and gone into hiding in an unknown location, so it’ll take some extra effort—and just the right team—to track him down. Then, once they find him, it’ll take an elaborate con to bring him to justice.
In their third full-length adventure, the Fed-and-con-man team once again blurs the lines of legality as they set out to capture a ruthless criminal. Though O’Hare was once more of a by-the-book kind of agent and Fox was once a successful con man, together, they work in the gray areas, doing whatever it takes to get the job done. This time around, that means stealing precious artifacts, buying stolen goods, and doing business with some pretty unseemly characters. But that’s what makes their adventures so much fun to follow: because you never know where the next mission will take them—or how far they’ll go to bring down the bad guys.
In a way, The Job feels like one of George Clooney’s Oceans movies. Nick Fox is Clooney-cool, and he tends to surround himself with eccentric supporting characters—everyone from Oscar winners to Somali pirates. And while the story was written with a fun-loving sense of humor, it’s still a clever caper. Fox and O’Hare don’t fly by the seat of their pants the way that Stephanie Plum does. They’re trained professionals who are dealing with some vicious criminals—and, in life or death circumstances like these, each job requires careful planning (as well as multiple back-up plans). So although it’s a light and amusing read, it’s still pretty thrilling, too.
Admittedly, the story’s nagging similarities to USA Network’s White Collar can still be frustrating. But The Job is a smart and entertaining caper—another fun-filled adventure with a quirky cast of characters.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
