Heist Society by Ally Carter

Title: Heist Society

Author: Ally Carter

Published: February 2010

Source: The Library

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip 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 best 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 good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. 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 history-or at least her family's (very crooked) history. 

Heist Society is a fast, fun read that transports you into the world of professional thieves: who are teenagers. I really enjoyed the concept, but some things just didn't really seem to click for me.

I thought that Carter could have gone deeper into the back-story. We know that Kat's father is a thief, we know that her uncle is too, but that's about all that we know about them. As well as Kat's mother. Some things I just didn't feel were fully explained, and I wanted to know more.

I really liked Kat, she's a no nonsense type of girl who can really kick butt and hold her own against the bad guys. Hale was an intriguing character, but I don't think that I ever really got to know him. I didn't have much of a connection with the other supporting characters either, which is one of the things I like best about the Gallagher Girls series.

The plot was nicely paced and played out, and the whole book was very interesting, I guess I was just looking for more meat. Maybe I'll get those connections in the sequel(s), which I am looking forward to.


Characters: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Originality: 8/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 42/50 B
Cover Comments: Love it! I love the expression and the glasses with the reflection, everything!