Book Review: "The Heist"

"The Heist" by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
First published in 2013
295 pages
My rating: 3.5 out of 5
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The storyline of Janet Evanovich's latest work -- the first installment in a new series co-written with Monk author Lee Goldberg -- was clever and intriguing. But it seemed to lack Evanovich's trademark razzle-dazzle and humor, and there wasn't a whole lot of suspense. It was a cute and easy read, but it was actually a little bit... boring?

FBI agent Kate O'Hare is a tough-as-nails former Navy SEAL whose one mission in life is catching handsome, brilliant con man Nick Fox. When she finally does apprehend him, things don't go the way she expected. Rather than sending Nick to prison, Kate's bosses enlist Nick to be Kate's partner for an off-the-books mission to catch an investment banker who swindled people out of millions and is hiding on a private Indonesian island.

Nick devises an elaborate con to get back the stolen $500 million, and Kate and Nick assemble a rag-tag team of players to pull off the scheme -- which involves sets, makeup, fake blood, acting and lots of money. All the while, there's a sexual chemistry between Nick and Katie which will most certainly play out as the series progresses.

Janet Evanovich was once my favorite author, and I desperately wanted to love this book. But "The Heist" just fell short for me. It didn't make me laugh or swoon or sit on the edge of my seat frantically skimming pages to get to the climax. It was just okay.