Heiress Takes All - Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka.

Heiress Takes All is a new teen novel from the husband and wife team Emily Wibberley Austin Siegemund-Broka.

Teen fictions are my 'get away from it all' reads. And I love 'heist' books and movies. So, a stormy day found me happily picking up Heiress Takes All.

All of the hallmarks of a YA read are there...

The protagonist is 17 year old Olivia. Her wealthy father is getting married for the third time. A huge wedding is planned - while Olivia and her mom struggle with a mountain of medical bills. And so...the heist is born. She's brought in an eclectic crew, but she is the only one with the big picture. I have to admit that I didn't overly like Olivia. The supporting cast is made up of the expected gang - a hacker, a driver etc.

Romance is, of course, a large part of the book. Lots of yes, no, maybe so. Perhaps this could have been tightened up a bit. But again, I'm not a teenager any more!

The authors throw in some twists in the final chapters that were quite good. And it looks like the door might be open to a second book - and another heist?

Plausible? Well, a few grains of salt might be needed, but just go the the flow. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Heiress Takes All. 

The Housekeepers - Alex Hay

Oh. My. Gosh. The Housekeepers is Alex Hay's brilliant debut novel. 

Say the word 'heist' and I'll watch it, or in this case, read it. (Plus that cover caught my eye.) 

Hay's heist takes place in 1905 London England. Hay does a wonderful job of bringing the time and place to life. Society and mores of the time play a large part in this tale. There's the rich, who want for nothing. And then there are the staff, those who cater to every whim and want of the upper-class. And then there's those outside the manor who do what they need to survive - the con men, thieves and more. 

Hay has created some truly memorable characters, each with their own reasons to undertake the heist of all heists. Mrs. King is the driving force behind the group of six women, all looking for retribution. There are tangled threads of connections amongst them that I didn't see coming. 

Their plan is audacious and bold and the reader can't help but behind them. The details of the 'how' are wonderfully imagined. 

From the author's notes - "And the thrill and joy of writing this novel was to imagine what might have happened if some of the women working below stairs had decided to claim some of that privilege for themselves."

What a inventive, ingenious, captivating read The Housekeepers was! Definitely in my top five for the year. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Housekeepers. 

I received a review copy of this title from the publisher. This in no way influences my opinions. 

The Last Hack - Christopher Brookmyre

The Last Hack is the 8th book in Christopher Brookmyre's Jack Parlabane series. This was the first time I've read a book by this author.

Nineteen year old Sam Morpeth's mother is in jail, leaving her as the sole caregiver for her challenged sister. With that, her university plans are out the window. To look at her, you'd never know that Sam is a hacker - a really good hacker. After all - "There are no women on the Internet." But, after her group causes chaos by hacking into a prominent institution, it turns out that someone has discovered who 'Buzzkill' really is. That someone has decided to blackmail Sam - 'do as I say or I'll reveal who you are - and then where would your sister be.' What does the blackmailer want? The impossible - to steal a prototype from a seemingly impenetrable company.

Sam knows she can't pull it off on her own - so she reveals her real life persona to Parlabane who has used her hacker skills in his investigative journalism. She 'convinces' Jack that he needs to work with her......or....

Sam was a great lead character - I liked the duality of her persona - online and offline. Brookmyre has taken the time to flesh this character out and make her believable. As mentioned, this is my first introduction to Jack Parlabane. He's sketchy, driven, resourceful, talented and although he's not necessarily likeable, I really liked him as a lead.

"The phrase 'veteran reporter' has already been used, which he is not delighted about, but he is sufficiently familiar with the terms 'disgraced reporter' and 'former reporter' to make his peace with it."

The interactions between the two worked well and the underlying secondary plotline brought a personal note to the novel.

I'm not much of a 'techie', so some of what they were up to went over my head. (Although I did pick up some security tips along the way!) Brookmyre never bogs down the plot or pace with too much technical detail. That plot is fairly involved and fast moving. We are presented with many choices along the way as to who is the blackmailer and my guess changed many times. What is scary is that Brookmyre's imaginings are probably not that far removed from reality.

I have a weakness for 'heist' movies and The Last Hack is at it's heart, a quintessential heist novel. And a darn good one. I can see this one as a movie as well. Read an excerpt of The Last Hack.

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules - Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

As I've mentioned before, I have a fondness for heist tales, be it book or movie. Well, Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg has come out with a fun caper story, with a twist - The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules.

Seventy nine old Martha and her four friends reside at the Diamond Retirement Home in Sweden. The administrators  running the home have slowly but surely eroded the seniors' enjoyment of life, through tasteless meals, strict rules, rising costs and worse. They're bored. Surely even prisoners are treated better than they are!

Hang on....what if? You can see it coming, can't you.....

Martha and her newly formed League of Pensioners gang come up with a plan. They'll commit robberies and have themselves sent to prison. Surely they'll be treated better there! And a little bit of extra cash wouldn't go amiss either.

And half the fun is in the planning. Who is going to suspect five old folks with walkers? Well, it turns out they have a knack for crime, although their plans don't always execute quite the way they intended..

What I really enjoyed were the seniors themselves, their thoughts, interactions and desire to live an interesting, full, rich life despite their advancing age. I think older people are discounted far too often. Ingleman-Sundberg's take on her seniors' lives has a large dose of truth woven throughout. Her imaginings of what they might do to change their circumstances were really quite entertaining. For me, not quite the laugh out loud funny mentioned on the cover blurbs, but definitely charming. You'll be cheering for the 'gang'.

Being a crime fiction fanatic, I had to stop myself from picking apart plot points that were a bit far-fetched in places and just go with the story. Although, I can see this being made into a movie - and it would be fun to cast. There seem to be a lot of 'feisty old folks' films being produced lately.

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules is a bestseller in Sweden (1.2 million copies sold!). I found the translation to English a bit wooden in spots and some references may have been 'lost in translation. If you enjoyed The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Window and Disappeared, you might enjoy this book. Read an excerpt of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules.

Duke City Split - Max Austin - Review

I admit to having a fondness for 'heist' tales - movies and books. So I was drawn to Max Austin's (a nom de plume of Steve Brewer) new eBook Duke City Split.

Bud Knox is a stay at home dad to his two girls while his wife works as a real estate agent. But over the last fifteen years, Bud has supplemented their household income.....by robbing banks. He and his partner Mick are careful and cautious about the jobs they do. Until the day Mick suggests a job worth millions. But it's local - and can they trust the kid who brought the idea to them?

And because it's a heist tale - you just know things aren't going to go smoothly......

Austin throws in lots of hurdles for out intrepid pair - the Mob, the FBI, crooked guards - and that inexperienced third partner. As is the case with caper tales, I found myself rooting for Bud and Mick to 'get away with it'.

Austin has created a likable duo with Bud and Mick. They're polar opposites, but both have redeeming qualities. Mick is the physical one out of the pair, ready with his fists or a gun. Bud, not so much. But they are fiercely loyal to each other. The relationship between Bud and his wife was surprisingly portrayed, with lots of sharing and caring - not quite what I had expected. Of the two, I found myself drawn to Bud.

Duke City Split was a fun, quick (255 pages) read that moved quickly. And I can absolutely it on the screen. Austin says this is the first in a planned trilogy, with Duke City Hit, coming out next December.

To See what others on the TLC book tour thought. Full schedule can be found here. And Random House has put together a great giveaway as well. A Grand Prize of a $30 egiftcard to the eBook retailer of the winner's choice, and a First Prize Mystery Prize Pack of mystery paperbacks from Random House: The Alpine Xanadu, Dying for Chocolate and A Bat in the Belfry.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ghostman - Roger Hobbs

Learn from my mistakes. It was almost bedtime, but I thought I would sample a few chapters of Ghostman by Roger Hobbs before calling it a night. Yeah, good plan - didn't work. And I was very bleary eyed at work the next morning.

Atlantic City. The perfect heist, perfectly planned- treasury bills on their way to a casino. But.....the best laid schemes of mice and men....

When things go horribly wrong, Marcus, the orchestrator (jugmarker) of the heist gets in touch with 'Jack' (aren't all the best anti-heroes named Jack?!) in hopes of salvaging part of his plan. Jack owes Marcus for something that happened on another job. Since that job Jack has disappeared - like a ghost.

"My name isn't really Jack. My name isn't John, George, Robert, Michael or Steven, either. It isn't any of the names that appear on my drivers licenses and it isn't on my passports or credit cards. My real name isn't anywhere, except maybe on a college diploma and a couple of school records in my safety-deposit box. Jack Delton was just an alias, and it was long since retired. I'd used it for a job five years ago and never again since......Only two people in the world knew that name."

Jack is caught between warring criminals, his own proclivity for living on the edge and the past. We slowly learn what happened in the botched robbery five years ago and how Jack came to be the Ghostman.

Hobbs had me hooked from page one. The opening scenes are action filled, addictive and set the pace for the rest of the book. The story never falters or stalls and had me enthralled until I (reluctantly) turned the last page. The plot twists and turns in unexpected directions, taking the reader on a thrill packed ride.

Hobbs has obviously done a great deal of research into the criminal underworld of robberies, casinos, security and more. (Who knew you could kill someone with nutmeg?) The details included are fascinating and really add depth to the story. This is not a glossed over paint by the numbers plot. In fact, I stopped at one point to go online and read about the author. I really could not believe this was a debut novel.

"Roger Hobbs graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 2011, where he majored in English. His first book, GHOSTMAN, was written during the summer between his junior and senior years at Reed. He spent the school year rewriting it and editing. The manuscript was sent off on the day he graduated​. A few weeks later it caused an uproar at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, and has since sold in more than fifteen countries around the world."

Who is going to love this book? Well, in my opinion, everyone. But if you're a  fan of  Reacher and the 'Oceans' heist movies, then this is one for you. I absolutely loved it - Five stars all the way.

Roger Hobbs: "My protagonist may be on the other side of the law from Lee's (Childs) heroic Jack Reacher, but he's just as smart, rough and principled. If I can get anyone to stay up all night reading, then I've done my job." Job done, Roger - in spades. More please.

Read an excerpt of The Ghostman. You can find Hobbs on Facebook and Twitter.