Heist Society

by Ally Carter.

Perhaps my second favorite book of the summer. A fast-paced book about a group of young thieves.

Think Da Vinci Code (for the art) plus the Ocean movies (for making thievin' look cool as hell) and maybe a bit of the Bourne movies (just because they're cool movies about being on the run). Oh, and that TV series that I watched a few times about a family of con-artists who assume the identity of a dead family. He becomes a lawyer... I don't know, but I like the primary actor a lot. Great comedian.

Kat Bishop was born into a family of thieves and con-artists. Not bad check writing type. Not the type that steal your credit card numbers. Not the type that scam the elderly. Not the type that steals TVs or computers and sells them from the back of the truck. (And, no, not dream thieves, Inception fans.)

High-end thieves. Swiss banks. Crown jewels. Artwork by the Masters: da Vinci, Raphael, Degas...

Kat loves her family-her father, her Uncle Eddie, her too-beautiful cousin, Gabrielle, the Bag boys-, but she longs for something different. Using all of her con-artist skills she gains not only admission into one of America's most prestigious boarding schools, but also the disapproval and censure of her family. She comes to appreciate the predictability of her life as a student until she is framed, and consequently expelled, for a school prank involving the destruction of one vintage Porshe owned by the headmaster.

Interestingly enough, though, this is not what the book is about. After her expulsion, Kat discovers that her father is suspected of stealing five Masterpieces, and the owner wants them back. Because he is tied up (under surveillance by the Interpol, actually), Kat must take on the mystery herself - with the help of her young family and friends. Not only must she find out who the real thief is, she also must devise a way to steal the paintings back. Her father's safety depends on it.

This was a great, fun read. A mystery to unravel. Cool tricks and technology to contemplate. A splash of romance. An evil bad guy. I wish the cover wasn't so feminized because this book could bring in a fairly large male audience as well. I wish it had gone into a little more detail: more detail on how the heist was done, more detail into relationships, but now that I think about it the Bourne Identity (book) went into too much detail, and I didn't like that. Regardless, I eagerly await a sequel. Also, if you liked the Frankie-Landau-Banks book, you will definitely like this one (imho).

Grade: A+

The London Eye Mystery

by Siobhan Dowd

Ted (a boy whose age I can't recall and perhaps was not even mentioned) is the u-neek-ique protagonist in this mystery. Ted and his family, mom, dad, and sister Kat, live in London. Before his aunt and cousin leave to follow his aunt's career in NYC, they come to visit. Aunt Gloria is overly dramatic and pushy. Salim, Ted's teenaged cousin, is super cool and down-to-earth.Salim is reluctantly moving to America, and on their last full day in England he requests that they take a ride on the London Eye. Some gigantic Ferris-wheel type of ride, which sounds totally cool and awesome. And I always wanted to go to London, but now I want to go even more. Back to the book: Kat (Ted's sister), Ted, and Salim wait in line (or queue for tickets, since it is British) for tickets and a man approaches them. He has one ticket for free, any takers? Discouraged by the super long line, they decide that Salim should take it. Kat and Ted have already been on it anyway, and it would save money.

Thirty minutes after boarding, Salim's "pod" (Ferris carriage thing) lands.

And he's not on it.

What ensues is the unraveling of a mystery and insight into a family's interactions during a traumatic crisis. What you also see at work is Ted's unusual thought processes, his reactions to the world around him, and his growing relationship with his sister Kat.
Well-written, and an intriguing look into Ted's mind.

Grade: B+

Cool Looks at the London Eye

The photo "London eye" is copyright 2008 by **maurice** and made available under Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution.
The photo "London Eye" is copyright 2009 by "apdk" (Anthony Kelly) and made available under Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution.

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.

This is a reread for me. I was inspired to read this again after reading The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp. Also release of the Angels and Demons movie is soon, and it's always nice to be able to remember the story line before you go to the theatre (at least in my opinion).

I think I liked this book a lot more the first time around, but I still think it has more excitement in it than The DaVinci Code. However, I felt that The DaVinci Code felt more intellectual.

Grade: A-

(BTW, this is book #39 since last June.)

Circle of Blood (YA)

Circle of Blood by Alane Ferguson

Another forensic mystery solved by Cameron Mahoney! That's right. Our modern day Nancy Drew is back and truly better than ever.

Cameron is dealing with all of the difficult emotions of being reunited with her mother when the small town of Silverton is once again the sight of a murder mystery. A young girl is shot, or is it suicide? Cameron's mother is somehow involved in this whole mess, but Cameron is determined to solve the crime in order to save her mother from any implication of murder.

All in all, this is the best Cameron Mahoney mystery yet. Why? 1) This one had some great stomach turning autopsy description. 2) Cameron makes mistakes typical of a teenager. 3) Really believable plot concerning the murder.* 4) Cameron uses technology more frequently than before.**

Grade: A-

*And when I say the plot line is believable, I mean that I have seen familiar crime plots on various crime shows, which may or may not have been ripped from the headlines.
** I feel that YA literature is still catching up to technology. It's nice to see the frequent references to Google, e-mail, and texting in a story line. This type of instantaneous information retrieval is now a part of life.

The Angel of Death (YA)

The Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson

This book continues the adventures of Cameryn Mahoney, a teenager who is also the assistant to the local coroner. In this episode, Cammie is determined to get to the bottom of her English teacher's enigmatic death. The first book was The Christopher Killer, which was a great name in my opinion. Regardless of title quality, this is a new great Nancy Drew series for the CSI set.

Cameryn Mahoney ... Nancy Drew
Assistant to Coroner ... Detective
Single Dad ... Widowed Father
Dad is the Coroner ... Dad is a lawyer whose clients often have mysteries
Grandmother ... Hannah, the Drew housekeeper
Lyric, best friend ... George and Bess
Deputy Justin Crowley ... Ned Nickerson
Some sexual tension ... Ned was a basketball player & Nancy and Ned were obviously only interested in holding hands.

These are fun and fast reads, although I would love it if they came with a bit more science and forensics than they currently do. At times the language can be a bit heavy-handed with the metaphors.
"She knew folks in Silverton whispered about her all the time, under their breaths, their words falling like snowflakes only to melt beneath her resolve." (3)
"She tried to swallow down the hot broth of anxiety rising from her stomach." (208)

Grade: A-