The Ninja Reviews. . .Heist Society by Ally Carter

If you saw my blog about the books I’m most looking forward to in 2010, then you will remember that Heist Society by Ally Carter was right up there at the top of my list. I LOVE Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series so I was curious to see what else she had up her writer’s sleeve. Well, my little peeps, I was not disappointed.

Katarina Bishop is a normal fifteen-year-old girl (if you consider being a cat burglar of the first order normal). You see she is part of an elite crime family who has been responsible for some of the most infamous art thefts in history. But she has decided to leave her life of crime behind and run away to an exclusive boarding school on the East coast. Just when she believes her life has become the boring and staid existence she longs for, events beyond her control yank her security out from under her and thrust her head-first back into the life she swore to leave behind.

Kat’s father is accused of stealing four paintings from a private collector, the notoriously evil mob boss, Arturo Taccone. Taccone locates Kat and insists that he will harm her father if she does not find his missing paintings. The problem is his paintings were last seen 60 years ago in Nazi Germany. How is Kat going to steal back stolen paintings? Well, she is going to have to gather her family and friend, Hale (the hunky boy who might or might not be her boyfriend), and plan the scam of the century. Throw in a little betrayal , the Louvre, and Interpol agents and you have the perfect recipe for a brainteasing thriller of a story. Think: a teenage version of Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen!

This is a very fast paced and jet setting novel. I love that the action in the novel takes place during the two-week deadline set by Taccone. Ally has even grouped the chapters in such a way as to show what each day of the countdown to the deadline brings. I also love that Kat and her gang are running all over Europe and the United States trying to put together the perfect operation. I truly appreciate stories with historical significance and Ally does a great job bringing to light the continuous search for family treasures stolen by the Nazis during World War II. Oh, and FYI, the movie rights for Heist Society have already been purchased so read it before you see it.

Review written by Angela