Thursday, June 21, 2018

Female Con Artists Deliver Thrill Power

I recently watched the all-star female cast romp through "Ocean's 8," and it put me in the mood for more girl-power heist action. The thief/con artist protagonist is popular in fiction and film because we are willing to root for the lawless if they are clever and sympathetic--and if the target is especially unsympathetic, such as a wicked rich person, criminal or corrupt institution. It is especially satisfying when the erstwhile Robin Hood represents the powerless--and I think being female qualifies. When it comes to female-heist books, Bustle Digital Group conveniently put together some suggestions. For example, here's a timely novel from 2016: The Assistants by Camille Perri is about a band of executive assistants who take on their bosses and plot to skim money from their employers to pay off their student loans! In last year's The Ultimatum by best-selling author Karen Robards, Bianca St. Ives has been a con artist prodigy in her scammer father's "family business" but seeks to turn over a new leaf when her father is killed on the job. Alas, the U.S. government thinks he's alive, and Bianca is trapped in a new, dangerous game. A similar plot is featured in Heist Society by best-selling author Ally Carter: Katarina Bishop has been stealing and scamming from childhood but is trying to leave that life behind by enrolling in boarding school--only to be snared in new trouble when a powerful mobster's art is stolen, and her father is the main suspect. Now if you want to be inspired by real-life lady scammers, check out this Mental Floss post about 10 famous female con artists. Some come to a bad end (hanged, beheaded, dying in prison, etc.), but others end up with fame and fortune like the phony "Princess Carabou." And a select few jog the course of history, such as doomed Queen Marie Antoinette's "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" nemesis and Ronald Reagan's iconic "Welfare Queen." See http://mentalfloss.com/article/61868/10-exceptionally-clever-female-con-artists

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Political Thriller Romps Unlike Our Real Ones

If you're like me, you want a summer beach read that will help you forget the current circus of our divisive politics. I assumed that a political thriller would be last book to fit that escapist urge. But, surprise, there are new mystery/thriller books that are both political and capable of taking the reader away to a place of heroism, humor and happy endings. Start with the thriller by former President Bill Clinton and best-selling author James Patterson. Try to ignore Clinton's problematic book tour and any bias you have about the former commander in chief because The President Is Missing is, in the words of the New York Times reviewer, "wildly readable." Its hero, President Jonathan Lincoln Duncan, is so worried about a potentially crippling cyberterror attack that he decides to ditch his protective detail and try to contact the shadowy figures who know about the threat on his own. Readers will enjoy rooting for the presidential character, described by the NYT reviewer as brimming "with humanity, character and stoicism," as he dodges an assassin's bullets and seeks to unmask a traitor in his inner circle of advisers. If you want to step further into fantasy, pick up this improbable, politically inspired mystery: Hope Never Dies by best-selling author Andrew Shaffer. The comic crime tale starts a few months after the 2016 presidential election as former Vice President Joe Biden turns amateur sleuth to investigate the suspicious death of his favorite Amtrak conductor. Naturally, Joe turns to his cerebral buddy former President Barack Obama for help! Or perhaps you long for a covert U.S.-Russia confrontation where the Americans come out on top. Try veteran thriller writer Brad Thor's Spymaster, another entry in his Scot Harvath series. Across Europe, a secret organization has begun attacking diplomats. Meanwhile, Russia implements a daring plan to draw the U.S. into war. It's up to counter-terrorism operative Scot Harvath to once again save the day! For more new (and non-political) mystery/thrillers, see https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/summer-reads-2018/mystery