Perfect Scoundrels

Author: Ally Carter
First Published: February 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Series: Heist Society #3
349 pages (paperback)

I love the Heist Society series, and I'm ashamed to say, I didn't realize book three had been out for so long already. I didn't really remember a lot of the details of books one and two, so I spent a whole day re-reading Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals (which are still as fabulous and fun to read as ever) to prep myself for Perfect Scoundrels.

Perfect Scoundrels was a brilliant read, but it was definitely different from the first two books. The first two books had memorable, huge heists. The Henley job. The Cleopatra Emerald job. But in this book, I don't think there was a true heist, though of course, there's a lot of conning and thieving still. In book three, things get personal.

The story begins with Hale unexpectedly discovering that his beloved grandmother, Hazel, has died. To his (and everyone's) surprise, her will states that Hale Industries will be left entirely to Hale, with the family lawyer, Mr. Garrett, as the trustee until Hale becomes of age. As Hale copes with the loss of his grandmother and his new role as the CEO of a mega-corporation, Kat makes a startling discovery: Hazel's will was forged!

Kat's put in an awkward position. How is she supposed to tell her maybe-boyfriend that he might not actually be the CEO? That somebody is using him?

With the help of her usual crew, Kat tries to find the real will without alerting Hale's suspicions. The search leads to a much larger mission where the entirety of Hale Industries is at stake. One wrong move and Kat and her entire thieving family may also be exposed to the world for what they really are.

I personally feel that this story was less heist-y than the previous two. It was more like a mystery novel to me. Not that that's a terrible thing; I actually really enjoyed this book and it's sort of nice to have a different experience from the typical big heist stories. Also, Hale. My favourite fictional character ... heh. Enough said about that.

This book expanded on Kat and Hale's relationship much more, and each one as individual characters. Kat's not sure if the two of them are a couple or not for a majority of the story, but by the end, Kat and Hale have reached a firm conclusion on their relationship status. I really love how it took them three books to figure out whether or not they want to be with one another. In a lot of YA novels, the leading female and male just to get together way too quickly, way too much in love too fast. Usually it's unbelievable. But Kat and Hale's relationship is just perfect to me. Nothing too cheesy, nothing too quick.

I also loved how this third book finally brought Kat's entire family into the spotlight more. You know, in the first two books, you hear a lot about how the rest of the family are infamous thieves, legends even. But it's not until this third book that you see them in action. Really, it's quite touching, everyone banding together for one of their own. Oh I know, Hale is not really related to any of them by blood, but as the character reiterate over and over again, Hale's a part of their world; he is family. And yes, he also happens to fund a lot of their thieving adventures, but that's besides the point, haha.

As for the actual plot, like I said, this was not a true heist story in my opinion, but I did like the mystery and the chase. There's a lot more conning in this book, which is always fun. And the Henley makes a brief cameo again, haha. I was mildly disappointed that they didn't steal anything in this book, because that's what I've come to associate the Heist Society series with, but overall, I'm very satisfied. A fun, fast read.

Now I must go catch up with the rest of Ally Carter's books ... apparently she's also released an entirely new series while I was, I don't know, hiding under a rock or something.

My Rating: