Early Review of The Job (Fox and O'Hare, #3) by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Title: The Job: A Fox and O'Hare Novel

Classification: Adult Fiction

Genre: Mystery
Series: Fox and O'Hare
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Bantam (November 18, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0345543122
ISBN-13: 978-0345543127

Authors' Websites:
Janet Evanovich - http://www.evanovich.com/
Lee Goldberg - http://www.leegoldberg.com/

Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher.

Special Agent Kate O'Hare is once again about to team up with her former arch rival, criminal mastermind, Nicholas Fox. Paired together by the FBI, they've been recruited for a series of under-the-table missions to go after a class of criminals that operate outside the reach of the law. People who are so rich and powerful that they can manipulate the legal system so they never have to answer for their crimes, assuming that they're ever caught. This time, however, the case takes on a personal note. Lester Menendez is a smart, vicious, and sadistic drug lord who enjoys torturing and playing with his victims before killing them. If he finds your services no longer needed you more than likely will meet with an agonizing death. Menendez believes, like the Boy Scouts, in leaving no trace. Menendez, however, has expanded that to include anyone who could recognize or pin something on him. He's like a ghost which everyone knows about, but is invisible in many ways. No photographs, fingerprints, or DNA evidence exists to link him to his crimes.

When one of Fox's former team members alerts him of the death of her brother at Menendez's hand, he and Kate decide it's time for Menendez to be taken down. With the unofficial support of the FBI behind them, they're about to take down one of the world's most wanted, elusive, and dangerous criminals or die trying, 

This is the third book of the Fox and O'Hare series and once again Evanovich and Goldberg have created a wonderful and highly entertaining story that has you wondering what will happen next while laughing your you know what off. In this book, Fox and Kate pose as a married couple who have found sunken treasure on the high seas and need someone to secretly bankroll the operation to retrieve the treasure without anyone being the wiser. Know your mark is the first rule of thumb a con man learns and Nick Fox is no novice in the art of conning. He'll use what he knows about Menendez to capture the man.

So what makes this series special besides the incredibly intricate and funny cons? Well, part of it is the underlying sexual tension between Fox and O'Hare. Kate is a straight laced, by-the-book type of agent who never deviated far from what is right. Nick's influence, however, is starting to wear off on her and he's slowly corrupting her, but in what appears to be a good way. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Nick and the FBI hashed out their plan to use him to go after the criminals who were untouchable. I can't help but think if Nick truly wanted to get out of anywhere he could have managed it on his own. He strikes me as an overly intelligent rich man who was bored and found pleasure in conning people. Not quite a Robin Hood, but I have a feeling as the series progresses, we're going to find out many more surprising things about Nick. I think the Topkapi Daggar theft, is only the cutting edge of what is to be revealed.

Another aspect of the series I love is all the little trivia like facts that are included within each story. I actually watched one episode of the Man from Atlantis and didn't realize at the time it was Patrick Duffy who played the main character. Plus, many of the artifacts, such as the Topkapi Dagger, actually exist. Others, such as the sunken ship, Nuestra Senora de Santa Maria, have a slightly altered name and history from what I can only guess to be their real-life counterparts. While I could find nothing on the Nuestra Señora de Santa Maria, a ship bearing the name Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, which sank off Cape Santa Maria in Portugal, had a similar lawsuit which was won by the Spanish government against the salvage team who found and recovered its treasure.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. It well paced, funny, and smartly written. I love the chemistry between Nick and Kate and hope we'll see this relationship evolve in the near future. I look forward to the next installment of this series and the next crazy scam these two will pull in the name of justice. Definitely the type of series I recommend reading to put you in a good mood.

Notes to Keep You in the Know:
To learn more about the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, check out the following link to an article by CNN on the lawsuit:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/world/europe/spain-u-s--treasure-dispute/

Order of the series:

Short stories associated with the series: