Early Review of The Scam ( Fox and O'Hare # 4) by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Title: The Scam: A Fox and O'Hare Novel
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Series: Fox and O'Hare (Book 4)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Bantam (September 15, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0345543165
ISBN-13: 978-0345543165
Janet Evanovich's website: http://www.evanovich.com/
Lee Goldberg's website: http://www.leegoldberg.com/
Notes: Received an eARC loan from the publisher for review purposes.


Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent wrapped up in a rather enticing package. She's smart, beautiful, strong, and able to use all that to her advantage when going after her target. Growing up in a family of strong military men who wished to impart some of their knowledge to her, they had her throwing grenades and shooting guns at a very young age. She can take a punch and give one without breaking a nail. She's the only agent to bring down the notorious Nicolas Fox and she'd be every bad boys dream if only she wasn't  a straight-laced by-the-book FBI agent.

Nicolas Fox is the opposite of Kate in almost every respect. He's good-looking, charming, laid-back, and could lie his way into or out of anything with the proper incentive thrown at him. Lately, Kate has been the center of his attention. While he may never truly get the craving for the thrill of the con out of his system, he's now using his powers for good, and keeping his boredom at bay by targeting people on the wrong side of the law. Working with Kate as part of the plea bargain he made with the FBI, their latest assignment is to bring down Evan Trace.

Evan Trace owns several boutique casinos in Las Vegas and Macau that launder money for terrorists, mobsters, drug lords, etc. The FBI has no doubt that some of those funds have been used to finance acts of terrorism against the United States which is why he's being targeted. Evan is sharp as a whip and ruthless with no qualms about eliminating anyone who gets in his way or double crosses him. Kate and Nick will have to try to keep one step ahead of him in order to take him out and put an end to his illegal dealings.

This was another fun, fly by the seat of your pants wild ride, er, read and the fourth installment of the Fox and O'Hare series. In this book, Kate and Nick have to do some fast talking and fancy footwork to keep ahead of the game. What looks like a straight forward con soon becomes complicated when someone fingers them as not being who they say they are. Twists and turns ensue, and the scam they devised needs to quickly be revised to spread a much larger net then they previously intended. Guns go off, explosions are had, bad guys abound, and.....well, you'll have to read to find out more. *smirk*

With a fast pace, loads of humor, and a chemistry between Kate and Nick that is fun to watch, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. Be forewarned, however, that the book has a killer cliff hanger ending that made me want the next book yesterday. If you're looking for a lighthearted read that will leave you in a good mood, then I recommend you check this one out. Oh, and is it just me or does anyone else gets the urge to eat a Toblerone after reading this one? *smile*

Notes to Keep You in the Know:

Talk about timing... recently, a heist in Macau transpired where millions went missing. The scam perpetrated reportedly involved a casino junket. You can read more at: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/30/asia/macau-junket-missing-millions/

"Lying 65km to the west of Hong Kong, Macau is a city of duality. Its fortresses, churches and the culinary traditions of its former Portuguese colonial masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. These are intermixed with the customs, alleys, temples and shrines of its Chinese heritage. On the other hand, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macau is the ‘Vegas of the East’, the only place in China where gambling is legal.

Taipa was once two islands that were slowly joined together by silt from the Pearl River. A similar physical joining has happened to Taipa and Coloane because of land reclamation from the sea. The new strip of land joining the two islands is known as Cotai (from Co-loane and Tai-pa). Taipa has rapidly urbanised and it’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago it was an island of duck farms and boat yards. The small island of Coloane was a haven for pirates until 1910. Today it retains Macau’s old way of life, though luxurious villas are finding their way onto the island."

To learn more about Macau and see pictures, visit http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/macau (website where the above information was found.)

Order of the series:

Short stories associated with the series: