Title: The Job (Kate O’Hare Book 3)
Author: Janet Evanovich
Published: 18 November 2014
Publisher: Headline
Twitter: @janetevanovich and @LeeGoldberg
Blog/website: www.evanovich.com and www.leegoldberg.com
Synopsis
He’s a charming con man and she’s a dedicated FBI agent, and they’re about to drive each other crazy . . . again! The FBI had one demand when they secretly teamed up Special Agent Kate O’Hare with charming con man Nicolas Fox—bring down the world’s most wanted and untouchable felons. This time it’s the brutal leader of a global drug-smuggling empire. The FBI doesn’t know what their target looks like, where he is, or how to find him, but Nick Fox has a few tricks up his sleeve to oust this particular Knipschildt chocolate loving drug lord.
From the streets of Nashville to the back alleys of Lisbon, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the middle of the Thames, Nick and Kate chase their mark. When they find themselves pitted against a psychopathic bodyguard and a Portuguese enforcer who gets advice from a pickled head, they decide it’s time to enlist some special talent—talent like a machete-wielding Somali pirate, a self-absorbed actor, an Oscar-winning special effects artist, and Kate’s father, Jake, a retired Special Forces operative. Together they could help make this Fox and O’Hare’s biggest win yet . . . if they survive.
Review
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Bantam Dell and NetGalley for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been a huge fan of Evanovich’s Plum series for a number of years, although I have not really rated the last few books, and I was therefore hugely excited to hear of another series from one of my favourite authors.
The Job is the third book in the Fox & O’Hare series. For this series, Evanovich has teamed up with Lee Goldberg, a screenwriter, TV producer and author, including the best-selling ‘Monk’ series.
If you haven’t read the first two books, I would recommend adding them to your TBR pile. Whilst the stories do stand alone, the earlier books provide you with a background explanation as to how and why Fox and O’Hare are working together.
The story follows a standard format for the series – FBI’s Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con-man & thief Nicolas Fox work together to capture some seriously bad criminals in an elaborately creative (and largely illegal) way.
The story has an ‘Oceans Eleven’ feeling in the use of Fox’s team of people, each with their own useful skills, including: Jake – O’Hare’s ex-special forces father, Willie – the driver, Tom – the carpenter and Boyd – the actor. Fox provides the genius behind the plan/con and the team to carry out the mission. O’Hare provides the funding, some amount of legality and gun power.
As expected, the team are met with a host of surprises and obstacles along the way, but the reader knows that they will come out triumphant in the end (I don’t think that I’m really spoiling the story by stating that obvious fact).
If you’ve read any of Evanovich’s books before, then you will have a good idea as to what you’re going to get out of this book. There is action & adventure within the main story, romance from the ongoing flirtation between Fox and O’Hare and humour in the situations that they get themselves caught up in.
The story is somewhat formulaic, however I think that there is a lot to like about this book. There is the ‘bad guy’ called Violante (a fitting name for an evil criminal), a mob enforcer who takes advice from a pickled head, elaborate cons, great interaction between all of the characters and the burgeoning relationship between Fox & O’Hare. I particularly liked that there were moments when I surprised myself by laughing out loud. This is a fast, fun and easy to read romp and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It does not have the silliness of the Plum series but is still a great light-hearted read.
I’m already looking forward to the next Fox and O’Hare adventure.
Rating: 4 out of 5
About the Author
Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Trouble Maker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, as well as the Fox and O’Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg.
New York Times Bestselling author Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee whose many TV writing and/or producing credits include “Martial Law,” “SeaQuest,” “Diagnosis Murder,””Hunter,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “Nero Wolfe,” “Missing.” “Monk” and “The Glades.” He’s also the author of the Fox & O’Hare series with Janet Evanovich (The Heist, The Chase, The Job), “The Walk,” “Watch Me Die,” “King City,” the “Dead Man” series, as well as the “Diagnosis Murder” and “Monk” series of original mystery novels.
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