Review: Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3) by Ally Carter

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter
Publisher: Orchard
Publication date: February 7th 2013.
My rating: 4 stars

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting--or stealing--whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir--this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.

Perfect Scoundrels in my opinion is the best from Ally Carter in the Heist Society series yet. I had my initial doubts when picking this up as Uncommon Criminals didn’t pack the punch that I’d expected; but Perfect Scoundrels was one heck of a thrilling ride and went onto show me why I fell in love with this series in the first place.

Kat Bishop is back, but this time the con she has to deal with is a lot closer to home, Hale’s grandma’s will is suggested to be a fake, all the evidence on the contrary suggests so too. Kat knows it’s a con she must figure out, but doing so could hurt someone really close to her; Hale, he’s been left in charge of Hale industries, so she doesn’t want this to be true either, and the only way she can get to the bottom of this is by behind his back, something she doesn’t want to do either, so what’s a girl like Kat to do?

It was great fun being back with the gang again, they found themselves in an unusual situation, Kat and her friends were known for being the greatest thieves, they had robbed the Henley, something which had never been done before. But now they had it all to deal with, Kat had to risk losing her friendship with Hale or Hale losing everything. As far as cons went this time, the gang definitely found themselves buried deep.

Returning characters made Perfect Scoundrels a hoot of a read, the banter back and forth, the comradeship between Kat’s friends and family made me realise how much I missed being around them. But the series of events which occurred definitely had a damaging effect on one of my favourite characters; Hale. In the previous two books I adored Hale’s humour and his attitude to life, he was laid back, never fretted about anything and took everything in his stride. But after losing his grandma Hale was a lost and vulnerable boy, and I hated seeing this side of him. He was torn between staying true to his family, a family that had been out of the picture and his family he had made in the last two years with the Bishops. It was a tough con for everyone to deal with but especially poor Hale. The fun Heist books, we all had come to know and love, for the first time dealt with serious and heart breaking undertones.

Despite my heart crumbling throughout most of the book, Ally Carter also had me thoroughly surprised by upping her cons. A few times I had a couple of ideas which way things would go but I was totally off the mark. The surprises kept on coming right until the very end.

Perfect Scoundrels was an exciting follow up to Uncommon Criminals, I have secret hopes that Carter decides to continue with this wonderful series as I can’t wait to see what Kat and the rest of the gang find themselves caught up in next time.