At first glance, The Heist promises to be about the thrilling adventures of FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare as she chases down international crook Nicolas Fox. Of course it doesn’t hurt that Nick is handsome and charmingly appealing to even tough-girl Kate—oh wait, yes, that is a problem.
Kate and Nick have a history. Kate’s mission for the past several years has been to find this criminal mastermind. Thwarted at every turn, Kate is obsessed by all the ways Nick has slipped out of her net. Two years ago, Kate was almost successful, but Nick slipped away. In fact, while Kate had dozens of FBI agents searching for him, Nick was lounging in HER hotel room, ordering room service, watching pay-per-view, and looting the mini-bar.
Kate runs an operation where she captures Nick as he attempts to steal the Crimson Teardrop diamond from the Roland Larsen Kibbee Art Collection in San Francisco. But Nick has an even bigger con in mind as he manipulates the FBI into offering him a job, working alongside Special Agent Kate O’Hare.
Soon, Kate and Nick are sailing toward a private island in an attempt to capture Derek Griffin, an investment banker who absconded with $500 million of his company’s money right as the FBI was about to arrest him for running a pyramid scheme. Kate and Nick have recruited a cast of supporting characters that add to the adventure. Piracy, Mexican gangsters, damsels in distress and high-speed chases are all in a day’s work for Nick and his reluctant partner Kate.
This book is extremely “Evanovich.” In fact, it’s so “Evanovich” that one day after finishing the book, I couldn’t remember the main character’s name. All I could come up with was “Stephanie,” and I was sure that couldn’t be it. Within the first few chapters, Kate is slapping herself on the forehead and yelling “Ugh!” as she is frustrated by Nick. Throw in the obvious physical attraction to the bad guy who’s maybe a good guy, and you have a new series that might as well feature Stephanie Plum.
Perhaps Goldberg’s co-writing does hold down the number of times Kate slaps herself on the forehead or allows herself to give in to little fantasies about Nick. I hadn’t read anything by Goldberg previously, and was interested to learn that he is a bestselling author and writer for the television series “Monk."
Despite the similarities to the Plum series, I did enjoy the quick-read and will look forward to reading the next one. I have a feeling that Kate and Nick will continue their simmering sexual tension (just like Stephanie Plum and Ranger) and get into all sorts of high-jinks during their continuing assignments for the FBI.
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