Review: Uncommon Criminals

Uncommon Criminals, by Ally Carter. The summary:

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend--the gorgeous Hale--and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

I was so nervous going into this book. I LOVED “Heist Society” so unbelievably much--so that, paired with the fact that I’m usually disappointed with sequels, made me start this one with caution. But by, like, page 5, all my fears were put to rest. I fell right back into Ally Carter’s world without any effort at all, and I was so happy to be back with Kat and her gang.

I adored Kat in the first book and I liked her just as much in this one. She didn’t loose any of her appeal, and she’s just as funny and brave and smart in this one as she was in “Heist Society.” And her crew is back in this book as well--Gabrielle, Simon, Nick, Angus, Hamish. And Hale, of course. Where would these books even be without Hale? Hale is as completely wonderful in this book as he was in the last, and I never get tired of admiring the way he’s always there for Kat, no matter what.

The heist in this sequel is a ton of fun as well. It was full of twists and turns, and it never seemed to go the way I predicted. Which is a good thing. It got to the point where I couldn’t tell what were mistakes and what was part of the con and who was on which side, and I love every second. I did have to reread the ending to get what finally happened, but after I did I was like, “Ally Carter’s a freakin’ genius!”

So, yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I loved this book just as much as the first one. Maybe even a teensy-weensy bit more, just because the con was more drawn out so you get to see more action. And you don’t even need to read the first book for this one to make sense. Obvs I think you should read both, but I’m just saying if for some reason you can’t find a copy of “Heist Society,” “Uncommon Criminals” is a perfectly lovely place to start too.