The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Nick wakes up from a drug induced nap to find that not only is he in a life-like mock-up of a bank, he's no longer in America. He has been kidnapped in order to help the Road Runners, normally a smash-and-grab crew, to make a big heist.

Kate realizes that he's gone and is able to follow but soon finds herself embroiled in a plot to take down a sociopath, Dragan Kovic. She is set up to be Nick's bodyguard.

Once again, her father and his cohort, as well as many of the crew from earlier Fox and O'Hare books make an appearance. It's a fast and easy read.

Four stars
This book came out June 21, 2016

Follows The Scam

Followed by The Big Kahuna

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Job by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Kate and Nick are off again. As the book opens, somebody is robbing famous museums. And trying (sloppily, in Kate's opinion) to frame Nick for it. They discover it's one of his old teammates, Serena Blake. She needs help in getting revenge on the man who killed her brother. A mobster whose face her brother has changed, Menendez is one bad dude.

It's a bit light and fast but sometimes, that's just the kind of book I'm looking for. A great book while in the midst of a number of weighty non-fictions.

Three stars

This book came out November 1, 2014

Follows The Chase

Followed by The Scam

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Chase by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

This book is why I keep giving Evanovich a chance. Most of her books are too over the top for me. But this one hit the spot between too outlandish and strict procedural to be just plain fun.

Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent working with a known con man and thief, Nick Fox (which will bring inevitable comparisons to Eve and Roarke.) When the book opens, she is helping him pull off a bank heist so they can get evidence to put a man behind bars. The bigger caper is that they have to steal a bronze rooster that was already stolen from the Smithsonian. The Chinese government now wants the rooster back and the US doesn't want to admit that they've lost the statue. Complications arise when it turns out a former Chief of Staff, now the head of a military contract security firm is the one who has the original.
The yes-no relationship between Kate and Nick is more believable than the triangle between Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe. Also less annoying. Probably because it's early in the series. I'll wait and see how the rest of it goes.

Three stars

This book came out June 18, 2013

Follows The Heist

Followed by The Job

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Heist by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Original review from 2013: Meh. Not as bad as Metro Girl (thank god) but not particularly good or even any new ideas.

Kate O'Hare is hot on the trail of Nicolas (Nick) Fox when the book opens (ha ha, the rabbit chasing the carnivore, I kept fixating on the fact that her last name is an airport though). She's an FBI agent after an international jewel thief. The rest of the story is fairly easy to guess (I'll hide the rest of my review for potential spoilers) and ends up following a very "Leverage"-like escapade. I'll give the second book a chance but am not sure it's going to be worth more than a quick run through.

Kate captures Nick fairly early in the book which means that he's going to escape. And based on the escape it's pretty easy to figure out that he's going to end up working for the FBI (it takes a thief and blah, blah, blah.) It's interesting that it's all off the books but still. 

They gather a team that don't know who they are to take down the big bad. I liked that Kate was the muscle and Nick was the brains, but then Nick got all muscle-y and Kate was just the ubiquitous "chick with guns." Not much for her to do though I hope that she gets more of a chance to show off her brain power as well in the next book

After 2023 reread: I listened to this as an audiobook this time. I"m not sure if my tolerance for nonsense has gone up or whether narrator Scott Brick made a difference but I'm upping my review from a two to a three. Really, I think I was able to look past the name=airport and Kate's character reduction.

Three stars

This book came out February 25, 2014

Followed by The Chase

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Scam by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Evanovich and Goldberg are really hitting their stride in this book. I tore through every chapter enjoying almost every moment. The absolute craziness of the series all comes together in this story. I liked this one even better than The Chase. Would this be a good stand-alone? I don't know. I feel like the build up of the first three books is nice to have so that you can understand exactly how the utter zaniness of this book (using modified land mines to deter coyotes, Kate's dad taking on a member of the Yakuza, bringing in a driver whose last misdeed was to steal a tour bus... with the tourists on it) is central to the series.
I am also really enjoying the interplay between Kate and Nick. With some series, it's just like "Get ON with it already already!" but I tend to feel that more keenly with love triangles (I'm looking at you, Joanne Fluke). Evanovich and Goldberg have created (probably more the former, based on her other books) a great repartee between the two where the sexual tension is at a nice simmer.
This time, Kate (FBI agent) and Nick (sorta-not-really-reformed criminal) are after a casino magnate who is laundering dirty money for some really bad dudes. It's up to them to infiltrate the casino and bring the bad dudes to justice. AND doing it while meting out justice for a friend of Kate's dad and even managing to have some fun.

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 15, 2015

Follows The Job

Followed by The Pursuit

Ebook from Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby August 2023