The Heist Society books are, quite possibly, the most fun books I have ever read. I love a good caper, and Ally Carter’s series provides them in spades. I described the books to a friend recently as “Ocean’s Eleven in book form, if Ocean’s Eleven were a group of teenagers,” and that’s exactly what you get: socially conscious thievery, crackling repartee among the gang, a dash of romance, a con that seems to go awry but then turns out to just be a long con in the end.

Perfect Scoundrels reunites the whole crew once more: Kat, Hale, Hamish, Angus, Uncle Eddie, Gabrielle, and others. This time, they’re recruited by Marcus, the Hale family butler, to investigate Hale’s recently deceased grandmother’s will, which left the entire company to Hale, to be held in trust by the family attorney. Marcus thinks that the will may have been tampered with, most probably by the attorney, in order to steal the company’s fortune. He wants Kat and her accomplices – minus Hale, who is too close to the job – to ferret out the truth and, if possible, steal the company back for its rightful and intended owner.

There are some interesting developments with Kat and Hale’s relationship, since Kat deliberately tries to exclude Hale from any knowledge of Marcus’ suspicions. It doesn’t work, of course, which causes strife among the two. And then there’s the complication of Hale suddenly being thrust into a very large, very important leadership role in the company, something he doesn’t know how to handle.

The heists and cons in this volume are fun ones, if not obvious from the jacket copy. Kat and crew find themselves first needing to break into the Henley – again – and then devising a plan to steal something from the Superior Bank of Manhattan, which may as well be Fort Knox. And then there’s all the sneaking into offices and residences and petty thievery from said offices and residences, not to mention a very fun con where Uncle Eddie pretends to be a slightly batty (and womanizing) long-lost relative. 

I also loved reading the names of the various cons the characters consider: the Princess and the Pea, Where’s Waldo, Three Blind Mice, Cat in the Cradle, Ace’s Wild. The ones they agree to undertake are described, but the ones they dismiss are left to the reader’s imagination (or to Google), making the reader feel like a part of the con – there’s no need to explain a con to the already initiated.

Kat and her crew are the friends you wish you had (maybe you do have friends like these, in which case, please don’t tell me, I don’t want to have to lie to the police). Of course, in real life, these friends would likely be in prison with you, but in Carter’s world, they always manage to avoid the long arm of the law, just as you hoped they would. 

The resolution is a bit of a deus ex machina, but in books about cons, I feel like that’s the way it should be: we realize that, in the end, we’ve been conned too, and it’s never been so much fun. Perfect Scoundrels is a bit stronger than Uncommon Criminals – a bit better developed, a bit more fun – and should more than satisfy fans.

Finished copy received from the publisher. Perfect Scoundrels is available now.