The Scam: A Fox and O'Hare Novel

I am never disappointed in any of her books. When you find great authors - you always follow their books. One of my favorites is how they put humor in with mystery. Memorable characters in her books. The best of times is when you have the honor of finally meeting them in real life.

I love the new scheme that Nick and Kate seem to come up with. Jake adds a whole different description to what a grandfather and dad are capable of. The story has multiple characters that are developed and you get to meet some characters from the previous book also. Evanovich provides humor, romance, suspense and action all in one book.

The BIGGEST Suprise was the ending...OMG! Now I am going to be fixated watching for the new book! Well done Goldberg and Evanovich. I didn't think I could be any more hooked by this series; you proved me wrong. This book had a lot of nostalgic moments, but you can still read it by itself, that make you want to read the past 5 books just to enjoy the adventure of how the characters come together. I do wish you would add a little more flavor to the characters. They are developed but I feel like they should be growing with the series. The only characters growing, very slowly, are Nick and Kate; Even that is just their interest in each other.

I really enjoyed the earlier books in the series but this one missed the mark. The sexual banter between Fox and O'Hare has been a light, fun addition but the formula has changed. Rather than being smart, quick and occasional, it's now too frequent, silly and annoying. In the interests of developing the characters, please don't continue in the direction of making them caricatures; please don't turn this series into a really bad sitcom.

This author could not possibly be lee Goldberg or Janet E....I have read them enough to recognize their work...characters weren't prperly developed...language was mundane along with the very predictable story line....no wit or cleverness...I don't know who penned this but it wasn't my favorite two authors!

I know a lot of people wrote in depth reviews about this book so if you want to know the story, read those. I'll get right to the point without spoiling the ending. It is a cliffhanger but I don't like those in books (or TV for that matter). Just trying to get you to buy a book. I've read all of her Plum novels and the Fox ones up to now. But I haven't really grown attached to Fox or O'Hare. When I read a book I like to root for the characters and I found I just didn't care. I care even less about what will happen in the next book so I doubt I'll continue reading this series.

It's not as good as I expected. I don't think that it is worth the price. It was like reading a comic book without pictures; sort of like a "Mission Impossable" story. I was disappointed because I was looking for something like her Stephanie Plum series. I've enjoyed all of the books in that series.

“The Scam” is the newest book in the Fox and O'Hare series by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. I've read the previous books and really enjoyed them and this is the best one yet.

The characters in the story bring Elizabeth Peter's Vicky Bliss mysteries to mind, except that Kate O'Hare is a tough and well trained FBI agent. The background for these books is that Kate has been on the trail of master criminal Nicholas Fox for years and finally brought him down. Almost immediately, Nick is back out and working with the FBI and especially Kate to bring down other criminals around the world.

It is really fun reading these stories as they take me to far-off places. It is evident that the authors have done their research well and are able to describe the places and people so well I feel almost like I am there, too. In “The Scam”, the action centers around Macau, Las Vegas, the North Shore of Ohau, Hawaii, and of course, Kate's home stomping ground of Southern California.

The story involves money laundering and gambling as well as shoot-em-ups and lots of funny dialog. It was great to see some of the characters from previous books back in the action again. Kate's father, Jake, is a favorite of mine with his propensity to teach young family members survival skills, including a tad bit of bomb making. Another favorite is the actor, Boyd Capwell, who gets so far into his roles in the cons for Nick and Kate, that he sometimes seems to forget that it is a role and not his real life. His embellishments are always good for a laugh.

Kate and Nick work together to bring down the house of cards that a small time gambler turned entrepreneur, Evan Trace, has managed to build into a multi-million dollar business. At the same time, Kate wants a little pay back to a Hawaiian mobster who has threatened her father.

I really enjoy this series and could easily see it being made into movies – the characters are well drawn, the dialog is snappy, the plots are fun, and the descriptions are top-notch. In the meantime, the books are really great to read and I recommend the entire series/

I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Bantam (Random House) via Netgalley.

It isn't a 5 star book when you are left hanging. Be warned....... you are left not knowing what happened to Nick. To find out you will be forced to buy the next book in the series. I find this to be a deceptive practice. A game usually played by a lesser author. Shame on writers who feel they must use this ploy to sell their books.

While reading this book it struck me that this series is the happily ever after of the movie Catch Me If You Can. Nick Fox once a con-man and master thief is now spending his time and energy teaming up with Kate O’Hare to run scams that end with the bad guys going bye-bye.

The story starts out fast and the pace never slows down. Kate and Nick are tasked with taking down Evan Trace a casino owner that is laundering money for terrorists, mobsters, drug lords and other upstanding citizens ?. In order to complete their mission they will have to pose as money launderers who set up junkets in order to allow seedy characters to launder the money.

What is a junket you ask? It is a pleasure trip often funded by someone else. In this story the junket operators are middlemen who bring high rollers to the casino to gamble in private VIP rooms. The gamblers will book everything through the junket operators as a “vacation” and pay a surcharge and spend a guaranteed amount of money while gambling at the casino. The casino allows the “junket,” the criminals come to the casino as guests of the junket holders spend their money and the chips they receive back, once redeemed, are squeaky clean dollars. The operators of the junket are assuming all financial and legal risks so that there is no “exposure” of the casino owner known criminals.

It is through this junket that they are hoping to ensnare Evan in order to flip the scam on him and put him directly in the sites of some very nasty criminals in order to make Evan desperate enough to turn himself in to the FBI so that he is not killed. Except that in the course of running the junket Evan has plans of his own and flips the scam on Nick and Kate. Will they be able to pull off this scam and put this bad guy away? Just hold on, you will enjoy this wild ride.

Through this series there has been a smoldering attraction between Kate and Nick and this book is a delicious addition to that smolder…and maybe a little something more?? lol I won’t tell you. Here are a couple quotes that I enjoyed:

“Kate wore a skin-tight red Herve Leger bandage dress. It had a plunging neckline, cap sleeves, and a skirt that was so short, there was almost no way Kate could get up from a chair without making everyone her gynecologist.”

and

“You look great in that dress,” he said. “It has me feeling romantic.”
“Romantic?”
“Okay, maybe that’s not exactly the right word.”
“And the right word would be what?”
“Hard to boil it down to one word.”
“Give it to me in a couple of words then.”
“I’d like to rip it off you with my teeth.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had action, it had comedy, it had mystery and suspense, and it had some oooh la la moments. This story was entertaining, made me laugh many times, full of action and has a satisfying ending. If you enjoy books with plots about heists, con artists and/or scams then this book will be very entertaining for you. I loved it!

If you have read any of the previous book in the series, then you know exactly what you're going to get in "The Scam" - elaborate cons, sexy banter, exotic locales. But then why is it that I found myself being mostly bored by this book and checking the progress bar on my Kindle every couple of page to see how many pages I have left?

Maybe it's because after 3 books, the sameness of the these books are starting to get to me. The elaborate, over-the-top setups..The foaming at the mouth villains...Kate and Nick's high-roller acts that routinely require them to dress in designer clothing and drop millions of dollars at the drop of a hat. I know that the premise of these books is for them to catch big criminals that operate at that kind of scale. But still, if I have to read through one more string of designer brand names whenever Kate and Nick stroll up to someone's front door, I may just end up throwing my Kindle against the door. And then, there's the non-existent character development. Sure, that's not why we read these books anyway. But can't the characters at least exhibit some kind of growth even just a little bit? For example, what does Kate bring to the table in these books other than to nag at Nick and dress in sexy dress and to give the villain of the day a hard-on? In each and every book, Nick is the one who comes up with the con while all Kate does is nag about how this and that isn't going to work. And then, when something goes wrong, she'll go into her doomsday mode and whine about how all their effort has been wasted, until Nick manages to come up with another plan to turn things. It's the same routine every..single...time. And don't even get me started on Jake, who would be a shoo-in for the World's Most Irresponsible Parent Award, if there is one. Without going into so many details, the shtick he pulled at the beginning of the book not only put both his own life and his daughter's life in danger, but it's also idiotic and illegal. There is no way that his daughter would have been able to get the local FBI involved and still manage to get his father out of that mess. The gap in logic here is just mind-boggling.

I know that the examples I cited above are not going to matter for some people. But after sitting through 4 books featuring the same disregard for consistent storytelling, maybe it's time that I take a break from these books. Even the cliffhanger at the end wasn't enough to make me care about finding out what happens next. That should be pretty indicative of how little I care about Nick and Kate as characters and their so-called romance.

I just finished reading this book while one vacation. It was my first book by the author and I haven't read a Fiction book in many years (I prefer nonfiction) however this was delightful. I read it in 3 or 4 days. I didn't realize there were more books in this series until I came to the store today trying for find the book that would follow this (it ended in a cliff hanger that all but confirmed there would be another book).

I don't think I'll go back and read the previous books because many comments stated this was the best so the series so far but I do intend to read the next one-- I need to know what happened lol.

All in all what I liked best about the book/authors writing style was the nice progression of action. Each chapter moved the story along quickly. It never felt dragged out or dull. I found myself reading faster and faster in order to keep up with the pace of the action.

I found the book to be very enjoyable. Simply wrote. Clear goals and motives. Easy to read and full of excitement. Good job Janet E!

Nick Fox and Kate O’Hare are at it again, ridding the world of bad guys one “Scam” at a time. This time Nick, one of the FBIs most wanted criminals now turned informant and Kate are after Evan Trace. Evan has been running a money laundering scheme through his casino in Japan where some of the world’s worst terrorist and mobsters are some of his best customers. It’s up to Kate, Nick and their band of helpers to both set up the scam while closing Evan down for good by trying to get him to turn himself in to the FBI. All goes well until Evan throws in his own twist while looking for potential investors for his new casino that he’s looking to open. Thankfully two of the would be investors where hired by Nick and Kate to help pull of the scam but the third is a drug lord that doesn’t have a problem with killing anyone that gets in his way. How will they get Evan to surrender now but the bigger question may be… will they be able to before he’s killed when said drug lord is told that he’s been double crossed?

There are certain authors that I always look forward to the arrival of receiving an advanced reading copy in my mailbox and I can assure that this is one of them. Each and every time I’ve done a little happy dance when I saw that I had received a book in this series. This series is absolutely amazing! Its cast of characters range from of course FBI agents to criminals but also everything in between, including a B rated actor that believes that he’s the best and can’t believe that he’s never made it in the big time yet, a retire special forces operative that believes that leaving home without a rocket launcher is a bad as leaving the house undressed, a special effects specialist that makes blowing things up an art form and even a pirate, yes you read that right, a pirate. It takes all of them and more pull off the ultimate scam and while things don’t always go as planned, the good guys usually win but this time something happens that I never saw coming and it ends on a one hell of a cliffhanger! I sure do pray that book five comes out quickly because I’m waiting on pins and needles here waiting to see how they were caught off guard and how it will all pan out…

Fox and O’Hare are back along with their eccentric crew, over the top villains, and flirtatious banter. If you’re not familiar with the series, Kate O’Hare is an FBI agent who appears to be on the hunt for top con man Nick Fox. In reality Fox is her secret partner helping the FBI to con other criminals who seem untouchable and to bring them down. Are these complicated stories? No. Are they totally entertaining and perfect for when you need a light read – Yes!

So Kate and Nick are after a corrupt casino owner first, because he’s just an icky guy and second, to stop him from laundering money for other criminals. This series is kind of like watching a crime show on tv, there’s basically nothing Fox & O’Hare can’t pull off and it all comes out just right in the end. I love that Kate is nearly unaware of her own femininity and is happiest going after the bad guys versus Nick who is all about enjoying the finest things in life with simply ingenious plans to con everyone who crosses his path. I enjoy reading Fox winding Kate up just as much as I enjoy when she shoots him down. Honestly though, Kate’s slightly crazy dad is still my favorite – okay he’s totally crazy. And hilarious.

I won’t say if the flirtation finally comes to more than a few smooches – but I will say that if you enjoy this series at all you’re going to be clamoring to get your hands on book #5.

Thank you Bantam and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!

It is a quick read, kind of a penny novel crime with the focus on con-men and scams instead. White Collar set-up and as fast-paced as the A-Team on a role.
It is a light-hearted read with two flamboyant main characters. It doesn't have a lot of substance or depth, which is fair enough if you really are just looking for flighty venture into the world of con and crime.
Nick and Kate have plenty of sexual tension between them, and the majority of their dialogues are innuendo. Nick is Bomer's Neal Caffrey and Kate is DeKay's Peter Burke.
Can he be trusted or not? Will Nick always choose the con instead of the straight and narrow path? Where does Kate crossing the boundaries become too much? Fox and O'Hare meander into the world of hardened criminals and ruthless scam artists. They just happen to be just as good as the real criminals are.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

I was pretty certain I could look forward to a mystery by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot is sophisticated without being overly complex, the characters of FBI agent Kate O’Hare and world-class con man Nick Fox are terrific. Both are funny, smart, gutsy, and resourceful. Kate’s family life adds depth to her character. Nick’s endless conspiring and strategizing make him interesting as well.

Their plan to stop casino owner Evan Trace from laundering money for criminals and terrorist organizations provided enough obstacles and twists to keep me interested. I especially liked the way the subplot with Kate’s dad merged with the main plot.

You’ll have to suspend your disbelief a fair bit to buy into the premise that a FBI agent would work with a criminal and commit major felonies in order to catch far more dangerous criminals. Fans of the series won’t care, and I have to say that the storytelling was too much fun to worry about it after a while. The Scam is number four in the O’Hare and Fox series, and it would be great fun to go back and start at the beginning.

I don’t quite know how to rate this book. I found the story to be highly entertaining but the “ew!” factor took me to places I’d rather never have visited. This book takes the drama and action – in every sense of that word – to all new levels. Many of them new lows. As a Canadian I’m slightly horrified, and highly offended. This book takes several of the rudest stereotypes about several nationalities and wields them like a bludgeon against that nation’s good name. It takes racist to it’s most dictionary definition: your people are different than mine, therefore you’re fair game. Though, I have to admit, if it hadn’t been Canada I maybe wouldn’t have noticed how pervasive this is in the humor used in this book. It’s subtle and it uses pop culture stereotypes that we all buy into to poke fun at the characters, or the characters they’re playing. I’m still going to read the next book but that’s mostly because the cliff-hanger ending is compelling.

Fourth in the Fox and O'Hare funny romantic suspense series revolving around Special Agent Kate O'Hare and her nemesis-now-partner, master thief Nicolas Fox.

My Take
There are a lot of roles for Kate to play in The Scam, and I think my favorite one is as the "character" who gets Trace all hot and bothered. It was much too funny. Okay, yeah, it was really gruesome too, considering what it is about Kate that stirs him up. Annd, it is so Kate with all those special ops skills and the confidence she exudes. She is not a girly girl…who could be with a dad like Jake, LMAO.

I do have to give Evanovich-Goldberg props for creating Trace's character. He's thoroughly disgusting in a totally unique way.

Getting back to Kate, though. She and her unhappy libido with those lines she doesn't plan to cross…even if Nick is scalding. Too bad Nick knows too much about what makes her tick. M&Ms, anyone? She is such a great contrast against the luxury-lovin' Nicolas with his sneaky, wily ways. That scam he's got with the rapper's confiscated apartment? Dang…why didn't I think of that?

I swear, Kate's dad is my absolute favorite character followed by Nick. Need extensive experience getting American captives out of foreign countries? Jake's your guy. Nor is Jake the only one concerned about his little girl getting a well-rounded education. Harlan stepped up when Jake let the side down, rofl. At least Jake is continuing the tradition with his grandkids…*laughing so hard, I fell off the chair*

Damn, ya gotta give Nick credit for being such a good bad guy. I love the scam he set up on that first scammer in the story, and the fraud sure didn't end with simply raising those funds for the next job Nick and Kate will be doing for the FBI. I could wish we'd gotten a chance to peek in at what happens to the grandparent scammer!

Who'd've thunk Boyd's acting experience could be this useful? And Boyd is just one part of the range of characters Nick pulls in to help slide this scam on through. Who knew networking could be this much fun, lol.

Wow, I wonder if it's true about the Chinese government's take on gambling winnings in Macau? It sure sounds like a better bet than playing baccarat.

Ya gotta laugh at poor Dumah. He just can't win for losing. And it couldn't happen to a "nicer" guy. I love that Trace forces him to protect Kate and Nick, ROFL. *Laughing* wait'll…*snicker*…you read the scene…*laughing more*…where Kate…*snort*…finds this out…*more snickering*…

Poor Billy Dee. All his fond memories of a murderous and dangerous Macau have died…*laughing*… Willie sure isn't letting the grass grow, as "Nick Petrocelli" learns. He does make some good points about how much safer it was for Willie to hijack that bus of tourists, lol.

Back on the home front, Jake is borrowing from his black ops repertoire to get rid of them dang coyotes…*sorry, gotta go pee*… Be sure you do [pee] before you read Kate's reaction to Jake's recent past actions in this eradication quest.

Okay, okay, you may have gotten the idea that I spent most of my time laughing my way through The Scam, and you'd be right. The rest of the time I wondered just how Nick and Kate were going to pull this off. I'm not sure how realistic any of this was, but dang…I sure had fun reading my way through.

The Story
"Can you play an FBI agent?"

A money laundering operation through casinos is making it too easy for terrorists, dictators, and mobsters to do their worst, and Kate and Nick are tasked with taking them down in an undercover operation as high-stakes gamblers.

It's strictly a benefit that this unlikely pairing get to help Jake's friend as well when they target Evan Trace and suck in a Hawaiian drug lord as well.

It's a scam that will take O'Hare and Fox from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu's North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau. Their only backup — a self-absorbed actor, a Somali pirate, and Kate's father, an ex-soldier who believes a rocket launcher is the best way to solve every problem.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Characters
Special Agent Kate O'Hare had her man until the FBI took him from her…and gave him back. Jake O'Hare is retired special ops and still loves to lend his older daughter a hand. Especially if he can bring his rocket launcher. He's living above the garage of his younger daughter's home. Megan is married to Roger, and they have two kids: Sara and Tyler.

Master thief and con man Nicolas Fox accepted a deal with the FBI to help law enforcement con the cons. Nick Sweet will become an international entrepreneur with his executive assistant, Kate Porter.

The "team"
Wilma "Willie" Owens can fly and drive anything, anytime. Unfortunately, she has no impulse control, and she let it fly in San Luis Obispo where Sara Quirk, the 20-something assistant district attorney is not impressed. Billy Dee Snipes (his real name is Lou Ould-Abdallah) is a retired Somali pirate living in Vegas (Jake brought him in, in The Job , 3); he'll be himself in this op, a Somali warlord from Mogadishu. Boyd Capwell is an actor who lives to live his roles; he'll become Shane Blackmore, a Canadian mobster. Chet Kershaw is a wiz at special effects and currently working on a film directed by the 82-year-old Christian McVeety. Tom Underhill can build anything and usually works on imaginative playhouses, tree houses, and dog houses. (He has a wife who's pregnant again and three kids. Seems the wife really enjoys Tom's attitude after his little, ahem, excursions with Kate and Nick.) Lucie Wan is a tech wizard in Kowloon who works in computer services for an international bank.

FBI, Los Angeles
Special Agent-in-Charge Carl Jessup is Kate's immediate boss; Deputy Director Fletcher Bolton is his boss. Special Agent Seth Ryerson used to be Kate's partner…and he offers up his considerable cardplaying skills for Kate's op. Yep, he's killer at bridge.

Hawaii
Harlan Appleton is Jake's military friend in Hawaii where he operates a food truck and refuses to pay protection money. Cassie Walner is a nurse at the hospital. Lieutenant Gregg Steadman is with the Kahuku PD.

Da Grinds and Da Shave Ice is a dive restaurant from which the 350-pound Lono Alika runs his drugs all over the North Shore. Kimo had been the man responsible for Alika's truck.

"Nick McGarrett" is good at finding things. Virgil Cleet runs a helicopter tour business and is an old friend of Kate's. Allan Mingus works for the Hawaii Film Commission who falls for Krister Blomkvistbjurman-Malm's line. Sven and Gita are two of his actors…*snort, snicker*… Park Ranger Larry Keahola guides the interested parties through the site where Cretaceous Zoo was filmed.

The sociopathic Evan Trace used to be…
…a gambler before learning the error of his ways. Now he's the owner of two Côte d'Argent casinos. One in Las Vegas and the other in Macau. Mr. Garver is his enforcer with a preference for mallets. Tara functions as a personal assistant for special guests; she's also Trace's pain-givin' lover. Mr. Covington is a personal butler that goes with the suite. Niles Goodwell is manager of player relations (he takes care of the whales). Stan is an idiot gambler who cheated. Emilia Guttierez is a fake maid. Guido is a doorman. CorpsSource Services, Inc. provides cadavers to those who need them.
"Because the next time one of them was in that chair, and Trace believed it was likely that one of them would be, they'd know that they deserved their suffering and that he had every right to thoroughly enjoy it."
Côte d'Argent-Macau
Natasha Ling is vice-president of guest relations with the same "gifts" as Tara; Birgita appears to perform a similar role, in guest relations, anyway. The huge Dumah is a security operative who had once worked for Derek Griffin in The Heist , 1. Luisa is the dealer with Tony keeping track of the betting. It's Ernesto, a grandson, who's now running Lorca's. Richard Nakamura is a sales representative for a Japanese auto parts company…owned by a senior Yakuza member. The Galaxy is another casino in Macau.

Stuart Kelso had been an insurance salesman until he fell into a lucrative new line of business. Bernie was his pot-smoking son. Rilee is his third wife. Ernie is his grandson. "Nick Burns" is a State Department bureaucrat. "Jake Blake" is a bag man for the "government". "Special Agent Kate Houlihan" will guard the money.

Whales are super-rich gamblers to whom the casinos cater. The Fox Complex is a condition from which Kate suffers, one in which she's happiest chasing, and miserable when there's no chase.

Milt Freiberger is directing an all-potato-head production of Dickens' Great Expectations. Ainsley Booker is a film publicist. Dario Argento.

The Cover and Title
The cover is an intense blue-violet of puzzle pieces with a black silhouette of these two incongruous characters in suits: Nicolas is facing us, and Kate is standing to his left (our right!), glancing down at him, nudging him with her body. Hmmm, I don't think she trusts him, lol. The authors' names in an embossed font in white with a gold metallic outline while the title is in embossed gold with a gold outline. The series info is tiny and at the bottom in white.

The title should be plural as there is scam upon scam upon The Scam.

Being a Stephanie Plum fan, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Okay, so I didn't read the others in the series, but have since skimmed through them. This series is a bit of a train wreck... Evanovich's previous series were a breeze to read and so much fun! Not this book/series. We all need mindless reads from time to time, which is what I thought when I picked this book for review. This really didn't work for me, is it because it is co-authored? Is it because she takes some potshots at Canadians? Maybe. I think I will stick with books in my usual vein and leave the Evanovich series alone - my reading list is too long to waste my time on mediocre books.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Kate and Nick are back in the fourth installment of the Fox and O’Hare series. This time they’re trying to take down a casino mogul who runs a nice little money laundering operation out of his hotel. And, they’d like to get rid of the Hawaiian gangster that is giving Kate’s dad’s friend a hard time to.

Nick and Kate gather up their usual accomplices, and with the amount they’re paying all of them, they are more than happy to drop what they’re doing to assist in the latest scheme.

This time Kate and Nick are posing as junket operators bringing in high rollers to the casino to launder their money through them. But when their target blows their con, they have to come up with a new plan and pull out all the stops to get their man, or men in this case!

This installment of the series didn’t keep me as glued to the book as the other installments have, but it’s still a decent read. There is still action, an over-the-top con orchestrated by FBI’s top 10 most wanted conman, Nick Fox, and humor.

“Good grief. Are you flirting with me?”

“Honey, my intentions are way past flirting.”

“Your intentions could get you a knee in the groin.”

Nick grinned. “At least your mind’s on the right body part.”

And an added bonus … the spark between Kate and Nick is finally starting to smolder! And, we finally start seeing what they mean to each other. Not to mention those around them have started noticing as well.

“You and Nick are good together,” Jake said. “Probably in more ways than you know.”

“Let’s not go there.”

“You keep saying that to yourself, but maybe it’s time for a rethink.”

“Since when are you interested in my love life?”

“You don’t have one. You’re all about the job. With Bob, you can have both.”

“You don’t know anything about Bob.”

“I know it’s got to be Nick, because there isn’t anybody else,” Jake said. “Who could possibly compete?”

“Someone who isn’t a criminal on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for starters.”

“How boring would that guy be? He couldn’t match the excitement Nick brings to your life.

And the ending of this book left me dying to start the next one … waiting really is torture!!

*OBS would to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Title: The Scam - Fox and O'Hare Novel 4
Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Published: 9-15-15
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group/Bantam Dell
Pages: 305
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense
Sub Genre: International Crime; Women Sleuths; Crime Thriller
ISBN: 9780345543165
ASIN: B00X5SMKF4
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
My Rating: 5 Stars

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While everyone is led to believe that FBI agent Kate O'Hare is chasing conman Nicholas Fox to arrest him for many scams and cons, the truth is they work together as a team with a ragtag team of an actor, pirate and a computer geek to bring the FBIs list of "Untouchable criminals to justice. The truth is known by few at the Bureau. In The Scam they have Evan Trace in their sites. Trace, a casino magnate with a well earned reputation for brutality. At the moment he is running a money laundering scheme through his casino in Macau. Among his clientele are mobsters, terrorist and dictators. To bring him down Fox and O'Hare go undercover as a couple of high stakes gamblers. With the lives on the line they're betting on millions that their back up crew of quirky characters can keep them alive and help them complete their assignment.

With their typical flair Evanovich and Lee pull together a story of international intrigue full of suspense and spiced up with the unusual characters and pinches of humor. The characters are varied, but well developed. With a well written plot that flows smoothly from scene to scene. The story is fast paced story will draws a reader in quickly into the dark world of the criminal and dirty their dirty dealings. As the story unfolds it will hold them enthralled until the very end. My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.

This is another great installment in a fun series. Again it provides interesting plots, lots of action and humor, globe-trotting, and a collection of fun supporting characters. And some sweet sexual tension between the two main characters. Yep, The Scam has all of the above. This time, Nick & Kate pursue their prey from Vegas to Hawaii to Macau. As usual, some plot points that require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but hey - that's what makes these books so much fun for me. And this one ended with a cliff-hanger that left me anxious to get on to the next one. When I'm in need of some light, fun reading, they're pretty much the perfect solution.

Copy provided by Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was disappointed by this book since I was expecting quirky characters like the ones in Stephanie Plum books. Although the book had a good story line, I didn’t care for it and had to force myself to finish it because I couldn’t relate to any of the larger than life characters who were almost super humans, and the fact that the nonstop action didn’t give any chance for the characters to establish relationships or to get in touch with their feelings. This book had characters who bonded over nothing other than accomplishing extremely dangerous tasks, and they all seemed like the same person. If you like explosions, car chases, Special Ops, guns, and a very fast-paced story, you will like this book. The book may be appealing to some people as a good escape but guns, and explosions, violence don’t appeal to me. I much prefer reading about quirky characters, and relationships between characters.

At this point we are all quite aware that if Janet Evanovich has a hand in it, I am going to love it. We are on our 4th Fox & O’Hare story and I am still loving everything about these characters. They are quirky, smart and charming to no end, there is never a shortage of humor and I would say thanks to Mr. Goldberg we get plenty of action and devious characters. Nick and Kate are on the job of shutting down a money laundering operation hidden within a casino, and if you didn’t know that is a complicated world for sure. We get to see our favorite worker bees of Willie, Boyd, Chet and Tom and we get Billy Lee, friend of Jake and ex-Somali pirate. Plus we get Jake, I love love his character, he really shines in several places in this book and I think most of my favorite lines I highlighted were his. I really liked how Kate and Nick's relationship started to progress and we see them realizing they may care more than they should for the other. I have to tell you to prepare yourself because this ending…..O the ending….is one that is going to leave you with a WHAT expression on your face and then you’ll realize you have to wait months to find out what has happened! It doesn’t detract from the story, I just wasn’t expecting it as the others in this series end with an opening for the next book but without the suspense of the unknown.
This was a complimentary e-copy provided by the publisher/authors in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley.

“The Scam” is the newest book in the Fox and O'Hare series by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. I've read the previous books and really enjoyed them and this is the best one yet.

The characters in the story bring Elizabeth Peter's Vicky Bliss mysteries to mind, except that Kate O'Hare is a tough and well trained FBI agent. The background for these books is that Kate has been on the trail of master criminal Nicholas Fox for years and finally brought him down. Almost immediately, Nick is back out and working with the FBI and especially Kate to bring down other criminals around the world.

It is really fun reading these stories as they take me to far-off places. It is evident that the authors have done their research well and are able to describe the places and people so well I feel almost like I am there, too. In “The Scam”, the action centers around Macau, Las Vegas, the North Shore of Ohau, Hawaii, and of course, Kate's home stomping ground of Southern California.

The story involves money laundering and gambling as well as shoot-em-ups and lots of funny dialog. It was great to see some of the characters from previous books back in the action again. Kate's father, Jake, is a favorite of mine with his propensity to teach young family members survival skills, including a tad bit of bomb making. Another favorite is the actor, Boyd Capwell, who gets so far into his roles in the cons for Nick and Kate, that he sometimes seems to forget that it is a role and not his real life. His embellishments are always good for a laugh.

Kate and Nick work together to bring down the house of cards that a small time gambler turned entrepreneur, Evan Trace, has managed to build into a multi-million dollar business. At the same time, Kate wants a little pay back to a Hawaiian mobster who has threatened her father.

I really enjoy this series and could easily see it being made into movies – the characters are well drawn, the dialog is snappy, the plots are fun, and the descriptions are top-notch. In the meantime, the books are really great to read and I recommend the entire series/

I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Bantam (Random House) via Netgalley.

It isn't a 5 star book when you are left hanging. Be warned....... you are left not knowing what happened to Nick. To find out you will be forced to buy the next book in the series. I find this to be a deceptive practice. A game usually played by a lesser author. Shame on writers who feel they must use this ploy to sell their books.

While reading this book it struck me that this series is the happily ever after of the movie Catch Me If You Can. Nick Fox once a con-man and master thief is now spending his time and energy teaming up with Kate O’Hare to run scams that end with the bad guys going bye-bye.

The story starts out fast and the pace never slows down. Kate and Nick are tasked with taking down Evan Trace a casino owner that is laundering money for terrorists, mobsters, drug lords and other upstanding citizens ?. In order to complete their mission they will have to pose as money launderers who set up junkets in order to allow seedy characters to launder the money.

What is a junket you ask? It is a pleasure trip often funded by someone else. In this story the junket operators are middlemen who bring high rollers to the casino to gamble in private VIP rooms. The gamblers will book everything through the junket operators as a “vacation” and pay a surcharge and spend a guaranteed amount of money while gambling at the casino. The casino allows the “junket,” the criminals come to the casino as guests of the junket holders spend their money and the chips they receive back, once redeemed, are squeaky clean dollars. The operators of the junket are assuming all financial and legal risks so that there is no “exposure” of the casino owner known criminals.

It is through this junket that they are hoping to ensnare Evan in order to flip the scam on him and put him directly in the sites of some very nasty criminals in order to make Evan desperate enough to turn himself in to the FBI so that he is not killed. Except that in the course of running the junket Evan has plans of his own and flips the scam on Nick and Kate. Will they be able to pull off this scam and put this bad guy away? Just hold on, you will enjoy this wild ride.

Through this series there has been a smoldering attraction between Kate and Nick and this book is a delicious addition to that smolder…and maybe a little something more?? lol I won’t tell you. Here are a couple quotes that I enjoyed:

“Kate wore a skin-tight red Herve Leger bandage dress. It had a plunging neckline, cap sleeves, and a skirt that was so short, there was almost no way Kate could get up from a chair without making everyone her gynecologist.”

and

“You look great in that dress,” he said. “It has me feeling romantic.”
“Romantic?”
“Okay, maybe that’s not exactly the right word.”
“And the right word would be what?”
“Hard to boil it down to one word.”
“Give it to me in a couple of words then.”
“I’d like to rip it off you with my teeth.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had action, it had comedy, it had mystery and suspense, and it had some oooh la la moments. This story was entertaining, made me laugh many times, full of action and has a satisfying ending. If you enjoy books with plots about heists, con artists and/or scams then this book will be very entertaining for you. I loved it!

If you have read any of the previous book in the series, then you know exactly what you're going to get in "The Scam" - elaborate cons, sexy banter, exotic locales. But then why is it that I found myself being mostly bored by this book and checking the progress bar on my Kindle every couple of page to see how many pages I have left?

Maybe it's because after 3 books, the sameness of the these books are starting to get to me. The elaborate, over-the-top setups..The foaming at the mouth villains...Kate and Nick's high-roller acts that routinely require them to dress in designer clothing and drop millions of dollars at the drop of a hat. I know that the premise of these books is for them to catch big criminals that operate at that kind of scale. But still, if I have to read through one more string of designer brand names whenever Kate and Nick stroll up to someone's front door, I may just end up throwing my Kindle against the door. And then, there's the non-existent character development. Sure, that's not why we read these books anyway. But can't the characters at least exhibit some kind of growth even just a little bit? For example, what does Kate bring to the table in these books other than to nag at Nick and dress in sexy dress and to give the villain of the day a hard-on? In each and every book, Nick is the one who comes up with the con while all Kate does is nag about how this and that isn't going to work. And then, when something goes wrong, she'll go into her doomsday mode and whine about how all their effort has been wasted, until Nick manages to come up with another plan to turn things. It's the same routine every..single...time. And don't even get me started on Jake, who would be a shoo-in for the World's Most Irresponsible Parent Award, if there is one. Without going into so many details, the shtick he pulled at the beginning of the book not only put both his own life and his daughter's life in danger, but it's also idiotic and illegal. There is no way that his daughter would have been able to get the local FBI involved and still manage to get his father out of that mess. The gap in logic here is just mind-boggling.

I know that the examples I cited above are not going to matter for some people. But after sitting through 4 books featuring the same disregard for consistent storytelling, maybe it's time that I take a break from these books. Even the cliffhanger at the end wasn't enough to make me care about finding out what happens next. That should be pretty indicative of how little I care about Nick and Kate as characters and their so-called romance.

I just finished reading this book while one vacation. It was my first book by the author and I haven't read a Fiction book in many years (I prefer nonfiction) however this was delightful. I read it in 3 or 4 days. I didn't realize there were more books in this series until I came to the store today trying for find the book that would follow this (it ended in a cliff hanger that all but confirmed there would be another book).

I don't think I'll go back and read the previous books because many comments stated this was the best so the series so far but I do intend to read the next one-- I need to know what happened lol.

All in all what I liked best about the book/authors writing style was the nice progression of action. Each chapter moved the story along quickly. It never felt dragged out or dull. I found myself reading faster and faster in order to keep up with the pace of the action.

I found the book to be very enjoyable. Simply wrote. Clear goals and motives. Easy to read and full of excitement. Good job Janet E!

Nick Fox and Kate O’Hare are at it again, ridding the world of bad guys one “Scam” at a time. This time Nick, one of the FBIs most wanted criminals now turned informant and Kate are after Evan Trace. Evan has been running a money laundering scheme through his casino in Japan where some of the world’s worst terrorist and mobsters are some of his best customers. It’s up to Kate, Nick and their band of helpers to both set up the scam while closing Evan down for good by trying to get him to turn himself in to the FBI. All goes well until Evan throws in his own twist while looking for potential investors for his new casino that he’s looking to open. Thankfully two of the would be investors where hired by Nick and Kate to help pull of the scam but the third is a drug lord that doesn’t have a problem with killing anyone that gets in his way. How will they get Evan to surrender now but the bigger question may be… will they be able to before he’s killed when said drug lord is told that he’s been double crossed?

There are certain authors that I always look forward to the arrival of receiving an advanced reading copy in my mailbox and I can assure that this is one of them. Each and every time I’ve done a little happy dance when I saw that I had received a book in this series. This series is absolutely amazing! Its cast of characters range from of course FBI agents to criminals but also everything in between, including a B rated actor that believes that he’s the best and can’t believe that he’s never made it in the big time yet, a retire special forces operative that believes that leaving home without a rocket launcher is a bad as leaving the house undressed, a special effects specialist that makes blowing things up an art form and even a pirate, yes you read that right, a pirate. It takes all of them and more pull off the ultimate scam and while things don’t always go as planned, the good guys usually win but this time something happens that I never saw coming and it ends on a one hell of a cliffhanger! I sure do pray that book five comes out quickly because I’m waiting on pins and needles here waiting to see how they were caught off guard and how it will all pan out…

Fox and O’Hare are back along with their eccentric crew, over the top villains, and flirtatious banter. If you’re not familiar with the series, Kate O’Hare is an FBI agent who appears to be on the hunt for top con man Nick Fox. In reality Fox is her secret partner helping the FBI to con other criminals who seem untouchable and to bring them down. Are these complicated stories? No. Are they totally entertaining and perfect for when you need a light read – Yes!

So Kate and Nick are after a corrupt casino owner first, because he’s just an icky guy and second, to stop him from laundering money for other criminals. This series is kind of like watching a crime show on tv, there’s basically nothing Fox & O’Hare can’t pull off and it all comes out just right in the end. I love that Kate is nearly unaware of her own femininity and is happiest going after the bad guys versus Nick who is all about enjoying the finest things in life with simply ingenious plans to con everyone who crosses his path. I enjoy reading Fox winding Kate up just as much as I enjoy when she shoots him down. Honestly though, Kate’s slightly crazy dad is still my favorite – okay he’s totally crazy. And hilarious.

I won’t say if the flirtation finally comes to more than a few smooches – but I will say that if you enjoy this series at all you’re going to be clamoring to get your hands on book #5.

Thank you Bantam and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!

It is a quick read, kind of a penny novel crime with the focus on con-men and scams instead. White Collar set-up and as fast-paced as the A-Team on a role.
It is a light-hearted read with two flamboyant main characters. It doesn't have a lot of substance or depth, which is fair enough if you really are just looking for flighty venture into the world of con and crime.
Nick and Kate have plenty of sexual tension between them, and the majority of their dialogues are innuendo. Nick is Bomer's Neal Caffrey and Kate is DeKay's Peter Burke.
Can he be trusted or not? Will Nick always choose the con instead of the straight and narrow path? Where does Kate crossing the boundaries become too much? Fox and O'Hare meander into the world of hardened criminals and ruthless scam artists. They just happen to be just as good as the real criminals are.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

I was pretty certain I could look forward to a mystery by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot is sophisticated without being overly complex, the characters of FBI agent Kate O’Hare and world-class con man Nick Fox are terrific. Both are funny, smart, gutsy, and resourceful. Kate’s family life adds depth to her character. Nick’s endless conspiring and strategizing make him interesting as well.

Their plan to stop casino owner Evan Trace from laundering money for criminals and terrorist organizations provided enough obstacles and twists to keep me interested. I especially liked the way the subplot with Kate’s dad merged with the main plot.

You’ll have to suspend your disbelief a fair bit to buy into the premise that a FBI agent would work with a criminal and commit major felonies in order to catch far more dangerous criminals. Fans of the series won’t care, and I have to say that the storytelling was too much fun to worry about it after a while. The Scam is number four in the O’Hare and Fox series, and it would be great fun to go back and start at the beginning.

I don’t quite know how to rate this book. I found the story to be highly entertaining but the “ew!” factor took me to places I’d rather never have visited. This book takes the drama and action – in every sense of that word – to all new levels. Many of them new lows. As a Canadian I’m slightly horrified, and highly offended. This book takes several of the rudest stereotypes about several nationalities and wields them like a bludgeon against that nation’s good name. It takes racist to it’s most dictionary definition: your people are different than mine, therefore you’re fair game. Though, I have to admit, if it hadn’t been Canada I maybe wouldn’t have noticed how pervasive this is in the humor used in this book. It’s subtle and it uses pop culture stereotypes that we all buy into to poke fun at the characters, or the characters they’re playing. I’m still going to read the next book but that’s mostly because the cliff-hanger ending is compelling.

Fourth in the Fox and O'Hare funny romantic suspense series revolving around Special Agent Kate O'Hare and her nemesis-now-partner, master thief Nicolas Fox.

My Take
There are a lot of roles for Kate to play in The Scam, and I think my favorite one is as the "character" who gets Trace all hot and bothered. It was much too funny. Okay, yeah, it was really gruesome too, considering what it is about Kate that stirs him up. Annd, it is so Kate with all those special ops skills and the confidence she exudes. She is not a girly girl…who could be with a dad like Jake, LMAO.

I do have to give Evanovich-Goldberg props for creating Trace's character. He's thoroughly disgusting in a totally unique way.

Getting back to Kate, though. She and her unhappy libido with those lines she doesn't plan to cross…even if Nick is scalding. Too bad Nick knows too much about what makes her tick. M&Ms, anyone? She is such a great contrast against the luxury-lovin' Nicolas with his sneaky, wily ways. That scam he's got with the rapper's confiscated apartment? Dang…why didn't I think of that?

I swear, Kate's dad is my absolute favorite character followed by Nick. Need extensive experience getting American captives out of foreign countries? Jake's your guy. Nor is Jake the only one concerned about his little girl getting a well-rounded education. Harlan stepped up when Jake let the side down, rofl. At least Jake is continuing the tradition with his grandkids…*laughing so hard, I fell off the chair*

Damn, ya gotta give Nick credit for being such a good bad guy. I love the scam he set up on that first scammer in the story, and the fraud sure didn't end with simply raising those funds for the next job Nick and Kate will be doing for the FBI. I could wish we'd gotten a chance to peek in at what happens to the grandparent scammer!

Who'd've thunk Boyd's acting experience could be this useful? And Boyd is just one part of the range of characters Nick pulls in to help slide this scam on through. Who knew networking could be this much fun, lol.

Wow, I wonder if it's true about the Chinese government's take on gambling winnings in Macau? It sure sounds like a better bet than playing baccarat.

Ya gotta laugh at poor Dumah. He just can't win for losing. And it couldn't happen to a "nicer" guy. I love that Trace forces him to protect Kate and Nick, ROFL. *Laughing* wait'll…*snicker*…you read the scene…*laughing more*…where Kate…*snort*…finds this out…*more snickering*…

Poor Billy Dee. All his fond memories of a murderous and dangerous Macau have died…*laughing*… Willie sure isn't letting the grass grow, as "Nick Petrocelli" learns. He does make some good points about how much safer it was for Willie to hijack that bus of tourists, lol.

Back on the home front, Jake is borrowing from his black ops repertoire to get rid of them dang coyotes…*sorry, gotta go pee*… Be sure you do [pee] before you read Kate's reaction to Jake's recent past actions in this eradication quest.

Okay, okay, you may have gotten the idea that I spent most of my time laughing my way through The Scam, and you'd be right. The rest of the time I wondered just how Nick and Kate were going to pull this off. I'm not sure how realistic any of this was, but dang…I sure had fun reading my way through.

The Story
"Can you play an FBI agent?"

A money laundering operation through casinos is making it too easy for terrorists, dictators, and mobsters to do their worst, and Kate and Nick are tasked with taking them down in an undercover operation as high-stakes gamblers.

It's strictly a benefit that this unlikely pairing get to help Jake's friend as well when they target Evan Trace and suck in a Hawaiian drug lord as well.

It's a scam that will take O'Hare and Fox from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu's North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau. Their only backup — a self-absorbed actor, a Somali pirate, and Kate's father, an ex-soldier who believes a rocket launcher is the best way to solve every problem.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Characters
Special Agent Kate O'Hare had her man until the FBI took him from her…and gave him back. Jake O'Hare is retired special ops and still loves to lend his older daughter a hand. Especially if he can bring his rocket launcher. He's living above the garage of his younger daughter's home. Megan is married to Roger, and they have two kids: Sara and Tyler.

Master thief and con man Nicolas Fox accepted a deal with the FBI to help law enforcement con the cons. Nick Sweet will become an international entrepreneur with his executive assistant, Kate Porter.

The "team"
Wilma "Willie" Owens can fly and drive anything, anytime. Unfortunately, she has no impulse control, and she let it fly in San Luis Obispo where Sara Quirk, the 20-something assistant district attorney is not impressed. Billy Dee Snipes (his real name is Lou Ould-Abdallah) is a retired Somali pirate living in Vegas (Jake brought him in, in The Job , 3); he'll be himself in this op, a Somali warlord from Mogadishu. Boyd Capwell is an actor who lives to live his roles; he'll become Shane Blackmore, a Canadian mobster. Chet Kershaw is a wiz at special effects and currently working on a film directed by the 82-year-old Christian McVeety. Tom Underhill can build anything and usually works on imaginative playhouses, tree houses, and dog houses. (He has a wife who's pregnant again and three kids. Seems the wife really enjoys Tom's attitude after his little, ahem, excursions with Kate and Nick.) Lucie Wan is a tech wizard in Kowloon who works in computer services for an international bank.

FBI, Los Angeles
Special Agent-in-Charge Carl Jessup is Kate's immediate boss; Deputy Director Fletcher Bolton is his boss. Special Agent Seth Ryerson used to be Kate's partner…and he offers up his considerable cardplaying skills for Kate's op. Yep, he's killer at bridge.

Hawaii
Harlan Appleton is Jake's military friend in Hawaii where he operates a food truck and refuses to pay protection money. Cassie Walner is a nurse at the hospital. Lieutenant Gregg Steadman is with the Kahuku PD.

Da Grinds and Da Shave Ice is a dive restaurant from which the 350-pound Lono Alika runs his drugs all over the North Shore. Kimo had been the man responsible for Alika's truck.

"Nick McGarrett" is good at finding things. Virgil Cleet runs a helicopter tour business and is an old friend of Kate's. Allan Mingus works for the Hawaii Film Commission who falls for Krister Blomkvistbjurman-Malm's line. Sven and Gita are two of his actors…*snort, snicker*… Park Ranger Larry Keahola guides the interested parties through the site where Cretaceous Zoo was filmed.

The sociopathic Evan Trace used to be…
…a gambler before learning the error of his ways. Now he's the owner of two Côte d'Argent casinos. One in Las Vegas and the other in Macau. Mr. Garver is his enforcer with a preference for mallets. Tara functions as a personal assistant for special guests; she's also Trace's pain-givin' lover. Mr. Covington is a personal butler that goes with the suite. Niles Goodwell is manager of player relations (he takes care of the whales). Stan is an idiot gambler who cheated. Emilia Guttierez is a fake maid. Guido is a doorman. CorpsSource Services, Inc. provides cadavers to those who need them.
"Because the next time one of them was in that chair, and Trace believed it was likely that one of them would be, they'd know that they deserved their suffering and that he had every right to thoroughly enjoy it."
Côte d'Argent-Macau
Natasha Ling is vice-president of guest relations with the same "gifts" as Tara; Birgita appears to perform a similar role, in guest relations, anyway. The huge Dumah is a security operative who had once worked for Derek Griffin in The Heist , 1. Luisa is the dealer with Tony keeping track of the betting. It's Ernesto, a grandson, who's now running Lorca's. Richard Nakamura is a sales representative for a Japanese auto parts company…owned by a senior Yakuza member. The Galaxy is another casino in Macau.

Stuart Kelso had been an insurance salesman until he fell into a lucrative new line of business. Bernie was his pot-smoking son. Rilee is his third wife. Ernie is his grandson. "Nick Burns" is a State Department bureaucrat. "Jake Blake" is a bag man for the "government". "Special Agent Kate Houlihan" will guard the money.

Whales are super-rich gamblers to whom the casinos cater. The Fox Complex is a condition from which Kate suffers, one in which she's happiest chasing, and miserable when there's no chase.

Milt Freiberger is directing an all-potato-head production of Dickens' Great Expectations. Ainsley Booker is a film publicist. Dario Argento.

The Cover and Title
The cover is an intense blue-violet of puzzle pieces with a black silhouette of these two incongruous characters in suits: Nicolas is facing us, and Kate is standing to his left (our right!), glancing down at him, nudging him with her body. Hmmm, I don't think she trusts him, lol. The authors' names in an embossed font in white with a gold metallic outline while the title is in embossed gold with a gold outline. The series info is tiny and at the bottom in white.

The title should be plural as there is scam upon scam upon The Scam.

Being a Stephanie Plum fan, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Okay, so I didn't read the others in the series, but have since skimmed through them. This series is a bit of a train wreck... Evanovich's previous series were a breeze to read and so much fun! Not this book/series. We all need mindless reads from time to time, which is what I thought when I picked this book for review. This really didn't work for me, is it because it is co-authored? Is it because she takes some potshots at Canadians? Maybe. I think I will stick with books in my usual vein and leave the Evanovich series alone - my reading list is too long to waste my time on mediocre books.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Kate and Nick are back in the fourth installment of the Fox and O’Hare series. This time they’re trying to take down a casino mogul who runs a nice little money laundering operation out of his hotel. And, they’d like to get rid of the Hawaiian gangster that is giving Kate’s dad’s friend a hard time to.

Nick and Kate gather up their usual accomplices, and with the amount they’re paying all of them, they are more than happy to drop what they’re doing to assist in the latest scheme.

This time Kate and Nick are posing as junket operators bringing in high rollers to the casino to launder their money through them. But when their target blows their con, they have to come up with a new plan and pull out all the stops to get their man, or men in this case!

This installment of the series didn’t keep me as glued to the book as the other installments have, but it’s still a decent read. There is still action, an over-the-top con orchestrated by FBI’s top 10 most wanted conman, Nick Fox, and humor.

“Good grief. Are you flirting with me?”

“Honey, my intentions are way past flirting.”

“Your intentions could get you a knee in the groin.”

Nick grinned. “At least your mind’s on the right body part.”

And an added bonus … the spark between Kate and Nick is finally starting to smolder! And, we finally start seeing what they mean to each other. Not to mention those around them have started noticing as well.

“You and Nick are good together,” Jake said. “Probably in more ways than you know.”

“Let’s not go there.”

“You keep saying that to yourself, but maybe it’s time for a rethink.”

“Since when are you interested in my love life?”

“You don’t have one. You’re all about the job. With Bob, you can have both.”

“You don’t know anything about Bob.”

“I know it’s got to be Nick, because there isn’t anybody else,” Jake said. “Who could possibly compete?”

“Someone who isn’t a criminal on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for starters.”

“How boring would that guy be? He couldn’t match the excitement Nick brings to your life.

And the ending of this book left me dying to start the next one … waiting really is torture!!

*OBS would to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Title: The Scam - Fox and O'Hare Novel 4
Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Published: 9-15-15
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group/Bantam Dell
Pages: 305
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense
Sub Genre: International Crime; Women Sleuths; Crime Thriller
ISBN: 9780345543165
ASIN: B00X5SMKF4
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
My Rating: 5 Stars

.
While everyone is led to believe that FBI agent Kate O'Hare is chasing conman Nicholas Fox to arrest him for many scams and cons, the truth is they work together as a team with a ragtag team of an actor, pirate and a computer geek to bring the FBIs list of "Untouchable criminals to justice. The truth is known by few at the Bureau. In The Scam they have Evan Trace in their sites. Trace, a casino magnate with a well earned reputation for brutality. At the moment he is running a money laundering scheme through his casino in Macau. Among his clientele are mobsters, terrorist and dictators. To bring him down Fox and O'Hare go undercover as a couple of high stakes gamblers. With the lives on the line they're betting on millions that their back up crew of quirky characters can keep them alive and help them complete their assignment.

With their typical flair Evanovich and Lee pull together a story of international intrigue full of suspense and spiced up with the unusual characters and pinches of humor. The characters are varied, but well developed. With a well written plot that flows smoothly from scene to scene. The story is fast paced story will draws a reader in quickly into the dark world of the criminal and dirty their dirty dealings. As the story unfolds it will hold them enthralled until the very end. My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.

This is another great installment in a fun series. Again it provides interesting plots, lots of action and humor, globe-trotting, and a collection of fun supporting characters. And some sweet sexual tension between the two main characters. Yep, The Scam has all of the above. This time, Nick & Kate pursue their prey from Vegas to Hawaii to Macau. As usual, some plot points that require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but hey - that's what makes these books so much fun for me. And this one ended with a cliff-hanger that left me anxious to get on to the next one. When I'm in need of some light, fun reading, they're pretty much the perfect solution.

Copy provided by Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was disappointed by this book since I was expecting quirky characters like the ones in Stephanie Plum books. Although the book had a good story line, I didn’t care for it and had to force myself to finish it because I couldn’t relate to any of the larger than life characters who were almost super humans, and the fact that the nonstop action didn’t give any chance for the characters to establish relationships or to get in touch with their feelings. This book had characters who bonded over nothing other than accomplishing extremely dangerous tasks, and they all seemed like the same person. If you like explosions, car chases, Special Ops, guns, and a very fast-paced story, you will like this book. The book may be appealing to some people as a good escape but guns, and explosions, violence don’t appeal to me. I much prefer reading about quirky characters, and relationships between characters.

At this point we are all quite aware that if Janet Evanovich has a hand in it, I am going to love it. We are on our 4th Fox & O’Hare story and I am still loving everything about these characters. They are quirky, smart and charming to no end, there is never a shortage of humor and I would say thanks to Mr. Goldberg we get plenty of action and devious characters. Nick and Kate are on the job of shutting down a money laundering operation hidden within a casino, and if you didn’t know that is a complicated world for sure. We get to see our favorite worker bees of Willie, Boyd, Chet and Tom and we get Billy Lee, friend of Jake and ex-Somali pirate. Plus we get Jake, I love love his character, he really shines in several places in this book and I think most of my favorite lines I highlighted were his. I really liked how Kate and Nick's relationship started to progress and we see them realizing they may care more than they should for the other. I have to tell you to prepare yourself because this ending…..O the ending….is one that is going to leave you with a WHAT expression on your face and then you’ll realize you have to wait months to find out what has happened! It doesn’t detract from the story, I just wasn’t expecting it as the others in this series end with an opening for the next book but without the suspense of the unknown.
This was a complimentary e-copy provided by the publisher/authors in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley.

I love mysteries. I also love witty police procedural TV shows. It should come as no surprise then, that two of my favorite to watch and rewatch are "Castle" and "White Collar." "The Scam" is the perfect blend of the styles of both those shows. The humor, the great character chemistry, and the lightening-fast banter are all spot on for fans of those shows looking for a good book. I am hooked, and will now have to go back and start at the beginning of the series!

The pacing is spot on, never dragging or rushing, but keeps the reader turning the pages in anticipation. The great descriptions of the locations and characters in the story create a vivid atmosphere that sucks the reader in from page one. This all combines into a book I couldn't put down, finishing in one sitting!

One of my favorite parts was the main character Kate's interactions with her dad. In a book filled with tons of humor, these scenes were most often the reason for laugh-out-loud moments.

Another point I found interesting was the authors every once in a while show the action from the point of view of other characters, without losing the Kate-centric tale. It was a neat way to get fully rounded character development, without a lot of exposition, and the transitions between points of view was seamless, so it never felt like an interruption to the story.

Only two things in the whole book made me question the authors. The first is the fact that several times Kate states she wishes to keep a professional distance and not get involved with Nick, even though she is attracted. I really liked that side of her, but then suddenly she starts crossing lines she (up to this point in the series) held firm on. It seemed, even in the short span of this book, somewhat out of character and not the happy conclusion of a "will-they or won't-they" relationship that has been built.
The second thing was the EPIC cliffhanger! I will freely admit I was very saddened to see the blank pages awaiting me at the end of the work. I didn't want the story to end! But, alas, I will just have to wait with everyone else for the next installment of a series I am highly recommending!

I received a review copy of this work from the publisher through NetGalley

>>>>>>>>My synopsis: (review immediately follows)<<<<<<<<<

Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent wrapped up in a rather enticing package. She's smart, beautiful, strong, and able to use all that to her advantage when going after her target. Growing up in a family of strong military men who wished to impart some of their knowledge to her, they had her throwing grenades and shooting guns at a very young age. She can take a punch and give one without breaking a nail. She's the only agent to bring down the notorious Nicolas Fox and she'd be every bad boys dream if only she wasn't a straight-laced by-the-book FBI agent.

Nicolas Fox is the opposite of Kate in almost every respect. He's good-looking, charming, laid-back, and could lie his way into or out of anything with the proper incentive thrown at him. Lately, Kate has been the center of his attention. While he may never truly get the craving for the thrill of the con out of his system, he's now using his powers for good, and keeping his boredom at bay by targeting people on the wrong side of the law. Working with Kate as part of the plea bargain he made with the FBI, their latest assignment is to bring down Evan Trace.

Evan Trace owns several boutique casinos in Las Vegas and Macau that launder money for terrorists, mobsters, drug lords, etc. The FBI has no doubt that some of those funds have been used to finance acts of terrorism against the United States which is why he's being targeted. Evan is sharp as a whip and ruthless with no qualms about eliminating anyone who gets in his way or double crosses him. Kate and Nick will have to try to keep one step ahead of him in order to take him out and put an end to his illegal dealings.

>>>>>My Thoughts<<<<<<<

This was another fun, fly by the seat of your pants wild ride, er, read and the fourth installment of the Fox and O'Hare series. In this book, Kate and Nick have to do some fast talking and fancy footwork to keep ahead of the game. What looks like a straight forward con soon becomes complicated when someone fingers them as not being who they say they are. Twists and turns ensue, and the scam they devised needs to quickly be revised to spread a much larger net then they previously intended. Guns go off, explosions are had, bad guys abound, and.....well, you'll have to read to find out more. *smirk*

With a fast pace, loads of humor, and a chemistry between Kate and Nick that is fun to watch, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. Be forewarned, however, that the book has a killer cliff hanger ending that made me want the next book yesterday. If you're looking for a lighthearted read that will leave you in a good mood, then I recommend you check this one out. Oh, and is it just me or does anyone else gets the urge to eat a Toblerone after reading this one? *smile*

Notes to Keep You in the Know:
In case you were wondering, Macau is a real place... "Lying 65km to the west of Hong Kong, Macau is a city of duality. Its fortresses, churches and the culinary traditions of its former Portuguese colonial masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. These are intermixed with the customs, alleys, temples and shrines of its Chinese heritage. On the other hand, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macau is the ‘Vegas of the East’, the only place in China where gambling is legal.

Taipa was once two islands that were slowly joined together by silt from the Pearl River. A similar physical joining has happened to Taipa and Coloane because of land reclamation from the sea. The new strip of land joining the two islands is known as Cotai (from Co-loane and Tai-pa). Taipa has rapidly urbanised and it’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago it was an island of duck farms and boat yards. The small island of Coloane was a haven for pirates until 1910. Today it retains Macau’s old way of life, though luxurious villas are finding their way onto the island."

To learn more about Macau and see pictures, visit http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/macau (website where the above information was found.)

The Scam is a novel, in a series, by Lee Goldberg and Janet Evanovich. It centers on a tough female FBI agent (Kate) and a master con man (Nick). The FBI agent, as I understand it, spent several years chasing the con man and, after catching him, it is determined he would be more valuable using his con-man expertise engaging in government stings, rather than being in prison.

This installment (haven’t read the others) is about the pair catching a big-time casino owner, billionaires, and other crooks, as they launder their illegally-garnered money through gambling casinos, and subsequently, using their “clean” money for nefarious purposes -- funding terrorism and other criminal enterprises. There are exhaustive plans by the team to get these bad guys that take up a good portion of the “real estate” in this novel, and I found myself thinking too much time was spent in the planning, rather than the execution.

The protagonists are to some extent likeable – if that’s important to you. The character I liked the most was Kate’s father, an old-school special-ops type. The bad guys are sufficiently bad that you don’t care for them at all and are pleased with any punishment meted out to them.

I’ve read the other rave reviews of this novel and somewhat disagree with the high praise. I’ve read most of Lee Goldberg’s novels and found they’re top-notch; also read of few of Ms. Evanovich’s novels and enjoyed them. Together they write a good book but, to me, there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between Nick and Kate, even though they did finally wind up doing the horizontal polka. I believe this series has become one where its regular followers have developed an obsessed-cheer-leader type devotion, in the hope that Kate would finally give in and “let it happen”. As I stated earlier, I haven’t read the first novels in the series, so my opinions are based solely on the impressions I got from this book.

The humor is notable, the drama is sufficient, as is the sometimes unbelievable action -- when it’s happening. I recommend this novel to those who like the tension developed between two opposite characters, and the ensemble cast is interesting. I recommend The Scam. Three and a half stars.

NOTE: I gratefully accepted a free copy of The Scam from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I was as enthusiastic about this book, as I have been about the others (I have read them all), until the ending. What is it with authors today? They all have to leave the reader hanging, so they will rush out to get the next book in the series—as if the next book may not be good enough to sell? Or, is it publishers? I really do not know, but I wish it would stop, please. It’s turning me off big time, and, based on all the reviews I have been reading, it’s turning a big bunch of other readers off also. Having said that, as I said, this book was basically as good as the others in the series. This time, Kate and Nick go after a money laundering casino owner, and get involved in some unbelievably wild and crazy cons to entrap him. The story flows along smoothly and is, as always, totally action filled. Of course, as I said, the escapades these two devise and get into are beyond the beyond, from single-handedly disabling a crew that would put an end to anyone other than Kate (what kind of FBI agent is she anyway? Where on earth did she learn all she knows—at such a young age?) to Nick’s uncanny understanding of how low life works and thinks and wild ideas which are put into reality though they seem too difficult and/or far-fetched to try. Still, the story is well done and very interesting. I could hardly put the book down, and I wanted to keep going to find out what wild and crazy scheme was coming next. Of course, Kate’s ex-special ops father and others who have played roles in the past also made their requisite appearances, doing the unbelievable things they always do. Still, the read is a good escape read and one anyone would enjoy when reading for fun or to escape the hum-drum of everyday life. This is the life most of us only read about or see in movies, and the book combines many outrageous events, actions and ideas from many different sources. I love these books for this very reason. I just didn’t like the ending for this one, as I don’t like to be left hanging until the next book comes out. I think anyone who enjoyed the other books in the series or who is looking for a whacky, wild escape will like this one. Just remember it ends leaving you hanging--which is why I gave it four stars instead of five. I received this from Netgalley to read and provide an honest review.

Thank you to RANDOM HOUSE and Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Like the first three books in this series, The Scam was a quick read that flew right by. And yet somehow, it lost a bit of its polish for me with this installment. It felt like the plot was all over the place, and it was simply too intricate to describe with an even flow. Too many details bogged down the story. The first three could be blown right through, but you had to pay closer attention to this one. Because of that, the series lost its easy breezy feel.

We know Kate and Nick by now (not enough about Nick, in my opinion, and at this point I wonder if we’ll ever get any more details on him,) and their characters haven’t deviated since the The Heist. The same players that were brought into previous cons were utilized here as well, and it was fun to see them all again. Boyd and his eccentricities about throwing himself into his roles are becoming the highlights of each book for me. He is a fun character to read about, because he’s so off the wall and unpredictable. I like seeing Kate’s family in each installment; it gives us a better sense of who she is and shows us how she caters to her role in the FBI, her role as Nick’s partner, and her roles as sister, aunt, and daughter.

Nick really amped up the flirting in this one, and he got more of a rise out of Kate than he as in the past.

Heads up – this book ends on a cliffhanger, and while in some cases I don’t mind a cliffhanger, I feel like it’s unnecessary here. There was almost a year between release dates for these books, and that’s just too long to wait for an answer to a cliffhanger ending. The scene could have just as easily been the beginning scene for the next book. While this book didn’t capture quite the same magic as the first three books in this series had, it was still entertaining. Fingers crossed the series gets its momentum back with the next book!

Agent Kate O’Hare always has mixed feelings when her boss, Special Agent Jessup, calls with another assignment involving one of the FBI’s most wanted, Nicolas Fox. Their first encounter in THE HEIST was Kate’s first real assignment to track down and capture the crafty con man, only to find out he was of more use to the FBI as a guy who could outcon his fellow scam artists than he was cooling his heels in prison.

This time out, slick casino operator Evan Trace is suspected of running money-laundering schemes involving mobsters, dictators and international terrorists through his offshore casinos in Macau. Kate and Nick, along with Kate’s father, Jake, an ex-soldier who never met a weapon he didn’t like, team up with some of Jake and Nick’s more nefarious associates to put the bad guys behind bars or in the ground.

THE SCAM is the fourth book in this series that blends Janet Evanovich’s iconic sassy crime writer persona with Lee Goldberg’s TV and detective screenwriting skills. This time, Kate and Nick, working undercover as Kate Porter and Nick Sweet, parlay five million dollars in ill-gotten cash from a Florida email fraud artist to launch an act as high roller gambling whales in an FBI-backed sting. They jet from Vegas to Hawaii to Macau and Hong Kong in private jets, decked out in designer duds and toting bags of cash. They pose as a high-stakes entrepreneur and his associate trying to blow their millions in Trace’s casinos.

Evanovich (whose name is synonymous with the saucy pseudo-mysteries featuring Jersey girl Stephanie Plum) and Goldberg (producer and writer of the long-running “Monk” series and several mysteries) are a perfect matchup for light, over-the-top reading entertainment.

Reviewed by Roz Shea

Fourth entry in the series continues between the female FBI lead and the reformed bad guy. This time they set out to take down a money laundering casino owner and the various criminals that use his services for this purpose. The usual crew of characters helps with the scam to take down the bad guys.

[spoiler alerts]
There is no longer much attempt to do things legally, and Kate is resigned to the fact that Nick will spend big money to get scams accomplished. There is very little interplay, support, or accountability with the FBI management or peers. Kate has full carte blanche now it seems.

In my review for book 3, I mentioned that “there is sexual tension between them but if you are looking for a flirty romance, these characters are going to take maybe a dozen books to get anywhere.” I was wrong. Don’t expect to see it happen, the chapter ends, new chapter starts weeks later and she’s chatting with her father. My issue is that their connection only served as a device to preview the next release and did not reward the readers with anything surrounding the moment itself. It was awkwardly presented.

Other reviewers complained about the ending and I had concerns when I started, wondering just how bad could it be? But after reading, I had no problem with the way it ends. Other authors choose to use Epilogue or preview Chapter 1 of the next release instead of using the last chapter of this book as the beginning to the next mystery.

Other than that, it was an enjoyable read, and I will continue reading the series.

Format: Borrowed ebook

First off, I need to start with stating I am a HUGE Janet Evanovich fan because of the Stephanie Plum books. I can't read those books without laughing out loud. I was worried to see a new series and hesitant to be let down from one of my favorite authors...I don't know what I was worried about! This series is dynamite! Yes, each story has the same basic setup, Nick the conman and 10th on the America's Most Wanted List and Kate, the kick-butt FBI Agent, team up in secret to find the "untouchable" bad guys, scam the bad guys, with the help of their band of misfits and avoid their mounting attraction to each other. The Scam has a lot of twists and turns and makes for one heck of a ride, but is pulled together in the end, with a whopper of a cliffhanger. I can't wait until #5 comes out!

This is the fourth book in this series, but can be read as a standalone book. However, you will want to go back and read the first three as well, as sometimes there are mentions from past books and it might be a bit confusing if you miss out on some of the fun from the beginning!

Overall, like all the books in the Fox & O'Hare Series, this book was fabulous. Sometimes as series goes along there are some books that don't deliver, but that is NOT the case with this series, every book in this series is pure awesomeness! The Fox & O'Hare series books are entertaining, fun, fast-paced reading with great writing enhanced by an enjoyable story lines and the most amazing characters!

I received an ARC of this book, from NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!!

In this exciting fourth installment in Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg's series Nick Fox and Kate O'hare delve deep into Las Vegas and the world of gambling, and if you haven't found yourself comparing the Fox and O'hare series to Oceans 11 yet, you will now.

This time the stakes are higher, the plan is riskier, and the action is crazier than before as Nick and Kate pull their crew together. Along the way they find themselves being challenged to work closer together while still trying to resist the fiery spark that has connected them for so long.

I can't help but love this series. Its funny, it's filled with great con's, and it keeps me on my toes the whole way through. This time I got all that and more. The plan kept changing, while the story was filled with more and more twists, and Kate and Nick's relationship really started to take a step in the right direction in this book.

As always I loved the crew. Boyd is and will always be my favorite of the people they bring in. I feel like in this book there was some character development with a few of the crew members, which made me smile. The story was good, and the con well planned. And just when you think everything is wrapped up, Evanovich and Goldberg throw another twist in that will leave readers desperate for the fifth novel.

I loved The Scam. It's a solid entry in the Fox and O'hare series and I cannot wait until the next book comes out.

Note: I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest opinion which I have stated above.

The Scam is the fourth installment in the Fox and O’Hare series co-written by bestselling authors Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Nick Fox is a con-man who is using his expertise, experience, and con-man mindset to help Kate O’Hare, who is FBI, capture criminals. In this case, Evan Trace runs a money laundering operation through his casinos, and Nick & Kate, have been assigned to shut him down. Of course Nick finds ways to obtain several million dollars from a known scam artist who falls for one of his own scams, and together they enter the dangerous world of high-rollers.

There are twists and turns throughout, and both Nick and Kate are put in grave danger. Kate’s father also enters the scene; he’s retired military and loves to help his daughter. Unfortunately, he believes that a rocket launcher will solve everything, so Kate and Nick have to be on their toes to thwart any unnecessary actions.

Although the story is quite implausible, as well as irreverent, and a bit facetious, the book is difficult to put down. The main characters are quite well-developed and definitely likeable. There is chemistry going on between Nick and Kate, but Kate, in the interest of being a true professional, does her best to quash any temptation.

The novel is light, humorous, and fast moving. Both authors have won numerous awards for previous novels, and The Scam is well-written, easy to follow, entertaining, and fun. This novel is not destined to be a classic, but is worth reading nonetheless.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying an advance review copy of this book.

4.25 stars. I have really enjoyed this series and I enjoyed this book but I keep hoping through these books that we get to know Nick a little better. I want more details about him, I want to get inside his head and that still hasn't happened. The scam in this book wasn't quite as entertaining as the previous scams although I still enjoyed it. I have to admit I adore Kate's father and he adds so much to the books for me. The rest of the gang is all back and up to their usually crazy antics. Nick ups the flirtation with Kate and things progress. <spoiler>Although I was disappointed that when they finally got together the whole thing took place off page</spoiler> The witty banter between Kate and Nick is entertaining and fun. This book does end in a cliffhanger and I'm glad I didn't have to wait the year in between books since I already have the fifth book.

Overall a fun and entertaining read but still lacking in character depth for Nick. Still I'm on board for book 5.

The award-winning team of Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg are back with another fun adventure featuring the wily and charming Nick Fox and the always capable Kate O’Hare.

The Fox and O’Hare books are perfect for anyone who enjoys heist novels that are clever and complex and seasoned with more than a dash of romance and humor. Nick Fox is the quintessential conman. He is able to take on any role, and is able to find the weaknesses of even the most clever crooks. Kate O’Hare is an FBI agent with a passion for weapons and all-you-can-eat buffets. Together, they run cons designed to catch criminals who otherwise would escape prosecution – all while trading jokes and flirtatious quips.

In The Scam, Fox and O’Hare target the owner of a Las Vegas casino known to launder money for many unsavory groups, mobsters and terrorists alike. So far, there isn’t enough evidence to shut him down. When it comes to light that he will soon be laundering money for a terrorist group targeting Europe, Kate and Nick plan an extravagant con that takes them and their allies from Vegas to Macau.

If you love Ocean’s 11, you will adore The Scam. While the novel isn’t as funny as some of her Stephanie Plum novels, The Scam is a fun ride filled with laughter, excitement, innuendo, and more than a few explosions.

4/5

The Scam is available for preorder and will be released September 15, 2015.

I received a copy of The Scam from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

–Crittermom

A fun, light and quick read. Though not quite as fun and a little more light than the previous volume in the series. An on the nose call-out in the middle of the book compares events to 'The Sting', 'Ocean's 11' and 'The Thomas Crown Affair', though I would throw in 'Remington Steele' and 'Burn Notice' for the added romantic 'tension' and quick pacing.

You've still got a Federal agent working both sides of the law paired with an art thief who's supposed to be helping her pull cons on behalf of the United States government to nab criminals that are beyond the reach of normal investigations. This time around her combat skills are ramped up to Jason Bourne levels and he's got international connections that are worthy of James Bond. They bring in several of their usual cohorts to scam a casino owner who'd using his gambling operations to help mobsters, pirates and terrorists launder their money.

This paragraph is lifted from my review of the previous book: Just like a television movie, none of the story makes any sense when submitted to any scrutiny. The capers are paper thin. The characters are cardboard flat. Real motivation is missing in action. And yet, like a television movie, it's fast-paced, colorful, and eye-catching.

Pick this up for a read on a plane trip or sitting on the beach and the minutes will fly by.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review.

4.5 stars

Just like all of Janet’s other books, this book was entertaining from page one. Janet has an amazing way of providing you with a story that has good suspense, but also has you laughing the whole way.

This time, Kate and Nick are out to take down a psychotic man who’s using the casinos he owns to launder money. Not only is he scary smart and knows how to play the game, he also enjoys inflicting pain on himself and others. Seriously, this dude is pretty crazy. But when he sets his sites on Kate, Nick knows he has to take this guy down any way possible, and as quickly as he can.

Not only do you see Kate and Nick in this story, Kate’s dad is there also to help take down all the crazy bad guys surrounding them. I love Kate’s dad more and more every time he joins in on the chase!

It’s not only do Kate and Nick have the bad guys to worry about, they are constantly fighting they’re constantly fighting the intense attraction they have towards each other. Well, Kate is anyways. Seriously, sometimes I wish Kate would just give in, but then we’d miss out on how hilarious she is when she’s all flustered around Nick.

I love Janet Evanovich and I’ve yet to find a book that I haven’t loved from her! I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense/mystery along with some great humor!

**ARC was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg is the fourth book in the Fox and O’Hare series. Kate O’Hare is an FBI Agent who has an unusual partner. Nicolas Fox is a world class con artist and thief. Kate caught him and the FBI is now using him to catch other criminals. Their latest assignment is taking them into the world of gambling and money laundering in Macao (China). They are going to take down Evan Trace who owns Cote d’Argent (a hotel in Las Vegas as well). He lets unscrupulous people launder their money through his casinos (for a fee). Kate and Nick will have to come up with a good plan to take down Evan Trace. They will have the help of Kate’s father, Jack O’Hare (retired army who loves weapons, spending time in jungles, and blowing up things). This team will have to work quickly and be able to adapt in order to catch their prey.

The Scam is a fast-paced novel that is so much fun to read. There is a lot of action in the book as well as some steamy romance. I give The Scam 4.5 out of 5 stars. The one thing I did not like was the cliffhanger ending (spoiler). You can enjoy The Scam without having read the previous books in the series (I did). If you are looking for a thriller/suspense book with a lot of action (and some fun), this is the book for you!

I received a complimentary copy of The Scam from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book in the Fox and O'Hare series which focuses on FBI agent Kate O'Hare and semi reformed criminal Nick Fox. In my opinion, Nick and Kate just get better and better with each book. Their back and forth banter and the way they constantly try to dance around their attraction to each other keeps me amused. In this book, Kate is doing most of the dancing around while Nick is pursuing. Honestly, I can't imagine why any woman wouldn't just hand herself over to Nick.

Kate and Nick are tasked with taking down a criminal casino owner who happens to love inflicting pain. He enjoys pain himself and wants to enjoy it with Kate. Nick is not about to let that happen, but he may not be able to avoid a little pain of his own. All the usual crew of misfits, including Kate's dad, come together to pull off the biggest scam yet and hopefully wipe out not just one but two bad guys.

I love this series. It has great chemistry, lots of action, a charming hero, and a woman who totally kicks butt and is proud of it. All the quirky secondary characters just make the story even more interesting. Just when I got happy about the ending, however, the authors threw in a bit of a curve ball. Now I absolutely can't wait for the next book!

I received an ARC for review from Net Galley.

The Scam is the fourth in Fox and O'Hare series. The series centers around Nick Fox; con man and master thief and Kate O'Hare; FBI agent with her heart set on capturing the elusive criminal. In reality the two are actually working together to capture bad guys worldwide, after all who has better insight into the criminal mind than the guy on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

Nick and Kate set out to put an end to Evan Trace, Las Vegas and Macau casino owner famous for laundering money and running junket schemes. The story takes the duo and recurring cast of characters including the hilarious Willie Owens and Jake, Kate's Dad on a trip spanning the globe from Vegas to Oahu to Macau and back.

The Evanovich/Goldberg partnership is a good one. The stories are fast paced and fun with just the right amount of violence. The jams that Kate and Nick find themselves in and the steps they take to get out of them are a little farfetched, so the serious mystery/thriller lover would be disappointed in this series. For me, this series is a good break from my normal reading genre.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley via Random House Publishing. Although I wasn't required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

ARC provided by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This series just gets better with the release of each new book. It has Evanovich's trademark dry humor and wit along with a kick ass plot that has you guessing to the very end. I can clearly see Lee Goldberg's influence and this collaboration is a hit. I love it!

As far as the plot goes, I'm not going to reveal much, because I want you to have to joy of discovery for yourself. I will say that this time Nick and Kate, with the FBI's blessing, are after a nasty piece of work using his casinos to launder money for terrorists and anyone else who needs to hide where their ill gotten gains come from. He is also a sadist and likes pain, for himself and others. He hopes to include Kate in his little games. Like Nick is going to let that happen.

Nick's faithful crew and Kate's dad, Jake, are right there to support Nick and Kate and bring the baddies to justice. Jake has a personal interest in seeing one of the baddies go down. Kate is still fighting her feelings and attraction for Nick and Nick is dealing with his serious feelings for Kate, but he is not likely to change into Kate's ideal model citizen anytime soon. This scam is their biggest yet and the stakes are just as high.

I would like to note that I haven’t read the previous three books in this series, but was able to just pick this one up and enjoy without feeling left out. The Scam is #4 in a series about FBI agent Kate O’Hare. It would appear to the outside world that Kate is on Nick’s trail to bring him down when secretly, Kate and Nick team up to take down other criminals.

This whole book is setting up for a con to take down Evan Trace who runs a casino in Macau for others to launder money through. Trace’s customers are criminals, mobsters, dictators and terrorists. Nick and Kate go undercover to launder money in hopes to take Trace down. They team up with a Somali pirate, a Canadian actor and Kate’s father who is an ex-solider.

What I liked that is different about this series over the Plum series is that Kate is a capable FBI agent. She is a strong female character who is in control. Stephanie Plum was about as qualified to be a bond agent as I am. While I love the Plum novels like no other, it is nice to read about a capable female! Girl power!

You get a little bit of cat and mouse between Nick and Kate as they flirt with each other. There is plenty of Evanovich’s humor thrown in. You learn a little about the secondary characters, and all around this was a great read. Nothing too deep or crazy, I consumed it in a matter of just a few days.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever a famous writer is listed as the co-author of a book along with a lesser-known author you can be sure the book was written by the latter and the former’s name is just added to sell more books. Such is most likely the case with The Scam, which lists Janet Evanovich as the lead author, and Lee Goldberg as the lesser known one with his name in smaller letters. Ms. Evanovich is, of course, the author of the best selling Stephanie Plum books, which are filled with humor and zany characters and situations. The Scam, on the other hand, is a straight crime story with relatively little humor and rather ordinary characters. The “good guys” are FBI agent Kate O’Hare, her father Jake and scam artist Nicholas Fox. The “bad guys” are casino owner and money launderer, Evan Trace, and Hawaii mobster Lono Alinka, whose main quality seems to be bad English. Kate and Nick devise their own scam that takes them to the Chinese gambling city of Macao. Stuff happens and the bad guys pay the price in the end. All in all, this novel is not particularly interesting. You would do better to read Evanovich’s many Plum novels.

I got this book free from NetGalley for an honest review and I am glad I did. Even though I read a lot I have never read a book by Janet Evanovich. I keep saying I will read one of her books and then another book catches my eye. So, by committing to writing a review, I finally read one. At first I wasn't sure I would like it, but the more I read the more engrossed I became to the point I couldn't put it down. The next 5 hours of my life was spent with Nick and Kate and the other characters in the book. It was an exciting time! Even the bad guys were entertaining! I loved the humor and the relationship between Kate and her father Jake was awesome. If only more real life relationships could be like theirs, minus the guns, of course!

I was given a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.

The Scam would have easily gotten 4 stars from me were it not for the last few pages. Had it just ended after the scam was completed, those 4 stars would have been earned. But alas, we had to write just a few more pages and add a cliff hanger. I don't mind reading a series, but I am a firm believer that every book in that series needs to wrap up.

That being said, up until the cliff hanger, the book was great. I was surprised, and saddened, that it was so short when I first started reading it, but it seemed longer than it was, and in a good way. There were actually a few con jobs that happened throughout the story, and they were all pretty entertaining. We saw the return of some previous characters. I don't think that there would be an issue if this were the first Fox and O'Hare that a reader picked up, the mentions of previous cases and people were at a minimum. Though this will obviously not be the case in the next book.

Overall, a pretty good read, even better if you stop as soon as "the scam" is wrapped up.

I borrowed this ebook from the public library as I love this series. Janet and Lee are a great pair when it comes to writing together.

Nick and Kate are at it again, this time going after Evan Trace who is in the casino business but not necessarily legit.

Characters from previous books in this series like Willie, Boyd, and Chet to name a few are involved in this story--some like Boyd, throughout a lot of the story and others like Willie only minor near the ending when it comes together in getting the bad guy.

It was great to see that Kate and Nick are moving forward in their relationship with each other. I can't wait to read the next book, especially with the cliffhanger at the end.

I just loved this fourth book in this series. It was a fun read with humor, action, suspense, and of course it was packed with lots of quirky characters. There are ex-military, criminals, actors, a special effects guy, and even a retired pirate. The main characters Kate O’Hare and Nick Fox work so well together. One a FBI agent and one an international criminal. I love all the travelling to different places and the author describes the areas so well that I feel I am there! This book was fast paced and I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the interactions, the setups, and the explosions. It is a tongue in cheek humor and story line but it works. I did get a little confused with how the Scam kept changing and this one was a bit more violent than previous books but overall I loved it. Keep up the good work and keep writing these humorous books!!

Fox and O'Hare are back with another highly entertaining caper that brings them and their crew to the world of casinos in Las Vegas and Macau and the island paradise of Hawaii. Nick continues to be at his best in planning to con the world's most sought after con artists with the help of the much more practical and rule-abiding FBI Special Agent Kate. While Nick and Kate enjoy working together, they both miss the excitement of the chase when he was running from her and the law. It's also getting that much harder for Kate to keep Nick at a distance considering their considerable chemistry. The Scam is a fast paced story with a colorful cast of characters that makes you wish the next installment was ready to read!

4.5 stars
*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another fun read with two-dimensional, trite and somewhat funny when not boring and predictable characters throughout, but the protagonists Kate and Nick, are complicated and interesting.

Enjoyed it enough to finish it and have read the others in the series.

It is obvious that these two authors and their research team are involved in outdoing each other with what ridiculous situations can they next put their characters into and how many violent moments, gadgets, cons and double-cons, explosions and expensive vehicles they can they use/generate without killing anyone readers actually like.

The story conferences would make a good book which I'd very much like to read.

i've read all of the books in the series, and when the cover came up on netgalley i pushed the button really, really fast! thanks for letting me read it early!

now, i don't know about you, but i tend to read these at a breakneck speed. what happened next? what happened next? i ended up rereading the end, because i said WHAT?? out loud, and i thought i read it wrong. nope, it ends in a What?

my plan is to read it again this week, with a cup of coffee, and maybe some cookies. but i'm pretty sure the What? will get me again!

so, my advice is buy it, borrow it, get your hands on a copy and Enjoy it!

The Scam
by Janet Evanovich
Having more enemies is not what Kate and Nick need. The Scam is another case of too many players in the field of criminal minds. Kate with the help of Nick, and her father Jack will face mobsters, gamblers and Yakuza enforcers. Their plans to take down a casino boss is put on hold. This adventure will test their ability to outwit, and conquer their enemies is the key to their partnership. When Jack has gone to Hawaii to help a friend deal with a Hawaiian mobster. He finds himself weaponless and hunted in the jungle. With help from his daughter and her estranged contact he not only advantages his friend but helps establish him in business. The Scam is the story the readers have been waiting for, when Kate and Nick finally find their moment.

The Evanovich voice we have come to love is finally back in The Scam. Maybe it is Lee Goldberg who pushed her to break the Stephanie Plum love triangle formula she has beaten into the ground in her other successful series- and that break is a home run in this hilariously fun, caper-style story.
The side great side characters are back plus a few, new, very well-written villains. Nick finally shows all his cards and even Kate is starting to evolve beyond the job and open her heart to new possibilities.
I rated the last book in this series as funny, but average and formulaic. This entry in the series has it all: love, excitement, comedy, and great pacing that has left me wanting more. Well played.

This is the fourth book in the Fox and O'Hare Series. FBI agent Kate O'Hare is partnered with Nick Fox, a con man and thief, to catch bad guys the unconventional way. The story had a lot of plot elements and got bogged down by the mechanics of making them happen. I'm a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series, so had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was at least 60% through before I got into the story and even then it wasn't very interesting. It did make me chuckle a few times, though. They're playing the long game on a romance between Kate and Nick in this series but what little steaminess occurs we're not privy to, just hear about it after the fact.

This is the fourth novel co-written by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg in the Fox and O’Hare novels. Kate O’Hare is a straight-up FBI agent, ex-military, and darn good at her job. As a ‘thanks’ for catching the oh-so-charming con man Nick Fox the Bureau snatched him out of jail and put them together as partners to use very un-FBI like tactics to catch the truly bad guys; or, as it says in the book, to catch major league criminals who can’t be caught through legal means.

The book opens with Nick running a con on a professional con man and coming away with millions of dollars in cash. That money in turn is used to seed the playing field for the scam to bring about the downfall of a major player in the laundering of dirty money from criminals and terrorist groups the U. S. Government can’t touch. When you add in Kate’s father taking on the biggest crime lord in Hawaii single handedly, well this book just kept on getting more interesting by the page.

I had not read any of the three previous novels in the series, but had no trouble in understanding the dynamics between the lead characters. The action and the surroundings are very much over-the-top which is only to be expected in a novel of this genre. I liked that large portions of the book were humorous and showed the humor and humanity of the characters. I do have to warn you, though, there is a cliff hanger ending. Not a favorite for me so I’ll have to decide later if I want to come back to the series to read the next book.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley.

They’re back – that crazy duo – FBI agent Kate O’Hare and super scam artist turned FBI ‘assistant’, Nick Fox, and this time they plan to take down not just a Vegas and Macau casino owner money laundering for various mobs and terrorists, but some of the mob as well.

Scam piles upon scam as Kate and Nick’s plans go awry until Nick thinks of one worth of Paul Newman’s THE STING – will Kate and Nick’s plans work? Will they put the casino owner and some of the mob out of business?

Hide your phone, lock your doors, call in sick – do anything you can to relish one wild and breathtaking ride as you join Kate and Nick in their latest super adventure!

One of my favorite con men, the debonair Nicholas Fox, returns in another adventure with straight-laced FBI agent Kate O’Hare. It’s another fun read, beginning in Vegas and reaching to money laundering casinos in Asia, where the bad guy almost figures out how to con the con. One of the best thing about these books have been the stellar secondary characters Kate and Nick call on to help sell their latest con. Kate’s dad Jake is always a favorite and Boyd didn’t drive me as crazy this time! This has been a pretty entertaining series overall. I think the collaboration with another author has helped Evanovich find some new mojo that’s been lacking in the latest Plum books.

I am enjoying this series better than the Stephanie Plum series. The action and camaraderie between the characters is a refreshing and entertaining read. You will get lost and start to absorb the flow of the story and want to get to the end to find out how they were able to stop the bad guys. It is interesting to read the dynamics between Kate & Nick and wonder will they ever get together. Some of their high jinks are hilarious. They’ll hate to want each other, they’ll butt heads, but in the end they won’t be able to resist each other. With the tasteful fade-to-black love scenes, and the funny-as-heck humor, you’ll be wooed into reading this series.

I group all of Janet Evanovich's books into my "fun reads" category when recommending books. They are never heavy or emotional that require tissues or a day to recover. They are just a good time and a guilty pleasure for me.

The Fox and O'Hare series is action packed and full of sexual tension. This latest installment is no different. The Scam is full of win from beginning to end. I enjoyed every minute of it. The plot was well done and fast paced. It kept my attention and didn't let up till the end of the book. I love that.

I think these two authors pair up nicely and I look forward to reading more from them.

Watch out Stephanie Plum..... I grew up near and owned a business in Chamberburg and basically grew up with Stephanie Plum novels and boy did I love them. Recently I've been less than thrilled with them, but this new series is definitely hitting the spot for me. I love the banter and the tension between Kate and Nick. The secondary characters are crazy and fun. There is plenty of action and intrigue. The whole thing just feels fresh and full of life. So although Stephanie will always provide me with fond memories, I think Kate is replacing her as my go to kick a$$ heroine.
*I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was my first book in this new series with Nick Fox and Kate O'Hare and won't be my last. Nick is a most wanted criminal turned FBI informant and Kate is the FBI agent in charge of keeping him in line and catching the bad guys the FBI can't touch. Fox and O'hare have chemistry and work well together. I loved the twists and turns their scams made as they traveled all over the world. The authors words made you feel as you were in those places and the supporting characters are excellent written and help make the story. I loved the story and Kate O'hare but am still a fan of Stephanie Plum who I love and can't get enough of.

As I read the latest in the Evanovich/Goldberg series, I thought that they would make a great TV series. There is enough sexual tension between Nick and Kate to satisfy the female viewers and enough action to satisfy the male viewers. There is even enough banter between the characters to satisfy everyone and the secondary characters are fleshed out enough to make them believable. I know from the author biographies that Goldberg is, indeed, a TV writer, but I've always thought Ms Evanovich would make a great TV writer too. Her Plum series was made into a poorly received movie, One For The Money. I've seen it. I thought it would have been better as a TV series too. Still do.

i so enjoy these books by Janet Evanovich and Goldberg Lee. I really enjoy the humor, the suspense and the travel. They do a great job of transporting you to the places and time they are relaying. I also enjoy the fact that they continued with some of the same characters, such as Kate's father, Jake. It's a continuation and that's what series are about. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

I have been dreading removing this from my feed for the last 4 chapters have read evanovich for over 35 years used to seat mosquitos with the loveswept paperbacks,saved me from encephalitis but would really like to find the ones with the male chippendale nature over and the Oregon Brown d.j.

Wow...Wow...and more Wow!!! This series is freaking fantastic! Kate & Nick are really awesome characters. The seem to be complete opposites on the outside but when you get deeper you realize they are much more alike that they first seemed. They also seem to be two halves of a whole. I think this book in the series has been the most suspenseful and exciting, it's definitely come out as my favorite so far but I know it's only going to get better. I love that all the side characters return, they are so much fun and just make this the perfect crime fighting through committing crimes team out there.

I have been reading Janet Evanovich's books for years and have always enjoyed them, mostly because of a caustic and sassy sense of humor. This book is totally different from her other books, however the humor is still there. I think her team-up with Goldberg Lee is a great one, and this book is also.
The premise of an FBI agent and a con man teaming up to solve crimes is an unlikely one, but these two authors make it almost feasible, and totally believable for a reader with a sense of whimsy. I REALLY enjoyed this book and plan to read the others in the series. Good Job !!

The scam by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg
Kate and Nick are on the trail to find others that can't be caught through a regular source.
Travel and more cases come up along with finding out who blew up her father's friends trucks in HI.
Liked hearing about all the technology they use to physically catch the bad guys in the jungle and on the gambling tables.
Others think they need to make the next time and spend more quality time together-in bed.
Like how it ends, didn't see that coming. First book I've ever read from this author.

As much as I love mysteries, it’s nice to take a break every so often. I view these breaks as pallet cleansers that refresh me enough to go back and enjoy the mysteries I love so much. One series I have come to love for this is the Fox and O’Hare series. Yes, it’s still a crime story, but this is more caper than traditional mystery. The Scam is the latest in the series, and it’s another great ride.

The series focuses on the unlikely partnership between FBI agent Kate O’Hare and FBI most wanted conman Nick Fox. Publically, Kate is still trying to track him down. However, the truth is that, instead of going to prison after Kate caught him, Nick and Kate have teamed up with FBI blessing to pull elaborate cons that result in other criminals being arrested. Meanwhile, Kate is also resisting the attraction she and Nick both feel.

This book finds the pair working to bring down the owner of a casino. Oh, Evan Trace’s crime is not that he makes money off gamblers. While he has a casino in Las Vegas, it’s his casino in Macau that is the problem. It’s being used launder money that is then being used to finance terrorists. The hope is to turn him into an FBI asset so they can foil terrorist plots, but at a minimum they want to shut him down.

Nick comes up with a plan that involves fake gamblers (members of Nick and Kate’s regular crew) getting bilked and coming after Trace. However, as the con progresses, things get more and more complicated. Will they be able to turn Trace into an asset or have they bitten off more than they can chew this time?

This book threw in a few elements that seemed to have no bearing on the story when first introduced, but they were important by the end. Well, a couple still weren’t used, but I have a feeling they were set up for future books. As usual, the book starts with a steady pace that picks up as you near the climax. There are some surprises along the way, too, that fans of the series will enjoy.

The characters in this series are fun. They are weaker than the characters in books I normally read, but they work for these books. There’s a normal crew of people that Nick and Kate turn to for help with their cons, and I love seeing them since they are always good for a laugh or two.

Yes, there is some humor in these books. This is Janet Evanovich after all. Overall, these aren’t as comedic as some of the books I read, but the laughs are fun.

We get the story from multiple points of view as things unfold. Usually it’s either Kate or Nick, but sometimes it’s one of the other players in the caper. I did notice a couple of head hops during the climax, but usually the point of view sticks with just one character per scene. The writing is sharp, and it makes for a very fast read. As always I flew through this book.

And I can already guarantee that I will fly through the next book. With how this book ends, I need to know what will happen next. Seriously, I’m counting down the days.

So if you are looking for a globetrotting adventure, pick up The Scam. It’s a fun escape that will keep you entertained.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Good guys, bad guys, bad guys who are now good guys. Bad guys running scams, good guys running scams to catch the bad guys. Lots of action, lots of laughs, and a good story. Nick and Kate are over the top but don't veer into caricature like the Stephanie Plum character does. (to me anyway). The elaborate cons are reminiscent of old tv shows like Mission Impossible or the A-Team - - or the movie The Sting. They're totally preposterous and totally enjoyable.

This series is great fun! The shocking cliffhanger at the end of this book guarantees there will be more.

I really have not read this series before and am sorry now I waited so long to try it. I like the characters and the fact that this is a very quick read. Granted THE SCAM all about the action so it moves fast with bits of humor tossed in to season it. If you are looking for an exotic, off shore setting (Macau) and two very likeable protagonists this should be high on your "to read" list. Don't expect anything profound or complicated when you pick this novel up but it will engage you and hold your interest. This is perfect for a long flight or rainy afternoon!

I think this series has improved with each installment. I don't normally like co-authored books, but I think Janet Evanovich pulls it off better than most. The Evanovich-Goldberg combo brings a nice mix of goofiness and suspense. This book has us following Nick, Kate, and company to Las Vegas, Oahu, and Macau. Jake tags along and yes, he brings his rocket launcher. It's a great book for unwinding with a splash of adventure.

One of my favorite lines was this nod to the Millennium Series: “I am Krister Blomkvistbjurman-Malm, of course. Don't you recognize me?"

I liked the Stephanie Plum books because they were a good mystery, had fun characters and weren't terribly violent. I guess i'm showing that i am not a millenial, but blown up cars and mangled fingers are not interesting to me. Other than the violence, which doesn't leave a lot, it was not a bad mystery. Of course, as usual, you must suspend reality. It is fiction, after all.

The Fox and O’Hare series reminds me of the Ocean 11, 12 etc. film series, but with a twist. The crooks are working for the FBI. They run a scam trying to bring down the bad guys.

I enjoy this series. The writing team of Evanovich and Goldberg work as well together as their fictional team of Fox and O’Hare. They keep the action fast paced and pretty believable. It feels like it really could happen this way. Fox and O’Hare are fairly well developed, but most of the supporting cast are pretty much there just to fulfill a task. They are brought in to do a job and they do what they have to do without intruding too much into the action. If you have been reading the series, you will know most of them from previous books, if not it won’t matter. Everything still works just fine.

One thing I really like about this series is that it is a true series, not a serialized book. The whole story is told in this one book. You can pick it up and read it as if it was a stand-alone book. Then once all the loose ends are tied up, they add one more chapter. The last chapter adds a cliffhanger. Something happens in the final chapter that lets you know where the next book will start, but it isn’t a continuation of the current book. It’s kind of like a preview shown at the end of a television show. Kudos!

The Scam is another fun, sexy, action-filled, fast-paced, addition to possibly my favorite Janet Evanovich series. I think the writing team approach to this series really works well. I look forward to reading the next book, and hope that it will be here soon.

I give The Scam 4 1/2 Stars out of 5, and A Big Thumbs Up! If you have read any of Janet Evanovich’s books, I’m sure you will like this one. If you like heist or con-man type movies, give this book a read; you will have fun.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Seems like this book was written in a hurry. Not much depth at all. Even the clever repartee between Kate and Nick is kind of flat and formulaic. The characters set up one high rolling gambling scam after another, with different sets of conmen trying to out-con each other. The comic book style violence even seems strained, and as a whole the story line is pretty fluffy with a hokey cliff-hanger ending. Maybe these two excellent authors ought to wait until they have a great, new idea for a story before they churn out another book in this series.

The 4th book in the Fox and O’Hare series, Evanovich and Goldberg deliver another clever, fast-paced romp. In this installment, Nick and Kate are trying to take down a money laundering casino owner as well as a gangster who threatened Kate’s father. As always, there’s tons of lying, sneaking, and acting. Also in this book, Kate finally succumbs to Nick’s advances, though it isn’t said straight out. A bit more detail on that would not have gone awry. All in all, a fun, quick read, and as good as we’ve grown to expect from the authors.

This Book Review is posted by Anna Patterson. Writer, Journalist, Book Reviewer, date to be set, 2015

THE SCAM A Fox and O’Hare Novel – Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg – Random House publishing Group, Ballantine, Bantam Mystery and Thrillers. Publishing date: September 15, 2015.

I am a blogger and reviewer. I was privileged to read this book as a professional reviewer on Net Galley. I received a copy to read through the Net galley program in exchange for an honest and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.

I would give this book Five Stars because I consider it high impact entertainment from beginning to end.

Because I wanted to share my interest in this book with my friends, I am posting a review on several of my blog sites

Kate O’Hare is a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and in her profession until she is drawn into a complicated venture with a man she doesn’t trust. She is an FBI agent, and he is a man who is possibly a genius at going the other way and getting others to run after him. She begins to do this, and their escapades are nothing short of delightful.
Kate is drawn into a rocky relationship which is complex and interesting throughout.
Kate considers her own thoughts of Nick at one point: “Kate squelched a grimace. It was nice to know he cared enough to risk his own safety, but it was frightening to think of Nick bumbling through the forest. Especially since her dad probably had it bobby-trapped.”

This book is described as the fourth book in the fast-paced, action-packed Fox and O’Hare series from Janet Evanovich No. 1 bestselling author of the blockbuster Stephanie Plum novels, and Lee Goldberg, bestselling author of the Monk series.

Nick and Kate are back with cons and trickery! Jake, Kate's dad (retired military), starts off the mayhem during his vacation, while visiting another retired vet; he has to hide out in a jungle to save his life!
Money laundering in casinos are Kate and Nicks focus this time around. The games aren't only at the tables, the cons get more and more involved!
Laugh out loud antics, familiar supporting characters, and the hint of romance lead to an enjoyable reading experience! It is a cliffhanger.
Received book free for honest review.

Each Kate O'Hare and Nicholas Fox caper gets better than the last one. The cast of characters they call upon to help with their stings is so much fun. The awareness of the sexual tension between Nick and Kate grows with each new story. A fun caper novel featuring casinos in Las Vegas and Macau and all the assorted gangsters that inhabit these worlds and to make it even more fun, throw in a rather large Hawaiian mobster who run a shave ice stand on Oahu's North Shore. Lots of laughs just like the Stephanie Plum books.

I love this series! Once again I enjoyed the witty banter, over the top flirting, exciting schemes, and action. Kate and Nick are both great characters. Nick with his charm and love of the con, even though he's supposed to be doing good, now. Kate with her toughness and weak spot for Nick. The supporting characters are outstanding, particularly Kate's dad, Jake. Other favorites are back as well. This one has a cliffhanger ending which has me screaming for the next book. Now.
I received a copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

Nicholas Fox reminds me so much of the character the Matt Bomer played in the TV Show, White Collar, that I couldn't help but really love this series by Janet Evanovich. Nicholas is sly as a fox and works really well with Kate O'Hare to just stay on the right side (more just over the line) of the law. This book is no exception to the series. And the cast of characters that they pull in to their schemes is just as entertaining from one book to the next.

Seriously?!? You're going to end it like that??

I really enjoyed this book. It was very fast pace (I already finished after starting it last night) and so well written. I think I even love this series better than her Plum one!

Kate and Nick are a pretty good team. I like when her father gets to help out and how they keep it all hidden (or at least try to). I like the main characters chemistry and now I REALLLLY need the next book!! When will it be out?!?

Amazing pair and story line. I never expected to get hooked on a story involving the FBI and a robber. Since the first novel, I was hooked on the con's and the schemes and how the government is secretly funding everything. Both Evanovich and Goldberg do an excellent job with the plot. I like how Nick is the 'seat of his pants' kind of guy and knows how to look at the bright side. Kate is the cautious one who tries to keep everyone on the straight and narrow although she does have to compromise. The end is a great hook. I am eager to read book 5. I hope it is released soon.

I am a recovering Stephanie Plum-aholic. I admit it freely, and even though you didn’t ask, I’m team MORELLI (even though my friend Jennifer swears by Ranger). Notwithstanding the on-again/off-again love affair I’ve had with Evanovich’s longstanding bounty-hunter series, I was excited to read this latest installation in her newest series because the chick can write. In this book, she teams up with Lee Goldberg and it seemed like a great opportunity to get back into her. I think I may have read the first in this series a long time ago, but don’t make me swear to it. I’ve tried all of her series and some just didn’t hit as well as others for me, but THIS book was awesome-sauce on steroids. Truly spectacular rom-com mystery at its finest, and I’m going to tell you why.

It’s funny. It made me laugh out loud; the characters have developed a relationship that’s sweet yet hot, emotional yet sassy. Her dad, Jake, is a hoot, as are all the secondary characters. This book is taut and edgy, with a complex story line that while complicated is pretty easy to understand. I was completely able to get into this even with my very vague memories, so it should work well as a stand alone. And I didn’t stop reading it until I was finished–definitely recommend it!

I’m not going to tell you the plot of this book because it’s helluva convoluted and I don’t want to give it away–so here’s a quick overview of the start of ‘Kate and Nick.’ Kate O’Hare is an FBI agent who was chasing con-man Nick Fox forever. After she finally caught him for good, he was persuaded to join the good guys… and guess who got to work with him?

Kate.

After years of animosity, trailing each other all over the world, and beating each other bloody with whatever weapons they had on hand, now they’re supposed to work together? This crafty premise sets up a hilarious tightrope balance of humor and suspense as you’re always wondering if Nick’s REALLY changed for the good and if he’s truly on the up and up. We see Kate undergoing a character “reformation” as she learns to let the larcenous Nick lead the way on capers that defy her sense of decorum and legality.

In this fourth installment, the obvious teamwork and bonding have taken effect. Not only is Kate letting Nick take the lead in certain things, she’s actually got her dad, Jake, working with them. Nick’s considerable persuasive skills and comprehensive knowledge of the “con” world combined with Kate’s military and law enforcement background make a well-honed team, and together they’ve built a crackerjack team of assorted hysterical secondary characters to help in the elaborate con they put on in The Scam. The deft dialogue and hysterical misadventures are only topped by the sheer bravado of the two main characters. Evanovich and Lee have created a captivating duo that I love reading about–keep up the good work!

The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg is a 2015 Bantam publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

At long last, I am finally reunited with my favorite anti-hero- Nick Fox! It seems like it's been a long time since we last touched base with Nick and Kate, but some things are worth the wait.

Our favorite dynamic duo has been assigned a most interesting and unusual case that will have them traveling to Las Vegas, Oahu, and Macau in order to infiltrate a casino magnate whose money laundering network could have ties to some of the most unsavory and dangerous people in the world, such as the mob, ISIS, or foreign dictators.

This may be one of the riskiest and most dangerous jobs the couple had been assigned up to this point, but Nick seems right in his element, as he plays high stakes games and bask in all the luxuries the casinos have to offer for high rollers.

But forget baccarat, the couple has placed their most important wager on their plan to take down super villain Evan Trace, but what they thought was a sure bet, might actually leave them in a real bind, with only Kate's dad and a Somalian pirate as back up.

On a more personal note, Kate is finding it harder to resist the charming Nick Fox as their attraction to one another grows stronger and their chemistry becomes more potent. Kate is becoming more addicted to the intoxicating and exciting world Nick has drawn her into.

The last book was a caper style novel, very slick and polished, so I wondered how on earth this amazing writing duo was going to top it. Well, there is still a con, but it's more like a 'sting' operation or as the apt title suggests… a scam.

Kate and Nick slide seamlessly into the world of high stakes gambling, ritzy casinos, luxury hotels, and high class travel all over the globe, by setting themselves up as high rollers throwing away millions of dollars in one night. They are just the type of people Evan Trace loves to see in his casinos… so let the games begin!

I love Nick Fox to death, even though he's not exactly a 'good guy' in the strictest meaning of the term. I am envious of his boldness, his ability to take risks, to act first- think later, and his overall confidence and optimism.

Kate, of course, still has to behave professionally, her job being to keep Nick under control , but she's beginning to see things Nick's way more often than not.

“ I'm feeling 'lucky' today,” Nick said, looking out at the surf. “Let's go swimming.”

“How does 'lucky' equate to swimming?”

“You would put on a little bikini, and we'd go into the water together, and then I'd get even luckier.”

“That's a fantasy”.

“True, but I plan to make it a reality.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“It's inevitable. I always thought we'd eventually get together,” Nick said.

“Well, so did I , but I imagined it would be in an interrogation room, courtroom, or your jail cell.”

“This is better.”

“I suppose, but it was fun when I hit you with a bus.”

“Yeah, and I enjoyed crashing into you with the armored car.” He moved close and kissed her just below the ear. “Thinking about it gets me feeling romantic.”

“Listen, mister, there's no romance.”

“Okay,” he said, “no romance. Just hot, sweaty sex.”

“No!”

“Just a little.”

“No!”

“A kiss.”

“Maybe a kiss.”

Needless to say, this is a fun, exciting, fast paced story, with a lot action, suspense, danger and a little bit of romance too. Once again, the plotting is tight, the dialogue snappy, smart- witted, and the characters continue to evolve as time moves on.

Yes, this story was certainly worth the wait, however… with the heart racing set up for the next installment, these fabulous authors had better be brainstorming and those word processors better be burning hot right now, because I don't know how long I can stand the suspense!

I love this series and highly recommend it to mystery, suspense, thriller fans, romantic suspense fans will like this one too. These stories are rated PG-13- so everyone should be able to enjoy them.

4.5 stars

I know that as a female, I'm supposed to be into the whole girly, wildly uber-emotionally drama filled chick lit and romance genres. Um. Yeah, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love a romance as much as the next person, but what really lights my fire is a action/adventure with a strong female lead and plenty of giggle worth dialogue. Throw in mystery, romance, whatevs, but the more heart pounding scenes to be found, the more I like it. I think that's why my favorite novels include some kind of mystery or suspense and if you can make me laugh, I'm sold. This series just totally pushes all the right buttons. Hilarious dialogue, Check. Over-the-Top Adventure, Check. Kick Your Ass Female lead, Check.

There was a lot to like about this book, and I just got done giving you my top 3 reasons. But there is so much more. Like the interactions between Kate and her dad Jake, the interesting locations and stellar and elaborate cons, not to mention the sexual tension between Kate and Nick. Up t... Read more

I received a free advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. First, I have to admit, I have not read the other 3 books in the Fox and O'Hare series. However, that did not keep me from thoroughly enjoying this book. As usual, Janet Evanovich and Goldberg Lee deliver a well-written thrill-ride of an adventure book. The twists and turns took you to the edge and brought you back...kept me guessing all along as to the outcome. Loved every minute of it.

Now I know. What do I know? I know why the Fox & O'Hare Novel series are such a hit! Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg's "The Scam" is no different than their predecessors. I mean there's already 4 full novels, including this one, plus 2 short stories. Starting with Book 4 or Book 6 if you count the shorts might be a gamble, but I want to see how good it is, and any good sequel should also be good in itself. Boy, am I hooked now. Think of it as Ocean's Eleven meets the adventure and the spy game of James Bond. It's good. Surprisingly, I've never read anything by either authors (I know, don't start throwing things at me). The writing is funny and outright visual! It's like watching a TV serial, and I can't wait for more. That's how bad I have it now with this series. I mean, I should easily be immune to it, I've watched many cop shows and I'm a fan of James Bond movies. So why am I hooked?

I have nothing to compare to since I've yet to read any of Evanovich or Goldberg's other books, including none of the other Fox & O'Hare novels. So I'll just say it. It's fun. It's fun because it doesn't require a lot of thinking. I mean you might want to figure out what will happen, but why body? The pace is so exciting and so to the mark, that the answer will be right there soon enough. What also makes it fun is the band of misfits they put together to make this heist/scam work. Then there's also the bad guys with their own fun characterizations. Fox and O'Hare is already a hoot, from their quirky and flirtatious interactions to their action pack ideas. Just fun. If you need a nice read on the plane or on the train/bus, pick this book up. If you need a relaxing read on the beach, this is the one to get you going. For me, I easily finished this during a 2 hours wait in a waiting room. (Yes, pathetic to wait that long). That really is the highlight of that wait, so I assume that might also be the reason why I'm psyched about "The Scam". You will be too. Trust me.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital ARC of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.

I know that as a female, I'm supposed to be into the whole girly, wildly uber-emotionally drama filled chick lit and romance genres. Um. Yeah, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love a romance as much as the next person, but what really lights my fire is a action/adventure with a strong female lead and plenty of giggle worth dialogue. Throw in mystery, romance, whatevs, but the more heart pounding scenes to be found, the more I like it. I think that's why my favorite novels include some kind of mystery or suspense and if you can make me laugh, I'm sold. This series just totally pushes all the right buttons. Hilarious dialogue, Check. Over-the-Top Adventure, Check. Kick Your Ass Female lead, Check.

There was a lot to like about this book, and I just got done giving you my top 3 reasons. But there is so much more. Like the interactions between Kate and her dad Jake, the interesting locations and stellar and elaborate cons, not to mention the sexual tension between Kate and Nick. Up till now there really hasn't been a cliffhanger, so when the authors decided to leave us with one, they went all out. I hit that last page with a gasp and a loud WTH! Not what I was expecting, to say the least. So now the count down must begin for the next book... *grumpf*

Is there a lot of depth and literary meaning to be had in this series? Probably not. That doesn't change the fact that they are a fun means of escapism for a few hours, that leave me feeling upbeat and usually giggling over a clever bit of dialogue for days or even weeks afterward. Once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down... except for the couple of three times I had to take deep breaths or grab my inhaler because I laughed myself into an asthma attack. These books just keep getting better and better and was another 5 star read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Nicolas Fox is a charming con man and master thief on the run. Kate O'Hare is the FBI agent who is hot on his trail. At least that's what everyone thinks. In reality, Fox and O'Hare are secretly working together to bring down super-criminals the law can't touch.
THE SCAM takes Fox and O'Hare on a whirlwind adventure--from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu's North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau

Interesting start to the book. Lots of action and plots. The cons that were set up were many, intricate but easy enough to follow. Even when they hit a snag, they found a way to work with it. The teamwork was something I found enjoyable.
Nick? He's a Con man, but he made me smile often. Smart, funny, ingenious when it comes to schemes. Oh and don't forget, super confident! Kate's dad Jake, may be a retired special skills man but he's still up for more action. To him, its just another form of vacation. There are quite a few "Thrill Junkies" in this book and Kate is one of them. Yes, its also part of her job but still, when the fighting and shooting starts she's in her element. There are plenty of other people in the story most from other cons. They had teams of interesting people and I'm glad they were incuded. There is some violence, some threatened violence, not too graphic but enough for you to get the picture. And as odd as it may sound, laughter. More than once, I found myself laughing out loud. Some of their conversations were just funny!

I wasn't prepared for the twist at the end. Good one!
This is the first book I have read by this author in this Series. I won't be my last. I loved it!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Scam, book #4 in the "Fox and O'Hare" series.
Written By: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Release information: tentatively scheduled on-sale date is 15 September 2015 - Bantam Books -- Random House. More info: www.evanovich.com or www.randomhousebooks.com

----> please note: an advanced reader's copy (ARC), I corrected eBook proof was kindly provided free of charge via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review without quotations from the publication. THANK YOU! ☺️ <----

Read: July, 2015
Format: eBook via Samsung Galaxy Tab4 - Kindle app.
Genre: fiction, humor, romance, law enforcement, FBI, FBI informant(s), military -retired, action/adventure, mystery, caper/robbery/scam/swindling, strong female MC. Occasional swearing and mild-moderate violence/fighting.

My rating (1-5 star scale): 4.75 "I looooove this series" stars!

As I must be careful what I post, I'll open with the previously released book synopsis:

"Nicolas Fox is a charming con man and master thief on the run. Kate O’Hare is the FBI agent who is hot on his trail. At least that’s what everyone thinks. In reality, Fox and O’Hare are secretly working together to bring down super-criminals the law can’t touch. Criminals like brutal casino magnate Evan Trace.
Evan Trace is running a money-laundering operation through his casino in Macau. Some of his best customers are mobsters, dictators, and global terrorists. Nick and Kate will have to go deep undercover as high-stakes gamblers, wagering millions of dollars—and their lives—in an attempt to topple Trace’s empire.
It’s a scam that will take Fox and O’Hare from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu’s North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau. Their only backup—a self-absorbed actor, a Somali pirate, and Kate’s father, and an ex-soldier who believes a rocket launcher is the best way to solve every problem. What could possibly go wrong?"

My remarks:

I truly feel that this is the best book in the series so far!

I am a long-time Evanovich fan and really enjoy her Stephanie Plum series. I was a little worried that this collaboration would be disappointing, but I have been so pleasantly proved wrong with each installment so far!

I do feel this series needs to be read I order as it would be a bit difficult to fully understand the back story between Kate O'Hare, FBI Agent and Nick Fox, Hottie Swindler without that early information. There are often some little innuendos referenced that one will appreciate best if completely familiar with the whole series, especially how Fox comes up with his "character" names-freaking hilarious!!!

This tale of "bad guy gets chased by good guys" has the absolute funniest twist whereas the "bad guy" is actually a "good guy" informant but it isn't public information. Instead, the FBI uses Fox's unique skills set as a lifetime grifter to bring down top wanted master criminals with O'Hare as his handler. Let me just say, the heat and sparks flying between Fox and O'Hare is a deeee-lissssh-us side benefit of this series! Yowza!

It's just really fun and funny to see how the Fox-O'Hare team and their band of misfits come up with ways to swindle the swindlers in the name of the law/FBI. Super creative crime fighting!

I really am not able to say more at this time, but would be super happy to answer ANY questions (if you're still reading way down here), at any time! ;))

Thank you for stoping by, always.

Cheers!
Lisa (@NurseLisainOhio - GoodReads, NetGalley, Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest <Board: Reviews I have Written>, InstaGram, Google+, the store, Facebook, etc.)

Fox and O'Hare are back! And boy, are they back! I get hooked over and over every time I read a Fox and O'Hare story. But, it isn't just Kate and Nick, it is also their secret little gang that helps them succeed in their endeavors. My favorite person outside of Kate and Nick? Well, that would have to be Kate's dad. He is a hoot! He is NOT letting age drag him down. He wants to be in the thick of the danger. He wants to dance to his own tune.

And once again we are taken around the world as Nick and Kate combine their IQ's and experiences to bring the bad guys to justice. There is comedy, suspense, action, adventure, and family to keep you reading until you finish the book! I couldn't put this book down!

This was an interesting read - a combination between a romance and mystery. I was hoping the whole book through that Kate and Nicholas will hook up ...... Nich is an undercover bad guy - everyone thinks he is, but thats part of the plot. He and Kate go undercover as whales - high stake gamblers in order to investigate a money laundering investigation. The book was thrilling from the start and the end left you wishing for more. Can't wait for the next one!!

I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of The Scam. I'm a long-time fan of Janet Evanovich. I enjoy her fun, easy style. Her books are just what I need when I want to escape. The Scam did not disappoint. With each book I fall harder for Nick and Kate, and I was excited to finally have some progression with their relationship in this one. But, I'm a greedy reader and I want more! I will be impatiently waiting for the next installment.

You have an FBI agent, a con artist then you mix a pirate, an actor, some other strange and wonderful people and you have a fast-paced, fun and entertaining story. Everybody should have a father like Kate's. He thinks everyone should have their own rocket launcher. While meeting with the bad guy, they run into an old "friend". My only problem with the book, is the ending. Now I have to wait to find out what happens next. LOVED IT!

I've read the previous three books in this series as well as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Lizzy & Diesel series. There is a definite arc that she follows; you can probably pin it down to the chapters. However, the hijinks of the Fox and O'Hare novels just keep getting better. The same players are used so even the supporting characters get developed, albeit slower than Nick and Kate. This kept me on the edge of my seat.

Light hearted con game involving an FBI agent and the con artist she's been chasing. Plots (con) is intricate but reading is easy. It's like a combo of "To Catch A Thief" (movie and TV show), "Hart to Hart" , and all the Nick and Nora movies - sharp dialogue, quick plot and sexual innuendo. Loved it!

The Scam is an enjoyable read with much humor. If you've read some of the books in the Fox and O'Hare series, this is of the usual kind where there is a bad guy to be put away. Fox comes up with a cleaver scheme to utilize bad guys against bad guys. O'Hare's father plays an entertaining role and the usual suspects from previous novels are there to help with the adventure.

Another great action packed story with Nick, Kate, and the gang. This time they take on a Vegas Casino owner and the Hawaiian mafia. As always this group of misfits provide an entertaining story and the Evanovich and Goldberg team have written funny and engaging characters. The story felt a little slow at times, but for the most part kept the reader engaged throughout.

Sit down, strap in and hang on for the supersonic thrill ride that is a Fox and O'Hare caper. In this installment Fox & friends take down a money laundering scheme. It is fun watching Nick adjust on the fly when things don’t follow his plan. I adore Kate and can hear her in my head as I read. This book will leave you breathless and wanting more, more, more.

Finished reading this last night and loved it. I love the interplay between Kate and Nick. And her father is one heck of a charcter too. The book had a great plot and interesting characters, with lots of action. This definitely goes in my Read Again Collection on my Kindle.

I was ready to give this book four stars until the very last page. I'm hooked on this series for sure. I like the dynamic between Kate and Nick and loved the way this book ended. I don't even mind that I have to wait until the next book is published to find out what happened to Nick. This is a cute series and just what I expect from Janet Evanovich.

Quick easy read that cannot be put down. Great story full of action and adventure. Was not sure when I started reading but as in most good storylines it leads you through each chapter with you wanting more.

Nick and Kate are at it again!!!! This time, will Kate let her guard down and let Nick in??? Stay tuned...

We are quickly thrown in to the world of Nick and Kate when Kate is asked to find Nick and the $1M of Fed money that has gone missing as well. Is Nick up to his old tricks again? Kate tracks him down and hops a ride on a State Dept helicopter?!?! To find out just what in the heck is going on. She quickly finds the "will drive anything with or without wheels" Willie at the controls, piloting the helicopter for at least the second time (after all, doesn't taking off for the first time count as 'experienced'?). Nick explains he is conning a con with the Grandfather con. The originator of the Grandfather Con as it so happens. Can turn $1M into $5M if Kate and Jake can come along for the ride. The three con the con and walk off with $5M. As they return from dropping of her Dad at the airport for his trip to Hawaii, Kate is approached by her boss. They have a new case... Evan Trace, casino-owner, money-launderer and all-around bad guy. Nick and Kate go undercover as high-rollers to attempt to take him down. Jake gets into some trouble in Hawaii and Kate takes off to rescue her dad. Discover the "bad dude" in Hawaii that tried to kill her dad, has ties with the Yakuza crime lords in Japan. The group hatch a plan to trap both Evan and the Hawaiian.

The usual suspects are inlisted - the actor, the Somali pirate, the driver, the newly recruited Hollywood effects master, and the explosive expert. All put their skills together to build the most dramatic and dangerous scam yet.

Will they all come out unscathed?!?! Will Kate and Nick FINALLY get together...

This was my first Fox and O'Hare novel. I enjoyed it so much that now I want to read the previous ones. The interaction between Kate and Nick was humorous. I loved how they played off of each other with their witting banter and dodging their feelings for each other. My only problem with this story is that it seems to end in a cliffhanger. I was not prepared for this type of ending. I look forward to reading the next installment.

I had the opportunity to read an ARC for this story for an honest review.

This series is so much fun -- wild, sexy and funny. Nick , Kate and company get into one of their messes and manage to keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat. Their scam is complicated involving gambling, money laundering and the yakuza. Need I say more? Sit back and enjoy every minute of this book.

This is a great addition to this series by the team of Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg! It is a fast paced read with a lot of action packed adventure. I love how the authors continue to bring in past characters to the story, but also add new ones. I can't wait to see what the next adventure for these two will be.

I enjoyed the book. In fact I enjoy ALL of Evanovich's books. I have been reading her since Two for the Dough days. But anymore I read them and afterwards feel like I just sucked down a bag of cotton candy. I really loved it while it was going down. But it's gone too soon and leaves me with a queasy feeling, wondering why I ate/read it.

I enjoyed the previous books much more than this one. Don't know why I just couldn't get into this book at all. Was very disappointed with this last book. The Job, The Heist, and The Chase were all MUCH better stories.

The "Fox and O'Hare" series by Janet Evanovich (and now, Lee Goldberg) isn't quite Stephanie Plum, but each entry has been a good romp through an interesting world. All of the books in the series, so far, are worth a read. You'll have fun with this!!!

Another great series from Ms. Evanovich. Delightful characters and a plot that keeps on twisting and turning. And, as usual, comic incidents that are a trademark of her books. Can't wait for any of her books to come out....buy them immediately upon release.

As usual Evanovich came through with fantastic ways for Nick and Kate to help me forget all else except reading!! I just finished reading it and my heart is still pounding. Evanovich better hurry with the next book in this series. I need to know what happens dang it!!

In The Scam, Evanovich and Goldberg deliver another fast paced, hysterical, action-packed installment of the Fox and O'Hare series. FBI agent Kate O'Hare and con-man turned FBI agent travel along with their entourage travel from Vegas to Macao to bring down a casino money laundering scheme. I enjoyed every twist and turn and can't wait for the next installment!

Another great Fox and O'Hara story. I love reading about this two. I'm not sure who I like more Fox and O'Hara, Lizzy and Diesel, or Stephanie Plum. Just keep the stories coming. The Scam had such a unexpected ending I can't wait to find out what happened.

Get ready for another great Kate & Nick story, filled with lots of puns, witty banter, fast-paced drama, and unfulfilled lust between Nick & Kate. The drama and the danger will keep you turning the pages and keep you in suspense as to how it will all play out.

Evanovich and Goldberg are developing the main characters, fox and O'Hare. The attraction between the two is progressing nicely and this story and their ragtag good/evil gang adds a lot to this series. I recommend reading this series in order.

This short story seems to be the introduction to the series. Always light and entertaining. I think it does a great job of establishing the characters and the tension between them. Quick and enjoyable :-)

Wow, what a ride!! I love this series and this book is amazing although it does end on a cliffhanger. If you haven't read this series, I can't recommend it enough. Lots of laughs and action. Lee and Janet make a heck of a great writing pair!!

I found it really difficult to follow. Maybe it was just me, but the story never captured me until the last few chapters. I'll wonder about Nick for a few, but know he lives a charmed life! Kate, you are one tough one.

I've read most of the books and this one delivers once again. Great story, great dialogue, lots of action and lots of laughs. I'm so glad that these authors manage to make each book fresh so the series never gets old.

Finished reading this last night and loved it. I love the interplay between Kate and Nick. And her father is one heck of a charcter too. The book had a great plot and interesting characters, with lots of action. This definitely goes in my Read Again Collection on my Kindle.

I was ready to give this book four stars until the very last page. I'm hooked on this series for sure. I like the dynamic between Kate and Nick and loved the way this book ended. I don't even mind that I have to wait until the next book is published to find out what happened to Nick. This is a cute series and just what I expect from Janet Evanovich.

Quick easy read that cannot be put down. Great story full of action and adventure. Was not sure when I started reading but as in most good storylines it leads you through each chapter with you wanting more.

Nick and Kate are at it again!!!! This time, will Kate let her guard down and let Nick in??? Stay tuned...

We are quickly thrown in to the world of Nick and Kate when Kate is asked to find Nick and the $1M of Fed money that has gone missing as well. Is Nick up to his old tricks again? Kate tracks him down and hops a ride on a State Dept helicopter?!?! To find out just what in the heck is going on. She quickly finds the "will drive anything with or without wheels" Willie at the controls, piloting the helicopter for at least the second time (after all, doesn't taking off for the first time count as 'experienced'?). Nick explains he is conning a con with the Grandfather con. The originator of the Grandfather Con as it so happens. Can turn $1M into $5M if Kate and Jake can come along for the ride. The three con the con and walk off with $5M. As they return from dropping of her Dad at the airport for his trip to Hawaii, Kate is approached by her boss. They have a new case... Evan Trace, casino-owner, money-launderer and all-around bad guy. Nick and Kate go undercover as high-rollers to attempt to take him down. Jake gets into some trouble in Hawaii and Kate takes off to rescue her dad. Discover the "bad dude" in Hawaii that tried to kill her dad, has ties with the Yakuza crime lords in Japan. The group hatch a plan to trap both Evan and the Hawaiian.

The usual suspects are inlisted - the actor, the Somali pirate, the driver, the newly recruited Hollywood effects master, and the explosive expert. All put their skills together to build the most dramatic and dangerous scam yet.

Will they all come out unscathed?!?! Will Kate and Nick FINALLY get together...

This was my first Fox and O'Hare novel. I enjoyed it so much that now I want to read the previous ones. The interaction between Kate and Nick was humorous. I loved how they played off of each other with their witting banter and dodging their feelings for each other. My only problem with this story is that it seems to end in a cliffhanger. I was not prepared for this type of ending. I look forward to reading the next installment.

I had the opportunity to read an ARC for this story for an honest review.

This series is so much fun -- wild, sexy and funny. Nick , Kate and company get into one of their messes and manage to keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat. Their scam is complicated involving gambling, money laundering and the yakuza. Need I say more? Sit back and enjoy every minute of this book.

This is a great addition to this series by the team of Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg! It is a fast paced read with a lot of action packed adventure. I love how the authors continue to bring in past characters to the story, but also add new ones. I can't wait to see what the next adventure for these two will be.

I enjoyed the book. In fact I enjoy ALL of Evanovich's books. I have been reading her since Two for the Dough days. But anymore I read them and afterwards feel like I just sucked down a bag of cotton candy. I really loved it while it was going down. But it's gone too soon and leaves me with a queasy feeling, wondering why I ate/read it.

I enjoyed the previous books much more than this one. Don't know why I just couldn't get into this book at all. Was very disappointed with this last book. The Job, The Heist, and The Chase were all MUCH better stories.

The "Fox and O'Hare" series by Janet Evanovich (and now, Lee Goldberg) isn't quite Stephanie Plum, but each entry has been a good romp through an interesting world. All of the books in the series, so far, are worth a read. You'll have fun with this!!!

This is the fourth book in the Fox and O'Hare series which focuses on FBI agent Kate O'Hare and criminal Nick Fox who was released from prison in exchange for helping the FBI. Each book in this series seems to get better and better. Their relationship, which Kate says she wants to keep professional, is teetering closer and closer to the edge, with Nick becoming more open in his pursuit.

In this book Kate and Nick are supposed to trap and arrest a criminal casino owner who uses his casinos to launder money. All the usual crew of misfits, including Kate's dad, come together to pull off the biggest scam yet and hopefully wipe out not just one but two bad guys. This story takes place in Hawaii, Macau and LasVegas with lots of luxury travel along the way.

I love this series. It has great chemistry, lots of action, a charming hero, and a woman who totally kicks butt and is proud of it. All the quirky secondary characters just make the story even more interesting. Just when I got happy about the ending, however, the authors threw in a bit of a curve ball. The next book better come out soon!!

Thank you Netgalley for an opportunity to read and review this book before publication.

Another great series from Ms. Evanovich. Delightful characters and a plot that keeps on twisting and turning. And, as usual, comic incidents that are a trademark of her books. Can't wait for any of her books to come out....buy them immediately upon release.

As usual Evanovich came through with fantastic ways for Nick and Kate to help me forget all else except reading!! I just finished reading it and my heart is still pounding. Evanovich better hurry with the next book in this series. I need to know what happens dang it!!

In The Scam, Evanovich and Goldberg deliver another fast paced, hysterical, action-packed installment of the Fox and O'Hare series. FBI agent Kate O'Hare and con-man turned FBI agent travel along with their entourage travel from Vegas to Macao to bring down a casino money laundering scheme. I enjoyed every twist and turn and can't wait for the next installment!

Another great Fox and O'Hara story. I love reading about this two. I'm not sure who I like more Fox and O'Hara, Lizzy and Diesel, or Stephanie Plum. Just keep the stories coming. The Scam had such a unexpected ending I can't wait to find out what happened.

Get ready for another great Kate & Nick story, filled with lots of puns, witty banter, fast-paced drama, and unfulfilled lust between Nick & Kate. The drama and the danger will keep you turning the pages and keep you in suspense as to how it will all play out.

Evanovich and Goldberg are developing the main characters, fox and O'Hare. The attraction between the two is progressing nicely and this story and their ragtag good/evil gang adds a lot to this series. I recommend reading this series in order.

This short story seems to be the introduction to the series. Always light and entertaining. I think it does a great job of establishing the characters and the tension between them. Quick and enjoyable :-)

Wow, what a ride!! I love this series and this book is amazing although it does end on a cliffhanger. If you haven't read this series, I can't recommend it enough. Lots of laughs and action. Lee and Janet make a heck of a great writing pair!!

I found it really difficult to follow. Maybe it was just me, but the story never captured me until the last few chapters. I'll wonder about Nick for a few, but know he lives a charmed life! Kate, you are one tough one.

I've read most of the books and this one delivers once again. Great story, great dialogue, lots of action and lots of laughs. I'm so glad that these authors manage to make each book fresh so the series never gets old.

The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg is the latest in the Fox and O'Hare series. This one is by far the best I've read so far. Nick is every bit as slick, sneaky and adorable as ever. Kate is resourceful and uptight as usual but she really shines in her creative solutions this time. There are lots of fun locations and interesting quirky support characters. And of course what romanic thriller would be complete without piranhas? Keep them coming! Can't wait for number 5.

As one has come to expect from the author, this story from the Fox and O’Hare series is a lot of fun, full of sexual tension and a quick and easy read. The main protagonists are Nick Fox, a conman and crook working with the FBI to bring down hardened criminals and Kate O’Hara, a FBI agent.

Many other shady characters are involved and the plot relates to a con to stop a casino owner’s illegal activities (money laundering etc..)

The writing is light and fast-moving and Evanovich fans will not be disappointed: I enjoyed it more than the Stephanie Plum books.

"The Scam," like the previous Fox and O'Hare novels isn't a realistic thriller, but it is clever, funny and extremely entertaining. This is a quick, light read when you want something fun to while away a few hours.

The latest installment in the series! This was. A fantastic read. Just when you ask where else can they go with the storyline it just gets better. I truly enjoyed this book - perhaps the best of the series?!

Just as great as the other books in this series. So far, they have delivered every time. Great story line. Moves at a good pace and, something I'm finding more and more rare, it was well edited for typo's and situations that don't stay true to the storyline.

Loved this one! I did not want to put the book down. But... Dang... I have to wait to find out more.... Geezopeezo! Can't wait for the next one.

Thank you Lee Goldberg and Janet Evanovich for distracting me from my ridiculous problems. ?