Book Review: Uncommon Criminals

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2)  *****
by Ally Carter

Ally Carter does a great job of writing teenage girls who are above-average-awesome and capable of anything. In her Gallagher Girl series, her girls are spies-in-training at an exclusive all-girls spy boarding school. In the Heist Society series, the heroine is a born and bred uber-thief. Kat has been on the grift since she was 3 years old, and now at the age of 15, she and her teenage crew have already accomplished one impossible heist (see Heist Society, book #1), and now are planning another; both are heists that the older, more experienced generation claim are impossible. But Kat isn't stealing for the money or glory, she's returning stolen treasures to their rightful owners. This book opens on Kat stealing back Nazi loot for this purpose when she's called to another mission of mercy; one that goes very, very wrong.

The Heist Society series is a light, fun read. While Carter may be writing an Ocean's 11-style heist, it doesn't read like an intensive glimpse into the life of master thieves. It's more of a romp with a little added teenage angst. Kat may be a master thief, but she's still a teenage girl. I think Carter gets a bit deeper with the Gallagher Girl series, and I like that one a smidge better, but I think these are both great series and I highly recommend them.