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soireadthisbooktoday
, April 16, 2014
(view all comments by soireadthisbooktoday)
2.5 stars
“Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep.” ��" Ray Davies
“The beast for me is greed. Whether you read Dante, Swift, or any of these guys, it always boils down to the same thing: the corruption of the soul.” ��" Ben Nicholson
Nick and Kate are a mismatched pair. A world famous thief and con artist, paired with a solid, principled FBI Agent. Wow. I immediately went to Neal Caffrey on “White Collar“, a television show where a world famous thief and con artist played by Matt Bomer (who can’t love those blue eyes?) is paired with a solid, principled FBI agent after the thief is caught by said agent. The FBI Agent in White Collar, Peter Burke, played by Tim DeKay is male, a married man with a gorgeous wife, Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) and a yellow lab ��" the perfect FBI family. But with Kate, of course, you have the possibility of a “romance” unlike with Nick and Neal. Having captured Nick, Kate’s job now is to partner up with Nick and solve highly complex white collar crimes.
In this case, the job is to steal back the famous Bronze Rooster originally stolen from the century-old Zodiac fountain in the Imperial Gardens of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing ��" and later stolen from the Smithsonian. Oh, the government knows it was stolen ��" they replaced it with a nearly exact replica to hide the theft and hide any embarrassment and political strife caused by the theft.
Problem is, now the Chinese government wants it back. And the man who had it stolen, and hidden away in his underground bunker filled with items from the most infamous art thefts in history? None other than Carter Grove, ex-chief of staff to the previous President of the United States. A man who is now head of the infamous “BlackRhino” paramilitary organization.
“While he was chief of staff he threw lucrative defense contracts their (BlackRhino) way and encouraged the president to wage wars.” Jake O’Hare ��" The Chase
Traveling from Scotland to Shanghai and back to the US, Nick and Kate battle “BlackRhino” (sound familiar?) to retrieve the Bronze Rooster. When a clueless Smithsonian employee hands over the fake rooster to the Chinese government via Chinese multibillionaire Stanley Fu, whose A380 superjumbo jet is better tricked out than Air Force One, Nick and Kate find themselves hiding in the trunk of a 1969 bright red Dodge Charger Daytona (moan) and safecracking, killing, fighting and running through the streets of Shanghai in order to retrieve the fake and replace it with the original ��" and then get away.
“The value of art to me is who owns it, how hard it is to steal, and how looking at it makes me feel.” Nick Fox ��" The Chase
Wow. That sounds SO much like Nick Caffrey… Anyway! This was a quick read, and not having read the Stephanie Plum series in quite some time, I was reminded how Evanovich likes to use comedy to brighten up her stories, and this one did not disappoint in that aspect. It was also a hoot to recognize “Carter Grove” and his erstwhile companion who did eight years in the White House with a devastatingly poor record and a pattern of corruption which vies with that of any Mafia family, as well as the exploits of the men and women associated with “BlackRhino.”
“Because it’s not enough for BlackRhino that you know how to kill. It’s important that you like to do it.” ��" Jake O’Hare ��" The Chase
The theme of corruption, greed, and viciousness was well described and sickeningly accurate, which made me like the book possibly more than I would have otherwise. Its derivative nature was disappointing, but the funny parts and the sheer improbability of the story, along with the sharp pokes at previous US governmental officials, bumped it up another star for me.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for a realistic review. All opinions stated within are my own.
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