Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Summary:
Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules. (from GoodReads)

Review:<

I absolutely adored the first novel in this (hopefully) series, Heist Society. Uncommon Criminals reaffirmed my love of these books, while also adding to the story.

I loved Uncommon Criminals for the same reasons that I highly recommend Heist Society to other readers. I love the plotline, about a young girl who is an art thief. If you've ever seen Ocean's Eleven, it's the same thing, but with younger characters. There's jet-setting to faraway places and a smart and clever heroine. I want to be Kat sometimes, she is that cool.

Formerly, Kat would steal art with her family for profit. But now Kat is in the habit of stealing art that has been stolen from its original owners and returning it. That's pretty nice of her, I think. She gets a request to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald, which is cursed. There are several twists throughout the story, which I enjoyed, because it kept me on my toes. Not is all as it seems with the emerald, but Kat and her crew are smart enough to figure it out.

My only, teensy problem I had with Uncommon Criminals was that it was too short. Of course I wnat more story, but from an objective standpoint, I thought that some parts were a little rushed. It got better by the end, but I was internally yelling at Ally Carter to give us more information. It kinda shows how much I love these books :)

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
FTC: bought!

2011/Disney-Hyperion/298 pages.