The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (on CD)

The Job
by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg [Compact Disc Evanovich]

The Job is the third in the Fox and O'Hare series of crime caper novels, co-written by bestselling authors Janet Evanovich (the Stephanie Plum novels among others) and Lee Goldberg (the Monk and Diagnosis Murder novels, among others). I've hugely enjoyed the audiobook versions of all three titles in the series so far -- The Heist, The Chase and The Job, although I'll have to say that The Job seems the weakest of the three to date. The series features by-the-book female FBI agent Kate O'Hare, reluctantly teamed up with con artist extraordinaire Nicolas Fox. Fox was O'Hare's obsession for many years -- tracking him from one huge con job to another but always having him slip away at the last second. When she finally caught him, he struck a deal with her FBI bosses, which they took -- he would help them go after the "big fish" (the criminals too big for law enforcement to catch by traditional methods), in return for staying out of prison. The catch is -- Kate is his "handler", coordinating his illicit FBI work, while still pretending to be hunting him down in the real world. Each of the novels features Fox and O'Hare assembling a team of specially skilled assistants, as they put together scams to take on big time criminals -- Fox luxuriating in his semi-official status, and Kate chafing at all the laws he's continuing to break. Meanwhile, their unresolved sexual tension is a constant source of witty banter. These novels feel like a light-hearted take on the old 1970s-era Mission Impossible television series, or its more recent spiritual successor Leverage, and the dialog is sharp and funny. They're not perfect, by any means, but they are a wonderful, light fluffy escape for readers in the mood for a quick read. The audiobook narrator, Scott Brick, does a tremendous job on this series. My only complaint is that the second and third books seemed to wrap up their plots way too quickly, with way too many plot threads hanging loose. But still fun to read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [ see Scott's Reviewer Profile and more of his reviews ]

[Also available in traditional print and Large Print formats.]

[ official Fox and O'Hare page on the official Janet Evanovich web site ]

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