Reviews

A Magnificent Crime by Kim Foster

javalenciaph's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Check out the full review on Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous.

A Magnificent Crime is the second novel in the AB&T series by Kim Foster and picks up some time after the events of the first novel. Cat Montgomery and Jack Barlow have re-started their relationship and are now living together. Being on opposite sides of the law can be difficult but they'd rather be together than apart. Ethan Jones is another country, needing to get his head on straight after everything that happened with Cat and the still missing Fabergé egg containing the Gifts of the Magi. When Cat has no choice but to go after the Hope Diamond after being threatened by a former mark, she heads to Paris and finds an unexpected ally in Ethan. Jack ends up going to Paris too but for a completely different reason...or maybe not so different, after all.

To say that Cat's life is complex is an understatement. There's no doubt that she's more than good at her job as a thief, but she puts herself in situations that endanger her life and the lives of those closest or have some connection to her. Then, there's the whole situation she finds herself in with Jack and Ethan. She spends more time with Ethan in this sequel compared to amount of time she spent with him previously and you could definitely see that there was, indeed, some chemistry between them. My loyalty, however, remained firmly with Team Jack, not just because of the chemistry but because of the history and far more interesting dynamic between the two. I do get the difficulty, though, of having to choose between the two are multi-layered and it's more than a case of the law-abiding guy versus the law-breaking guy after one girl's heart.

The Gargoyle, the Hope Diamond, and the Fabergé egg made this an even more intense book and the mystery and suspense mixed in with the humor and drama have become trademarks of this series. This was an enjoyable, albeit lengthy, read and you can't help but become invested in the main characters and the love triangle that takes center stage. For anyone looking for a good romantic suspense novel to check out this weekend, A Magnificent Crime may do just the trick. It certainly didn't disappoint me and I'm curious to see as to where Cat's decision in the end of this book will lead to in the third book in the series. This gets four stars. ♥

justmelissag's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Another brilliant caper in the Cat Montgomery series! I inhaled the book, not willing to wait another day to see what happened next. The only problem is that I'm now anxiously awaiting book 3!!1

beckylej's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Cat Montgomery is back but not in perfect form. After the Fabergé egg incident, she's come down with a sudden case of the shakes. Or more accurately, panic attacks. Like the one she had while scaling a building on a recent job. The timing was less than perfect and left her forced to find a quick escape. But that's the least of her problems as an old mark has now targeted her for revenge. When she stole Albert Faulkner's Caeser Diamond, she was just doing her job. Unfortunately for her, Faulkner has tapped her for a new job as payback. Since the Caeser is no longer what it was, he wants something else instead: the Hope Diamond. If Cat can pull of the heist, Faulkner claims he'll call it even. If she fails, he says he'll cut off her hands instead.

At the same time, Cat's FBI boyfriend has a challenge of his own. He's finally given a chance at field work but sadly loses his target. When he's pulled from the case in spite of new evidence, James decides to pursue it on his own. The target could lead him directly to the Gargoyle, a criminal mastermind Interpol is investigating, and prove to be a boon for James as well. Surprisingly, the case leads him to Paris where it soon becomes clear that there's a connection between Cat's job and James's case.

Kim Foster's AB&T (Agency of Burglary and Theft) series is quite fun. It's light and breezy in the same way a Janet E mystery would be. In other words pretty much pure entertainment. (Note, you can easily dive into A Magnificent Crime without having read A Beautiful Heist if necessary, though there is a lot of fun character and relationship set up in that first installment that you'd miss out on - and the whole story behind the Fabergé egg as well.)

This second outing did seem a bit more focused than A Beautiful Heist but there is still a lot going on: the Hope Diamond job, the Gargoyle, and the reappearance of the Fabergé egg as well. I did love the new addition of the Department of Antiquities, that was quite a nice wrinkle in the story. Plus, the Hope Diamond! I mean, c'mon. Who isn't at least the teensiest bit captivated by that gem (pun intended)?

Interestingly, and I'm sure I'm not the only book junkie to find this happening, A Magnificent Crime was made that much better for me simply by being in the right place at the right time. A few weeks back I tuned in to watch Headhunters, the movie based on Jo Nesbø's stand alone by the same name. And it's about an art thief. It's quite good - quite dark and violent in a way that Kim Foster's series definitely is not, but you can say I was in the mood for more in this vein.

At the same time, hubs was out of town traveling and I decided it was beyond time to tackle some horror reads from the TBR. So yeah, a light and fluffy-ish heist book was the perfect counterpart to that (to save me from icky nightmares given the horror book of choice).