Sloan Steele’s Counterfeit Capers series is fun and messy. I wondered after the first book, It Takes a Thief, if Steele would tighten up the story telling, and she does, a little. Between Two Thieves has the advantage of established characters, but then Steele introduces more characters, including Flynn, a dog, and a very good boy. It works though. The multiple heists, large cast of characters, and intertwined character arcs works.
If you are fan of the show Leverage, this is a good series for you. In the show, there was a heist or con of the week with a certain focus on the client who needed the Leverage team’s help. The counterfeit Capers series keeps the focus on the team. While you won’t find a one to one match of characters, this is not fan fiction, you will recognize some of the names of the artists whose works are stolen.
The team’s thief, Nikki, is a bit like a feral barn cat – not domesticated, untrusting, not worried about what other people think, but loyal once her trust is won. While casing a house in preparation for stealing a painting, Nikki sees her ex-boyfriend, Wade. For Nikki, it makes more sense that her love interest would be someone from her past. She’s too guarded to let a new person in enough for a romance in a book that covers a short period of time.
I love that Nikki never really stops being a feral barn cat, and Wade is completely ready to blow up his life for her. I’m looking forward to the third book in a couple of months.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
