The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

The action starts on page one, where our hero has woken up in a coffin after being kidnapped in Hawaii. And it just gets better from there.

This is the latest saga in the Fox & O'Hare novels, where international con man Nicholas Fox has teamed up with FBI phenom Kate O'Hare to help bring down some of the biggest criminals in the world.

This run, the pair are working from within a Serbian gang that wants to break into a lab and steal a deadly virus they plan to use as a terrorist threat. The scheme involves the Paris underground: tunnels, sewers, catacombs. We get a return for a bunch of popular characters and the introduction of a few new faces too.

Yes, there's sexual tension. Yes, there's even sex. Sure, it's probably a bad decision in the long run, but hell yes does it work for now!

I read it in one giant gulp on one of the hottest days of the summer. Perfect escape!

The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

In this third book in the Fox and O'Hare series, our favorite uptight FBI agent and her handsome rogue con are working to 1) clear his name in a bunch of international thefts he didn't do, 2) bring down a major player in the drug-smuggling world.

They find an ingenious way to tease a crook out of hiding, then take him for everything he's worth. There's lots of Hollywood theatrics that make the con work, and the usual cast of characters joins the job: Kate's retired Special Forces dad and his undercover buddies, drive-the-wheels-off-anything Willie, eccentric Method actor Boyd. plus a few new faces too.

It's a light read, but also hard to put down. I've loved every one of these books, and this one's the best yet.

The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

In the second novel of the series, sexy con artist Nicholas Fox is helping close in on art theft by partnering with by-the-books FBI agent Kate O'Hare in a secret operation.

I loved the first book in the series, and this one's just as good! There's a fantastic sexual tension between the main characters and a great volley provided by their opposing moral compasses. There's lots of action, plenty of explosions, and a fantastic cast of secondary characters. Even though you know it's going to be all right (it's always all right, isn't it?), the reader is still drawn into the suspense of the caper and its dangers.

For a lighter read, this one's near perfect.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

It's a familiar setup: a wily con man with a true talent for the big score and an FBI agent who will stake her career and go to any lengths to capture him. There's a bit of professional teasing and sexual tension that drives their cat-and-mouse game, but midway through the book things shift and the game changes when they're asked to work together, playing for the same side to bring down an even worse bad guy.

This is a great, funny book that moves at lightning speed. The combination of these two writers brought out the best in both: Evanovich's comedic female lead is wittier, faster, and more competent with Goldberg's lift.

You can tell this will be a new series (and this book introduces us to a great cast of characters I'm anxious to explore) yet this book feels whole - it's not simply a lead-in setting the platform for something bigger. The story's complete and satisfying, but I guarantee it will leave you wanting more.

The ideal man

by Julie Garwood

Ms. Garwood is back with another FBI thriller. This time Agent Max Daniels is hot on the trail of the elusive Landrys who have been running illegal arms into the country for years. Just as his team is closing in, the Landrys shoot another agent directly in front of Dr. Ellie Sullivan. Her quick thinking and proximity to the trauma center are essential to saving the man's life. Unfortunately, she may have gotten enough of a look at the Landrys for her own safety to be compromised. Agent Daniels starts out wanting to protect his witness, until he finds out she has been on the run from a dangerous stalker before and that one is also missing. Both Ellie and Max try to resist temptation as they keep watch for all the threats to her life.

Garwood has produced another zippy, if predictable, read with this one.