The Pursuit
By: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
If you’re in the mood for a light-hearted crime adventure, I’d like to recommend a recent series written by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg – The O’Hare & Fox Novels. Evanovich is best known for her wildly popular Stephanie Plum saga while Goldberg is a screen writer, television producer and author of the Monk series. This series comprises The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam, and The Pursuit. I inadvertently grabbed a copy of book #5, The Pursuit, without ever having read the earlier installments and was still able to enjoy the experience without feeling lost or confused. I think I’ll go back to book #1 now and catch up with the back story!
The storytelling formula will be familiar to fans of Stephanie Plum – the authors pair an unlikely couple who are strongly attracted to one another while simultaneously driving each other nuts! Also in evidence are a band of wily criminals and a motley crew of unconventional crime-busting sidekicks. Our female protagonist is plucky FBI agent Kate O’Hare and her counterpart, Nicolas Fox, is a marginally reformed con man and thief turned FBI collaborator.
When Fox disappears mysteriously from his Hawaiian hideaway safe house, O’Hare is quickly on his trail. The agreement was that Nick would collude with the Feds or serve jail-time for his various misdeeds. A neighbor’s security footage reveals that he was taken at gunpoint so the chase to retrieve this valued operative is on. Kate has a military background, as does her retired dad Jake. Dad O’Hare can’t wait to get off the golf course and back into action. FYI: Jake was a special ops soldier with a penchant for explosives and lots of connections.
Before it’s all over, you’ll travel vicariously through several European cities and participate in a couple of high-risk jewelry heists. There are enough double-crosses and triple-crosses to make your head spin so pay attention! As the plot thickens and escalates, you’ll get involved in a misguided plot to infect millions with small-pox, and hatch an elaborate con to defuse the global threat. The suspense builds as our heroes overcome ever-increasingly dangerous circumstances. Will Kate & Nick squeak out of this alive or has time run out for one or both of them? I won’t spoil the conclusion for you but I do hope there’s another installment of this series in the wings – it’s rollicking good fun!
Review By: Pam Lamberger