Book: The Spider Heist
Author: Jason Kasper
My rating: 3.5 Thrilling Stars
Hey friends! I’ve got a fun one for you today! I was kind of in between books, and decided I needed to find something that would capture my attention quickly. So, I found this heist story – which is always exciting. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was entertaining! I was kind of hoping it would give Ocean’s 11 vibes, but it didn’t really. If you ever watched the TV show Leverage, I think it’s comparable to that show plus a little bit like The Fugitive. ANYWAY, enough talk of movies and TV shows, this is a book review!
Blair Morgan is a disgraced former FBI agent and ex-con after taking the fall for her corrupt former boss. She’s working a dead end job – correction – she just got fired from her dead end job, but a mysterious stranger makes an odd job offer that turns into a total mess. Somehow, Blair finds herself in the middle of a bizarre bank heist and her past comes back full circle as she finds herself on the opposite side of her former colleagues in law enforcement.
The opening scene is certainly an attention grabber. It starts “in medias res” which is one of my favorite storytelling devices. (I am aware that it’s super nerdy to have a favorite storytelling device, and I don’t care.) It means the story starts in the middle of the narrative, not the beginning. Think the opening scenes of The Emperor’s New Groove or Forest Gump. It worked on me because I immediately wanted to keep reading to see how the main character got into the mess we found her in on page one.
This story was very clever. The entire time I was looking at every character a little squinty eyed. For some reason, I never trusted any of the characters to be who they said they were. And maybe that’s why I was a little frustrated that I felt like there was no character development in this story. The author couldn’t give too much away, so as the reader I never felt like I knew any of the characters, including Blair. Everyone seemed like they were hiding something. With that being said, the heist team, plus Blair, had some stellar chemistry. The banter was *chef’s kiss* top notch. The bank robbers knowing random trivia about great heists of the past and throwing it out in conversation was perfect. They had a great team dynamic of Sterling – the strategist, Alec – the comedian, and Marco – the pessimist. And when they all shared scenes together it was really fun to read. The antagonist, Blair’s former boss, Jim was a real piece of work. Very easy to dislike on many levels. But he was also interesting and mysterious. I was kind of annoyed that I wanted to figure him and his “mentor” out so badly.
My biggest complaint with this book is that it gets a bit tedious with the details and descriptions of everything. The inner workings of the tools the bank robbers use felt unnecessary to me, especially when it’s such an exciting moment and then I have to read three paragraphs about how their ropes and harnesses fit together. I DON’T NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WORKS, THE SWAT TEAM IS CLOSING IN! JUST MAKE YOUR GETAWAY ALREADY! There are several moments like this that could have been intended to prolong the suspense, but resulted in me skipping entire paragraphs. I also think that this book had to lay a lot of groundwork as the origin point for the rest of this series. So, future books in the series might actually have more of the Ocean’s vibes I was looking for? Because this story is about how the gang first comes together.
Overall, it was fun to read! It played out like a movie in my head. Seriously, read this with some popcorn and it’ll be like a movie theater reading experience for you. I think I’ll read more from this series. If you love a good heist story, definitely give this one a shot!
Krystle Goodman is a crazy cat lady, who loves to drink exorbitant amounts of coffee, and read a shocking amount of books. She lives in Benton with her husband Josh, her son Roman, and their two cats Roxanne and Abby. When she isn’t reading, you’ll find her cooking, painting, or watching true crime shows. Watch for Krystle’s book reviews every other Friday. Send fanmail to: [email protected]
See more of Krystle’s reviews at www.mysaline.com/krystle.