Fun! Unputdownable! Those were my first thoughts after finishing this debut thriller.
This was a solid 4 stars for me, meaning, I would recommend this to every thriller lover! And it is FUNNY. The author has a sarcastic wit that I loved. (And the opening line of this book is one for the ages!) A smart, beautiful con woman out to marry into one of New York’s wealthiest families, Bea was an unforgettable (if not a little unlikeable!) main protagonist.
Bea has her scheme to marry Collin Case all mapped out. She has been aiming for this big catch and the only person standing in her way is Collin’s best friend Gale. Bea thinks Gale has always been in love with Collin and hoped that she would marry Collin one day. But Gale is no match for Bea. Their game of cat-and-mouse was so FUN.
The story really kicked in for me when we began to read alternating chapters from Bea’s childhood living with her cold, narcissistic con artist of a mother. Bea’s mother spent her life going from one wealthy man to another, and Bea spent her childhood trying to please her mother. Even now, with her marriage to Collin on the horizon, she still wonders whether Mother would approve.
“Confidence is always the key, Mother says. Believe you are who you say you are, and they will, too.”
Will Gale uncover Bea’s true past and her real identity? And will Gale tell Collin his fiancée is a complete fraud before their wedding? It is a lot of fun finding out! I loved Bea’s real thoughts about all the upcoming wedding festivities:
“…the last thing I wanted to do was spend a free hour with a bunch of idiots I had to look at all the time anyway. The hideous event was essentially a pseudo–bridal shower wherein I was bestowed with midlevel to upmarket wines, gift certificates to department stores and a fair amount of tacky household items I’d never use, like coffee mugs or pillowcases, etched with MR. & MRS., BRIDE or TAKEN. And I had to sit there and smile with a miniature veil atop my head in the middle of the day like an absolute loon.”
This book is nothing too heavy, but the twists were lots of fun and I can’t wait to see the TV adaptation!
(Thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)
About the Book:
A compelling debut novel about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country’s wealthiest families.
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.
When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.
