Strike a Poser

A quick read at 172 pages, Strike A Poser sets up a con that is so complex it is just too crazy not to work. Unfortunately, by the time "complex" is in motion, a chink in the plan derails the big showoff of how "complex" the con actually is. At this crossroads, if the pace was in a race, the snail would smoke it. For me, I was waiting for mind-blowing complexity of the con that never happened. If you have seen Oceans 11, or The Sting, those have twists. Strike A Poser does not. It appears this book is the third to include Olivia, so previous readers may have character insight. Coming in clean, I didn't, and found all the characters fairly dull. Actually, the one time I chuckled, was during Jerry's dialogue when he met the competition. I don't think we are supposed to root for Jerry, but I was. When I rate a book 3 Stars it means that I was entertained and editing was decent. I never view 3 Stars as "bad", but rather, "okay - enjoyable enough." Sadly I wasn't very entertained with this tale, thus the 2 Star rating. I'm not going to regurgitate the synopsis or provide spoilers, but I'll say that I broke one of my two rules by reading this book; namely Kirkus Review having a quote on the cover. If I'd paid more attention, I would have not agreed to review this book. I was provided a review copy paperback from a marketing firm; mailed directly to my shipping address, free of charge. Side note - I checked out other reviews. Yes, there is language in this book - It didn't bother me in the least and goes with the characters just fine.

Okay. The rest is up to you to read. I think I glossed over enough to not spoil the read and definitely not the end.

1.5 of 5 Stars - ARC provided.

From the Publisher:

Olivia, a professional con artist, is putting together a team. Along with her current accomplice, Jillian, she figures they'll need two more as they case a millionaire named Jerry Mallore, having followed him to, of all places, the theme park land of Orlando, Florida. Olivia quickly locates an old flame from way back named Jack. An ex-scammer himself, he's long since gone straight, working as a bar manager of an Irish restaurant just outside the wacky theme parks. His uniform involves kilts. She knows he'll be in. Joining up with Jack, and ultimately his younger brother Kip, they set out to get between Jerry and his shady cash transaction. The plan? Savvy. Complex. Borderline ridiculous. But it'll be flat-out brilliant if they can pull it off, creating the ultimate illusion in the land of illusions, and ultimately relieving Jerry of hundreds of thousands of dollars and leaving him, quite literally, not even sure what day it is.

#Fantasy #Feb2016 #DylanAsher #2016 #Book