The 15-Year-Old Art Thieves Are At It Again: A Review of Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

I am back once again with a new review. This one has been a long time coming and there’s some required reading before we get to the meat of today’s post. You see, I was going through my bookcases a few weeks ago and spotted an old favorite of mine: Heist Society by Ally Carter. I loved this book series as a teen. But I couldn’t remember if I had reviewed any of the books yet or not. Turns out, I have reviewed Heist Society, but I haven’t reviewed books two or three. Well I think it’s time I do that!

Please give a warm welcome to Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter!

As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you’ll know I love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. Now let’s get to the synopsis!

Katarina Bishop is at it again. She’s taking art stolen by the Nazis back from where it was placed post-WWII and returning said art to its rightful owner. Much to the chagrin of both Hale and Gabrielle, Kat has chosen to do a lot of these jobs alone. That's what they're all fighting about when Kat gets a call for help from a woman named Constance Miller.

According to Constance, her parents are the ones responsible for finding the Cleopatra Emerald decades ago in a treasure trove full of other antiquities and gems. But due to Constance’s mother going into labor, both she and her husband had to rush off and leave their assistant in charge of packing and documenting the finds. Well…this assistant did and he claimed the find for himself and began selling the treasures to the highest bidder. And this man’s name? Oliver Kelly. The founder of the Kelly Auction House who are the current owners of the Cleopatra Emerald.

Oliver Kelly is very much giving wannabe Indiana Jones vibes.

Kat and crew are tasked with stealing this famously cursed gem and returning it to Constance and her family. It’s a dangerous mission. Much more dangerous than robbing the Henley. No heist surrounding the emerald has ever succeeded, strange and tragic events occur to those who have worn or owned the emerald, this gem brings nothing but bad luck; and in some cases death! Kat and her friends are not exempt from the curse. In fact, the curse hits them pretty bad seeing as they too are being conned. They make a huge mistake pretty early on in their heist and spend the rest of the book trying to rectify it. So can they do it? Can they steal the emerald, avoid the curse, and maybe even break the curse? And can they right their wrong? Find out in Uncommon Criminals.

I gotta be real with you right now, Book Nerds, Heist Society is better than Uncommon Criminals. I think Uncommon Criminals is a good book, but some of the charm Heist Society has is missing in the sequel. What makes the first book so good is the banter between Hale and Kat, and the jealousy Hale exhibits when Nick joins the crew. In Uncommon Criminals, Kat and Hale are fighting, but instead of any flirty fights–which is what I assumed would be the case when I first read the book many years ago–readers instead get odd discomfort. Nick isn't really in Uncommon Criminals, and as he's the main reason there is conflict between Hale and Kat in the first book, the arguments between the two in the sequel comes across as uncomfortable because the new reason the pair are arguing is due to Kat stealing art on her own. While a fairly strong argument can be made that Hale wants Kat to be safe while on the job, another equally strong argument can be made that he doesn't trust her; hence why I say the conflict between the two can come across as uncomfortable as Hale seems kinda controlling in a way when controlling is a word never to be used in reference to his character.

Listen, this pair is not supposed to fight. Hale and Kat are meant to have witty banter with a touch of jealousy when Nick is there. That’s not what readers get though. Their relationship and banter in this entry is awkward more often than not. I appreciate that Ally Carter added this tension and gave the characters something new to work through, but it just doesn’t work for me because I don’t feel like Ally Carter even knows why Kat and Hale are fighting at times.

Listen, I get why Hale and Kat are fighting, I truly do, but it feels forced to me.

On a brighter note, everything about the con and heist is different than what was seen in Heist Society. I feel it can be very easy to copy and paste the plot of heist books; either intentionally or unintentionally, it’s just something that kinda happens from time to time in the genre, but Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals are two very different reads. The con in Heist Society was elaborate and over the top. But in Uncommon Criminals, Kat realizes that not every heist needs to have the most elaborate con ever. Sometimes less is more. Which is indeed the case for the heist in Uncommon Criminals. This ties in so well with Kat’s character arc. Kat is a little too sure of herself at the start, and it comes back to bite her in the ass pretty early on. She has to relearn how smart she is when it comes to cons and go back to basics, and it's oddly satisfying seeing her fail. It's a good reminder that Kat is only 15-years-old. She's not perfect, there are those out there smarter than she is and who have been conning others for double and triple her life.

Speaking of character arcs, I think they’re done fantastically. If you’ve read my original Heist Society review from 2020, you’ll know I mentioned Hale and Gabrielle really growing as characters in the subsequent sequels. Those arcs are happening! Gabrielle is not just a pretty face. She’s doing lots more and showing off her skills in scaling buildings and cliff faces. Sure, most of the time she’s still the pretty face distraction, but even when she’s being the distraction it feels more important to the heist than it did in Heist Society. She's no longer a static stereotype!

As for Hale, Most of his growth won’t happen until book three, but in Uncommon Criminals he is pushing to be more than the guy with the giant bank account. He’s doing a lot more work on the front lines and conning people head on. Knowing what comes next, I can see the setup Ally Carter is doing for his character.

Claps for Ally Carter, please!

One thing I can’t say about Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals is that these books are the exact same. They are vastly different reads. That’s perhaps what I appreciate most about these two books. Overall, I still really enjoy Uncommon Criminals. I’m not in love with this entry to the trilogy, but this series is an old favorite of mine and I enjoyed the read immensely. I fear I’m blinded by nostalgia when it comes to the Heist Society books, yet I am okay with that. I know that Uncommon Criminals is not without faults, but the overall quality of the series makes up for them.

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you all very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s blast from the past, and we’ll continue on with the Heist Society books next week with Perfect Scoundrels. If you can’t wait that long to revel in some literary goodness then you can follow RHRML over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily. If you want something not related to books then may I recommend my podcast Nothing to See Hear? It stars me and two of my dearest friends. We talk about everything under the sun over there. We’ve got spooky episodes, we have history lessons, we have Disney, Barbie, and Scooby-Doo in review; there’s bound to be something you like.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!