Fans of Ally Carter's Heist Society novels will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.
Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.
But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.
“A sexy love triangle and madcap mystery . . . I loved this book.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret
One of TeenVogue's 15 Most Exciting YA Books of 2014
One of PopCrush's 10 Most Anticipated YA Books
"Julep isn't just another high schooler beset by the usual drama of boys and academia. Nope—she also happens to be a con artist and master of disguise, which comes in mighty handy when her father mysteriously disappears. Determined, she delves into the underbelly of Chicago to find him (bringing a bunch of fresh plot lines and unexpected twists along the way)."--teenVogue.com
"Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer."—Kirkus Reviews
“Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly
“Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“This book has it all: homework and hit men, prom drama and silencers.” —APRIL HENRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Body in the Woods
This was alright. I probably would've liked it better if Julep didn't edge away from Sam and replace him with Tyler. I didn't like Tyler. At all. The plot seemed a little slow and I found myself stopping and starting a lot. Overall having finished - I did enjoy it - I just didn't love it. I liked Murphy and will be interested to see more of him in the next one. Kind of seemed like there were a lot of loose ends - her mum, how Tyler got involved (yes I realise through his dad but why did his dad involve him further than just keeping an eye on her?), why the Dean even cares about her? etc. And I don't love that Sam is now out of the picture. That just makes me sad.
