Stolen Pieces

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The comparison of Stolen Pieces to Oceans 8 in the book description I read isn’t wrong - this is such a great read that is very heist-y. Beatrice / Shelby (Bee) is an ex con who has gotten into a pickle when her ex husband (a mobster - that’s her past life) stole from the wrong man (also a mobster), putting a price on her and her son’s heads. Her ex hires Adam, one of her old love interests and ‘co-workers’ from her past to protect them and what follows is a hilarious adventure.

I loved that Bee was owning the situation and using her craftiness to take control. I also loved her friends and how they added more color to the plot as they joined into the hijinks. My only wish was that while there are callbacks to the past to add context to Bee’s past life, and while well done, I think opening up with reference to the past (maybe showing what Bee thought was her happy ending in leaving her past life) would have gotten me into the swing of things a little faster. But with that said, this kept me glued and entertained throughout!

I hope there is a book 2 and this becomes part of a longer series (though it stands on its own with resolution) as I loved the characters and the premise!

This was an enjoyable book that I could not put down, quickly becoming a page-turner. The author did a terrific job in staging this fast-paced drama from the introduction of the eclectic cast of character, to the solid plot involving gangsters, double-crosses & thievery, to the conversational dialogue, to the various settings, to the non-stop action and to the visually descriptive narrative that kept me immersed in all that was happening on the page. When it looked like things were on an even keel, the author changed direction and the frenetic pacing racqueted up a notch and I could not go anywhere until the last page was read. This was a fun read.