The Manhattan Job (ARC review) – The best of the series so far

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The following review is part of my being in the author’s review team, which ensures that you can read it before the book comes out.

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What is the worst thing that can happen to a bunch of friendly thieves on their quest to see justice done, bar having one or all of them arrested, that is? Having another thief using their own methods to pull one on them, which is basically what happens to the Sky Thieves in Jason Kasper’s new Spider Heist thriller, The Manhattan Job.

What the book is about

Synopsis (by the publisher):

The Manhattan Job is the third installment of the heart-stoppingly suspenseful Spider Heist series by USA Today bestselling author Jason Kasper.

Before she was a thief, Blair Morgan was a disgraced FBI agent…her corrupt former boss sending her to jail as a scapegoat.

Now a world-class thief, it’s time for Blair’s revenge.

Blair has all the evidence she needs to take her old boss down…she just needs to steal it first.

But when another master thief beats her to the punch, Blair finds her evidence up for sale in a bidding war between her crew, her enemy, and a mysterious figure known only as Fixer. The journey will take her crew from their LA hideout to Washington DC and Manhattan, where the final victor will be determined once and for all.

With ten days until the auction, Blair’s crew must find a way to uncover Fixer’s identity and convince him to join their cause.

If they can’t get leverage, the man who put Blair in jail goes free forever…

…and then he’ll be the one coming after her.

Gripping political intrigue

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about The Manhattan Job is that politics lovers will have a great time with this intrigue. Why? Because who would’ve thought that retrieving a stolen object and all that it implies, coupled with a political intrigue worthy of the best espionage novels, would be as gripping as any car chase or prison break that Jason Kasper has written so far?

Sure, there is politics, in some ways very close to some events that we have been seeing a lot in the news in the recent and not so recent past (and present), but there is also a lot of action, much more than people would think there is if they only stop to my saying “political intrigue”.

In fact, The Manhattan Job is the proof that things going awry sometimes make for a gripping, breath stealing, and action packed plot, coupled with a brilliantly managed political intrigue added to the work of our favourite thieves. Anyone fancying a run?

Can’t stop loving the Sky Thieves!

The Spider Heist books wouldn’t be the great reads they are if there weren’t the amazing quartet born from Jason Kasper’s mind. From the developing and evolving romance between Stirling and Blair to the chemistry between the whole team, to Marco’s dour, no-nonsense attitude, I simply cannot stop loving them! However, my favourite character remains Alec. He’s so funny in a completely dorky way that I love him more with each book!

Add to the team a solid array of secondary characters, and some great new additions, topped with the villainest of villains, and each book becomes a complete treat.

A special cameo

Talking about characters, there is, in The Manhattan Job, a cameo very special to my heart. I had, like many members of Jason’s readers group, given my consent to be featured in a book. However, I had completely forgotten about it until I saw my own name there, in the latest Spider Heist.

Talk about a huge surprise!

The part that made me smile the most is that, in this cameo, I am an upgrade of my sideline (the tennis writer one), insofar that, in Jason’s story, I became a CBS journalist.

Touched and humbled, you say? You bet! It always warms me to see the names of people I have gotten to know in his books, but to see my own name was even more special.

So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the cameo, Jason! It really is a first for me in a non-tennis related book.

My verdict

Do not be fooled by the fact that The Manhattan Job is 416 pages long, for you will not notice it at all, with the author’s usual fast-paced chapters and ever-gripping action. And although I seriously loved the first two books of the series, so far, this one is probably the best, with a conclusion which makes me await the next book, The Fifth Bandit (set to be released in April 2022), with a happy impatience.

An absolutely gripping five stars! ✰✰✰✰✰

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