Book review - Con Academy

Title: Con Academy
Author: Joe Schreiber
Genre: realistic fiction/thriller
Similar books: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
                     Sway by Kat Spears
Rating: 

Sneaky fun

Summary: Will is tired of running low-level cons with his criminal father. At seventeen, he's ready for a better life. So, he cons his way into a place at an elite prep school where he soon meets fellow con artist Andrea. Running two scams at one school promises to be disastrous, so they make a deal: the first one to con privileged jerk Brandt Rush out of $50,000 gets to stay. The other must vanish without a trace. Will sets up a scam with his uncle, one of the great grifters. Unfortunately, he'll have to work with his father as well if he wants any chance of breaking free.

My opinion: Con artists make for great stories. The plot is inherently exciting with the antihero nearly caught on multiple occasions. The characters in this novel have a fair amount of depth. The plot moves along at a solid pace and has plenty of twists and turns without ever going too far. There was a point where I thought it might slip over the line to something ridiculous but Schreiber reigned it in in time. A great, exciting read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.