About the Book
A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country’s wealthiest families.
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.
When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.
Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be.
Like mother, like daughter?
My Review
A provocative thriller, I knew I was in for a ride from the first chapter. Following Bea from a young age and her con artist mother, it’s clear that Bea will take after her – but in somewhat of a kinder way – maybe. Bea is looking to escape her mother completely, and marrying into a old-money family is the way to do that. She sets her eyes on Collin Case and is shocked how easily she gets him to fall for her – and even propose. While she has the challenge of winning over his blue-blood family, the bigger challenge turns out to be his childhood best friend Gale. Bea is sure the game isn’t stacked fairly against – her years of street experience versus Gale’s life of privilege, but when Gale stirs up old memories of Bea’s past, there is cause for concern. Could she actually know something that would bring the whole scheme crashing down – and how far will Bea go to make sure she doesn’t?
What kept me invested so much into this story was how truly likeable Bea was – even for someone being portrayed as the villain. She is most definitely conning Collin and his entire family, but she does it in such way that I just wanted to take her for a glass of wine and have some solid girl talk. It’s dark and sexy, twisted and face-paced, and I loved that we were taken back and forth from Bea’s past to present seamlessly, giving us a little more insight into how her life was shaped with each flashback. The only thing I didn’t really love was the ending because it felt so abrupt and I was left with some questions – but it also didn’t shock me at the same time that our conclusion was up in the air. Buckle up for this wild ride and grab Stone Cold Fox for your reading list!
4.5 stars
