Hunting for Nazi Gold
I’ll admit that I was hesitant to pick up The Bounty after how disappointing the previous book in the Fox and O’Hare series was. But seeing a new co-author and the fact that I could get it from the library convinced me to give it a chance. It was a delightful over-the-top spectacular.
If you’ve missed this series, it features Nick Fox, a conman, and Kate O’Hare, the FBI agent who finally arrested him. However, once Nick is captured, he makes a deal with the FBI. While he has officially escaped, unofficially, he works with Kate and the FBI to bring down other master criminals, sometimes with unconventional means. And there may or may not be a romance building between the leads.
Kate and Nick have been loaned to Interpol since there is chatter that someone is planning to rob the Vatican. Sure enough, a thief comes in and manages to slip through all the guards. However, Nick IDs the thief – it’s his father Quentin.
Quentin escapes with a map that is supposed to be part of a clue to gold that Nazi’s hid during World War II. Interpol believes he’s been hired by white supremacists to recover the gold so they can finance another revolution. Nick hasn’t spoken to his father in years, but he isn’t buying it. He and Kate have been tasked with bringing in Quentin and recovering the map, but Nick is doing his best to find his father to figure out what is really happening. What is Quentin up to? Is there gold? If so, who will get to it first?
These books have always required you to ignore logic and go along with the flow. These are action movies – just on the page instead of the screen. Honestly, I find I am much more willing to go along with over-the-top action in a movie than on the page. I was rolling my eyes at some of the things that happened including some of the things that the characters survived. These were things that wouldn’t have bothered me on screen. Then I was quickly turning the page to find out exactly what would happen next.
The plot is a typical treasure hunt plot that takes Nick and Kate across Europe as they try to stay one step ahead of the other characters after the treasure. Each stop is an over-the-top set piece with its own creative trap for them to outwit. The plot feels a little repetitive as a result, but the stops along the way aren’t repetitive at all.
While the characters aren’t as strong as they were in the first few books in the series, they are much better than they were in the previous book. Nick, Kate, and Kate’s dad are the only returning characters who get any page time. I miss some of the old crew, and I hope we see them pop up again. Overall, the characters are strong enough that we care about the outcome, but they are more types than true characters.
Nick and Kate’s relationship seems to have regressed some. It is head and shoulders better than it was in the last book, but it isn’t at the same place it ended with book five.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m going to say one more time – this book is over-the-top. Full stop. If you are looking for a realistic story with well-developed characters, don’t even think about picking up this book. But if you want to escape into a mindless action movie for a few hours, this is the book for you.
Fans of Nick and Kate will enjoy The Bounty. If you are in the right mood, pick up this book, and get swept up in the action.
Get more action with the rest of the Fox and O’Hare series.
I forgot this was out. It sounds exactly like I expect it to. I'll have to pick it up soon.
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