Stone Cold Fox By Rachel Koller Croft Source Library
Published by Berkley on February 14, 2023
Rating:
A compelling debut novel 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. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.
When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all 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 tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. 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 chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.
The title and cover for this book immediately grabbed my attention and when I read the synopsis, I definitely wanted to read it! I had to wait a little while, but once my library hold came in, I eagerly dove into this book and then stayed up way too late at night to read it.
I really loved the narrator’s voice. It was sly and funny, and pulled me in right away. On paper, Bea is not a character I’d probably like, but the way she narrates her story to the reader was just irresistible to me.
What I particularly enjoyed about this story was that I never really knew what was going to happen next and where the story was going to take me (and Bea). And as the story progressed, the stakes kept getting higher and higher. This was such a page-turner for me, and even though I’m a bit iffy on the very end, I loved this fun, crafty, entertaining read!
