Con Ed

This darkly comic debut is about the worlds greatest con man (before he got busted), the con mans son (whos in debt to the Russian mob), and a billionaires beautiful wife (whos got an evil plan). Great fun . . . very, very hard to put down.--"New York Times." From Publishers Weekly At the start of Klein's amusing debut, one-time con man Kip Largo, who's been working at a dry cleaner since completing an eight-year stretch in prison for fraud, is intrigued when the gorgeous wife of Silicon Valley billionaire Edward Napier asks him to help her steal her husband's money, but not intrigued enough to follow throughat least not until he discovers that his not-bright son, Toby, owes several hundred thousand dollars to the Russian mob. Deciding that this is his chance to finally do right by his family, Kip sets about organizing a large-scale swindle to lure in Napier, all too aware that if he fails to pull it off, he and Toby (and the con's other participants) will all be killed. While the plot and characters tend to be by the numbers, the author's background information on how cons work is enormously entertaining. (Mar.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Starred Review Who's scamming whom? That's a persistent question in Con Ed. Once-rich con-man Kip Largo is going straight, living small, and making $10 per hour in a dry-cleaning store after doing eight years for wire fraud. Life is dull, but Kip wants it that way, until his son Toby shows up, on the run from the Russian Mob. Kip needs a big score to save Toby, and a timely proposal from the stunning young wife of a dangerous Las Vegas casino owner provides him with a target for a grand scam. Con Ed is a brisk, clever, and charming page-turner. Most chapters begin with a short lesson on the art of the con, and the whole book is full of knowledgeable observations on the culture of Silicon Valley, e.g., the very best programmers, "code Marines," are freelancers who have agents to negotiate their contracts. Kip, who is conflicted about his relationship with his con-man father, his failed marriage, and his concern for his wastrel son, is a wonderful character who ruminates on his fated return to crime in vaguely Buddhist terms. Con Ed is a winner, and crime fans should remember the name Matthew Klein. Thomas Gaughan Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved