Elle Keaton
The Last Grift - Subtle Deceptions Book 1 (Paperback)
The Last Grift - Subtle Deceptions Book 1 (Paperback)
4.6 / 5.0
(42) 42 total reviews
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Jaded confidence man Gabriel Karne is on the run. A literal snarling, slobbering guard dog nips at his heels.
If he makes it over the chain-link fence, he vows to skip town for friendlier climes. Somewhere no one knows his name.
It will be fine. Everything will be fine.
Less than twenty-four hours on the island and Gabriel's had a nasty confrontation with two local good ol’ boys, earned a tresspassing citation from an infuriating but compelling forest ranger, and offered to search for a missing person. So much for lying low.
Being off his game only partially explains why Gabe would rather focus on a stranger’s bad luck than his own. Fact is, he's always had a soft spot for losers and maybe, just maybe, he's tired of the game.
The Last Grift is the first installment in the Subtle Deceptions series, a mystery with romantic elements. The series is written in the third person and follows the unplanned adventures in the life and love of the disreputable Gabriel Karne.
This refers to the paperback edition of The Last Grift
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Excellent beginning to a taut, well-written mystery that brings Gabriel, generational con-man, to Hearthstone to retrieve his "inheritance" which he learns seems designed to keep him right where he's landed. His knack for finding himself in unsavory and dangerous situations sets the stage for this next chapter of his story when all he was hoping for was a fresh start. Since this is a romantic mystery, I can't wait to see the evolution of Gabriel's relationship with Casey. Surrounding characters come alive on the page and the author does a superb job of bringing readers along on this adventure filled with palpable danger and all the feels. Elle Keaton's superpower is creating complicated, mostly flawed characters and this super-slow burn, found family mystery is why I love her writing. I loved it and highly recommend.
WHAT I LOVED: Action Packed-Funny-Page Turner-Scary-Tragic-Unpredictable -Witty-Wonderful Characters
I loved the Veiled Intentions series and this is set in the same universe, and there's even a couple of cameos from familiar faces which actually had me laughing out loud.
This is a set up book really, but it still had me hooked. If Gabriel and Casey are destined to be together, they've got a way to go from here. They're attracted to each other, despite their best efforts, but it's going to be like pulling teeth to get these two on the same page (excuse the pun). I know Elle will wrangle them, and maybe make me love them like I do Niall and Mat, and I'm definitely here for that.
Apart from the two of them, I really loved Gabriel's new friendship with Elton. That man better be in all the books because he's wonderful.
There's a few threads here to enjoy, and I'm certain that the one the book started with will come into play in Bait and Switch.
Gabe and Casey are so different, one is a ranger for the national parks the other a man kinda maybe on the run. Back to his past he doesn’t know about. And of course there are twists and turns to get them to even liking each other, let alone the sexual tension.
This is a slow burn and did take me a few pages to get into it. Once I was, I didn’t and couldn’t put the book down, finding out how this mystery was going to end. Would the MCs fall into bed in a happy ever after. What was next for them.
We’ll have a great time reading this book and you will enjoy the twists and turns to get to the end!
I loved this. Gabriel and Casey have started of on the wrong foot with one another and that is not changing for a while. If it can go wrong it will go wrong for Gabriel.
I’m already a huge fan of this author and I loved the first book in this new series, especially with the cameo from characters from Piedras Island. Gabriel and Casey are both interesting characters, and the overarching mystery has me hooked.
I love how different Gabriel and Casey are, and although there’s a mutual attraction, it’s going to take a lot to move them past begrudgingly working together to even friendship. Both have pasts that impact their reactions, and the mix of that makes for compelling reading.
I liked the new setting of Heartstone Island, and its inhabitants. Elton needs a special shoutout, as does Bowie, Casey’s dog. There’s definitely something afoot with the law enforcement on the island, and I’m looking forward to seeing how, and what, Gabriel and Casey can shake out.