Art. Obsession. Twisted possession.When starving artist Saskia Roth meets Lachlan Niche, a local art collector and tech tycoon, she has no idea how her life is about to change. One act of desperation, one con gone wrong, and she finds herself at the mercy of a powerful man she fears and despises-or so she thinks.As her desire for him grows, life as his captive becomes something more… something … something more… something that could both transform her and destroy her.
EXCLUSIVE first teaser scene from the upcoming: THE ESCAPE ARTIST at the back of the book!
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Kitty Thomas is one of those very few authors that can reach down into your soul,find the darkest corners,and feed the burning need that resides there.
The Con Artist is one of those stories that find that spot,over and over again.
Saskia is a starving artist who turned to conning the unsuspecting client.
And when word got around she did a pretty good forging,she used it to her advantage.
So when Lachlan Niche asked her to forge ánd steal a Quill,she was ready to con him out of his money.
Stealing the Quill wasn’t something she planned,because that arrogant man didn’t deserve his work.
Only,Lachlan isn’t who he appears to be…….
And making her pay for her con,in every way possible,is what she’ll do.
She really has no other choice,than to do as told,even if it’ll cost her her very soul.
Who is Lachlan really?
And is he capable of human emotions?
Can Saskia be the one to make him feel,really feel?
Be prepared to go down the rabbithole,and hold on tight……
It’s a hell of a ride,but i loved it!
Steamy, dark, and compelling. I absolutely love the way Kitty Thomas writes dark romance. If you loved Comfort Food, one-click The Con Artist!
Ummm, well that just happened.
This book was nothing like what I expected. Me being a big dummy read Escape Artist first so I thought I knew Kane and Saskia. Yep, didn’t know squat!
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Overall Rating; 4 don’t get caught stealing $12m stars
Kindle Unlimited; no
Standalone: yes
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As with all Kitty Thomas books I like to go in blind. I don’t want my experience ruined by spoilers and reviews. I once again assumed I knew how the story would go…and didn’t! Again, I was pushed outside my comfort level, but even outside my comfort level I couldn’t put this book down.
This was another dirty, dark, unique tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat!!! I have enjoyed every Kitty Thomas book so far. If you like dark, have no triggers or hang ups, read this book! I am moving on to Tender Mercies now. Mwahahahaha!
If you arent a Kitty fan, what are you reading? I devoured this book from the moment I opened it to the last page! I loved every single second and I want more! I loved Quill. Honestly I didnt think I would when I first read the reviews. HINT: DONT READ REVIEWS! Saskia had such an attitude (like me) no wonder I loved her so much. I just want to go in my little Kitty bubble & read my Kitty books and be left alone.
If you like dark romance you HAVE to read this book! It is an addicting ride from start to finish. And I have to say I am enjoying this author’s work.
That being said I did read The Escape Artist first. And even tho it gave away some things for this book it didnt ruin this one for me either. And because of Quill’s many identities and secrets, the second book in the series still doesn’t give you much more answers. So I don’t feel like I screwed up the story by reading the second book first. This book was beyond my expectations and the ending fits the couple’s story. The ending wasn’t completely what I wanted but I do feel like their story continues a little bit in the next book as well.
The one word I have used to describe books by Kitty Thomas is uncomfortable, and The Con Artist is no exception. Wonderfully written with characters that have layers and layers to them, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen, yet I was afraid at the same time. Kitty Thomas book are not for the faint of heart and are dark and twisty and well uncomfortable, but all in the best way possible. I look forward to seeing what is next from this author.
Wow! This book was amazing and crazy!! It was exciting, hot, twisted and emotional. Thinking she’d pulled of the perfect con Saskia starts a new life far away but nothing is as it seems. She may have been the one that was conned by the mysterious Lachlan and the price for her crime may be more than she ever bargained for.
Saskia, oh poor Saskia. She really had no chance at all. She ran into someone who was larger, more powerful, and infinitely more damaged than she is.
As a starving artist, she hasn’t been able to support herself, so she turns to creating reproductions of all the great works of art, but then she runs into Lachlan Niche. He has a deal for her. He wants her to reproduce a piece of art by dead artist Joseph Quill. And oh yeah, steal it for him. She says she’ll do it, but she has other plans.
This is definitely a Kitty Thomas book. It has her very particular touch of darkness. Her books aren’t the darkest books out there, but they are dark, with men who you want to hate and hate to want, and who you pretty much always end up loving by the end of the book, even if they aren’t all that nice. Her female characters have their own strengths and flaws. The dark is like a velvet darkness, one that you can feel and roll around in.
This book has me looking at art, artists, and performance art in a whole new way. I’m pretty sure I’d love to go see one of Quill’s art installments, because they sound like they could be incredibly hot.
Quite an intriguing tale this was. It starts out one way, a beautiful starving artist (literally) who decides to run a con on a business man instead of stealing a painting he wants her to. Months after she thinks she’s free and clear, living in Venice, he shows up letting her know he knows everything. And then really blows her mind. Which pretty much happens from that point on till the end of the book. Mind-Blown. Lots of secrets, lots of “whoa” moments, and some fascinating characters that you’re gonna keep trying to figure out long after you’re done reading
Putting it simply, I LOVED this book. It surprised me almost from the beginning and kept on surprising me page after page after page. The story was dark and twisted, the characters even darker and more twisted. It never really shocked me, but it did keep me on the edge of my seat and thinking. It was at times terrifying, intense, edgy, sensual, downright HOT and at times it was oh-so-sweet. The main characters were each a study in contrasts and contradictions. They were complex and difficult to decipher at times. We only got the female’s POV, so who really knows exactly what was happening from the male’s standpoint, but something tells me it was even more twisted than it appeared. The ending made total sense, but I wanted so much more! These characters were fascinating. Honestly, I was a bit awestruck when I finished because the story wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be, yet I enjoyed it immensely. I adore when I find a book that takes me completely out of my world, into another place where I feel like I’m a fly on the wall watching the story unfold in front of me and OH, what a story The Con Artist was! Don’t miss it!
As always, blown away and left with the lingering ‘what now?’ the authour excels at! Truly a master of the genre that no other can touch and leaving me with time needed to digest and turn over the story!
I had jaw dropping moments of surprises while reading this book. I loved it.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy for an honest and voluntary review
This is another fantastic book by Kitty Thomas I really really enjoyed this story!! It just pulls you in from beginning to end, then leaves you craving more The characters of Saskia and Lachlan were fantastic!! I loved their hot chemistry I love this seductive game of cat and mouse between Saskia and Lachlan It’s exciting and leaves you breathless the whole time!! It most definitely left me with a stomach full of butterflies
Artist, Saskia Roth, is skilled at forgeries. Her target is Art Collector, and Tech Tycoon, Lachlan Niche. Saskia tries to pull off the perfect con, fleeing the country with millions of dollars of Lachlan’s money!! Little does she count on, Lachlan doesn’t just lie down and accept this, he goes after his little mouse. He gives Saskia a choice, be his slave to work off her debt, or take her chances with the police. Saskia takes her chances with Lachlan, but maybe his punishment just might be a little more than she bargains for!!
I very highly recommend this book
I am on a Kitty Thomas reading bent right now. I just had to read The Con Artist after completing the Pleasure House Series and found out that Saskia Roth & Lachlan Niche had been in Twisted Fates.
In the Con Artist Saskia is playing a con on Lachlan aka Quill, Kane, Drake and who knows how many more aliases that he goes by. Lachlan is a “tycoon” that Saskia tries to play. It is a con gone wrong. There are some definite twists to the story in this twisted story.
This is a super sexy dark story and it may not be meant for everyone to read. For those that love Kitty Thomas’ stories or love reading dark stories then I think you will enjoy this book. Lord knows, I did! I was completely captivated by this captivity story.
I loved reading The Con Artist and I have The Escape Artist already on my kindle that I will be starting to read as soon as this review is posted.
I enjoy the writings of this author. I found the story to be unpredictable. I read this book in one day as it really caught my attention for a quick read!
Count on buying the sequel if you want to know how things end
FULL DISCLOSURE: Love this new “series”!
The Con Artist is another phenomenal interconnected stand-alone from Thomas, whom is a third in ‘my original trifecta’ ;what I consider the original dark Authors that “captured” my reading path & inspired a decade of reading the beauty found in the shadows of this sub-genre that we call “dark”.
If you are familiar and enjoy her work, there’s really not much to say other than The Con Artist AND The Escape Artist are books you that you don’t wanna miss.
I went into these fairly blind, and I am glad I did so. I knew enough to know I needed to give this “series” a try and I am delighted it didn’t end in my TBR pile for another time.
This book is art within art, well written perfectly intriguing primary and secondary characters , (light to me, but still satisfying) darkness in both plot and character, crafty wit, and my sweet heavens…swoon worthy love, in all its forms.
Kitty sets an insanely high bar for herself and amazes me with each read. I can’t underscore how refreshing I find her tales to be.
Having just finished both this book and The Escape Artist, I am silly school girl swooning over the hero’s in BOTH books.. It has been a long time since I’ve fallen so hard for a “book boyfriend”. These are great stories to immerse yourself into and just daydream.
Please, do yourself a favor. Give this book a go! And enjoy the ride. ( Then read The Escape Artist! )
If you are planning to read one after the other, I would read them in order of publication. However, there was something interesting in reading them back to back, in reverse that I just can’t articulate into words… ( another beauty of this Author’s books, IMO)
This book is terrible. Just NO!!!
The Con Artist was just as original and surprising as each of Kitty Thomas’ books I have ad the chance to read. She does not shy away from dark places or more taboo concepts, and does not feel the need to have a Happily Ever After in her work. That makes it feel more realistic in so many ways, and lets us, the readers, really sink into these characters. What always gets me is the deep, psychological issues she brings forth and how well she weaves them into the tapestry of her worlds. These are not flat, two dimensional characters and Niche and Saskia do not disappoint. The path Niche leads Saskia on is a dark, convoluted ride that was impressive and unexpected.
As always, if you are not a fan of dark romance or may not enjoy the gritty deep dive into the psyche of these dark worlds, I do not recommend Kitty Thomas. For those of us who enjoy all manner of the spectrum of reading enjoyment, do not pass this book up or anything this author has put forth. You will not be disappointed!
I absolutely loved this book, if you know kitty books you know it’s dark and always filled with twist and turn and as always not disappointed with this one