The Pretender Games People Play

HelenKay Dimon — 2017

“Sexy, emotional, funny . . . Dimon gives it all to her readers.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Jill Shalvis They say it takes a thief to catch a thief, and Harrison Tate is proof. Once a professional burglar, he now makes a lawful living tracking down stolen art. No one needs to know about his secret sideline, “liberating” artifacts acquired through underhanded methods. At least until one of those jobs sees him walking in on a murder. Gabrielle Wright has long been estranged from her wealthy family, but she didn’t kill her sister. Trouble is, the only person who can prove it is the sexy, elusive criminal who shouldn’t have been at the island estate on that terrible night. She’s not expecting honor among thieves—or for their mutual attraction to spark into an intense inferno of desire. Under the guise of evaluating her family’s art, Harris comes back to the estate hoping to clear Gabby’s name. But returning to the scene of the crime has never been riskier, with their hearts and lives on the line.

Reviews

b.andherbooks@bandherbooks

Oct 9, 2021

Harrison Tate, a Robin Hood-esque art thief, witnesses a brutal murder when out liberating a painting. Since he cannot be caught at the scene, Harrison is forced to corrupt the crime scene, tamper with the dead woman's computer, and be extracted by Wren and his team of fixers. What Harrison does know for sure is that Gabrielle Wright, sister of the dead woman, did not do it. He was there, and he's responsible for Gabi's life being thrown in turmoil. Now, Harrison has an opportunity to hopefully clear Gabi once and for all. Posing as an insurance adjuster, he goes back to the island where it all went down, and finds himself falling for Gabi as the mystery of who murdered her sister deepens and becomes more dangerous. A fun book to read by the pool. I enjoyed that Harrison wasn't quite as tortured as the past heroes. Gabi wasn't my fav heroine and I didn't really buy her bad relationship with her Uncle (or didn't care), but I did feel bad for her situation.

Lynn Braden@ftbooklover

Oct 8, 2021

Gabrielle Wright has spent the last 14 months trying to cope, not only with the death of her younger sister Tabitha, but also trying to find a way to prove that she didn't kill her. Now Gabby has been called back to the house where her sister was murdered because the items located there are finally going to be appraised and sold. Gabby's Uncle Stephen is also there and takes every opportunity to blame Gabby for Tabitha's death. Harrison "Harris" Tate barely escaped seeing who murdered Tabitha, but his reason for being at the house that night was to steal a painting that he was trying to reappropriate for the family of the original owners after it was taken by the Nazis in World War II. He has spent the last 14 months keeping an eye on Gabby, planning to step in if she is arrested, but now he and his friend Damon will go undercover and may be able to prove what really happened the night that Tabitha died. The Pretender does a good job developing the main characters by showing the torment that they have experienced in their lives and the effect that their backgrounds have had on recent behaviors. The addition of Damon as Harris's best friend adds humor to the story and softens Harris's character. The story is narrowed a bit by the limited setting of the island where Tabitha's house is located, but overall, a decent mystery with a well developed romance.