swindlers and swindling

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 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.

The Alienist meets The Light of Luna Park in a fascinating historical novel based on the little-known story of America's first nursing school, as a young female grifter in 1880s New York evades the police by conning her way into Bellevue Hospital's training school for nurses... In the slums of 1880s New York, Una Kelly has grown up to be a rough-and-tumble grifter, able to filch a pocketbook in five seconds flat. But when another con-woman pins her for a murder she didn't commit, Una is forced to flee. Running from the police, Una lies her way into an unlikely refuge: the nursing school at Bellevue Hospital. Based on Florence Nightingale's nursing principles, Bellevue is the first school of its kind in the country. Where once nurses were assumed to be ignorant and unskilled, Bellevue prizes discipline, intellect, and moral character, and only young women of good breeding need apply. At first, Una balks at her prim classmates and the doctors' endless commands. Yet life on the streets has prepared her for the horrors of injury and disease found on the wards, and she slowly gains friendship and self-respect. Just as she finds her footing, Una's suspicions about a patient's death put her at risk of exposure, and will force her to choose between her instinct for self-preservation, and exposing her identity in order to save others. Amanda Skenandore brings her medical expertise to a page-turning story that explores the evolution of modern nursing-including the grisly realities of nineteenth-century medicine-as seen through the eyes of an intriguing and dynamic heroine.

Stuck at the lake in the middle of a Wisconsin winter, Drew and his younger sister and brother struggle to stay together after their manipulative, con artist mother dies, which they can only do if they can keep her death a secret.

"Summer and Leo would do anything for each other. . . . United by the call of the open road, they travel around sunny California in Summer's tricked-out Land Cruiser. It's not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they crave. . . . But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, Summer is a skilled pickpocket, small-time thief, and con artist--and Leo, determined to pay her way, has learned a trick or two from Summer. Eager for a big score, Leo sets her crosshairs on Michael Forrester, self-made billionaire and philanthropist. When her charm wins him over, she's rewarded with an invite to his private island off the coast of Los Angeles for a night of fabulous excess. She eagerly anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and endless stories to share with Summer. Instead, Leo disappears. The police assure Summer that her friend probably just ditched her. After all, who would believe a philanthropic billionaire could be up to no good? On her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael's island and find out what really happened. . . . Trapped in a scheme she helped initiate, could Summer have met her match?"--Provided by publisher.

In their final task, junior con artist Callan and his friends mastermind a prison break from the empire's most impenetrable island fortress.

While running a con in 1934 Chicago, sixteen-year-old Joe splits his time between Eddie, a handsome flirt, and Raymond, a carefree rich kid who shows Joe the queer life of the big city, but as danger closes in, Joe must decide who he wants to be before disappearing.

"Keefe ... explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain, chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black market arms merchant, and profiles a passionate death penalty attorney who represents the "worst of the worst," among other bravura works of literary journalism"--Provided by publisher.

An acrobat, an actress, an artist, and a thief, four girls who seemingly have nothing in common, work together and plot a heist to steal the Rubaiyat off the Titanic.

Meg, a veteran con artist, comes back into town after ten years away and chooses her next target, but this time journalist Kat Roberts is waiting for her. Meg upended Kat's life a decade ago and now Kat is about to expose her and get justice for the past. However, as the two women get closer, Kat discovers that things aren't what they appear to be.

"Cyberspace brings tradeoffs. Connectivity has boosted economic productivity, improved education, enhanced social interactions, and created new forms of entertainment. But it also makes people and things vulnerable. There is no end in sight to cyberscams or cyberattacks. But experts believe Americans can reduce the number of scams and attacks and also build resilience to recover from them more quickly"--Provided by publisher.