The most recommended books about confidence tricks

This is embarrassing. Joseph Mitchell, the journalist and legendary longtime contributor to the New Yorker, is, in my opinion, the finest chronicler of 1950-80s Manhattan life who ever lived.

Here’s what’s embarrassing. I have previously devoured all of his story collections and any reprints in the New Yorker, but never read his greatest work, about the Village bohemian eccentric Joe Gould. Not anymore. As deft a piece of journalism as ever was.

In this first book of The Shill Trilogy struggling actress Jane Innes is seduced by a handsome new arrival in her acting class. He admits he’s a con man and needs Jane to pose as a rich, carefree heiress to fulfill his intricate scam. I loved this book because Jane, being desperate for money, and love, agrees to help the con man that has seduced her. Is it love or money the reason she agrees? I believe there is no black and white, good or evil in characters when it comes to morals. I enjoy stories that show us the gray in us, and how one can be swayed to the dark side through desperation if given the right opportunity.

This 1960 book by George Clayton Johnson, who wrote the scripts for The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and the sci-fi film Logan’s Run, was a tie-in for the original Ocean’s Eleven movie featuring the Rat Pack. It’s hard to find, but worth it as it contains all the elements of a classic Vegas con – the mob, the girlfriend, the complex relationships between the conmen and their marks. It delves into the characters more than either movie, although admittedly, it’s impossible to read the book without picturing the 2001 film and its star-studded cast. 

I will admit it, I am a sucker for a compelling book cover. The cover of Mrs. Kimble completely drew me in and it didn’t take long for me to be so immersed that I wanted to grab the characters by their shoulders and shake some sense into them. I was intrigued by the idea of a “serial husband” but honestly, I wanted to know more about this narcissistic man who could simply change who he was at any given moment all the while changing careers, hometowns, and wives without nary a backwards glance. Self-centered doesn’t even begin to describe Ken Kimble but he sure does make the novel an intriguing story about love, loss, betrayal, and human nature in all of its glory.

This jigsaw puzzle of a psychological thriller involves a world-class con artist. So, so cleverly done. I didn’t put all the pieces together until the very end, which took my breath away, literally! Most of the story is told via the diary of a naïve college dropout, who wants desperately to work for a fashion magazine. She wangles an internship with an important publication and reveals to the diary her growing admiration for one of the mag’s high-living senior editors. Memoranda and phone messages of other people reveal the authorities are suspicious of the editor, as the intern works merrily on. I wanted her to wake up! I unsuccessfully tried to telepathically communicate the danger signs to her, but no.

If there’s anything I like as much as pirates, it’s heist stories. The excellent follow-up to the amazing Lies of Locke Lamora, Red Seas rang every one of my bells by taking our favorite thieving bastards Locke and Jean to sea, under the command of a strong, brilliant female captain, Zamira Drakasha. And she’s not just a woman pirate – she’s a middle-aged, Black single mother, running her ship and being the best pirate any denizen of the high seas could aspire to be. Lynch caught a good bit of flack for this character, but I was delighted. You will be, too.

A laugh-out-loud funny book about an American scam artist looking for marks on the streets of Prague.

Posing as a successful Hollywood screenwriter, Nix swindles female tourists, but ends up stealing from the wrong woman as it attracts the attention of the woman’s fiancé, a local detective, whose soon sets his sight on Nix. When Nix spots a sultry young woman at the train station, he thinks he’s found his next victim, but she leads him on, then cleans him out. 

Thinking the two could be an unbeatable pair together, Nix tracks Monika down, but accidentally kills her pimp. The two team up, and Monika draws Nix deep into her web of lies. The book is filled with clever dialogue and two nihilistic characters, who will shock, fascinate, and entertain.

I absolutely loved this series! The heroine is a young woman struggling to survive the harsh streets of Victorian England. Caught stealing, Mary Quinn is convicted and sentenced to hang. However, the Agency rescues her from the noose and provides her with an education. In return, she trains to work as an investigative agent among the upper-class society of London. These books expose the realistic darker side of that world, but if you could handle Oliver Twist, you can handle these. Lee captured the mystery and intrigue so brilliantly I could not put them down.

Imagination + beautiful writing. I love books that surprise me. Whether it’s with imaginative settings, intricate plots, beautiful writing, or humor. Surprise me, and I’m hooked. For me, no writer does this better than Frances Hardinge. Her books are incredibly unique. There is nobody who writes like her, who thinks up plots like her. Any one of her books is a trip on a totally new adventure. I started with Fly By Night and have read everything by her since.

Manipulation is a simple art.

I require all students and mentees to read this book and keep it on their shelves. It is an easy read and contains information that will keep future law enforcement officers safe from inmate behavior. Civilians can apply these skills to everyday life to protect themselves as well. We call it “the trick bag”, falling for a simple ruse and landing as a pawn in an inmate’s game in prison. The “game” is a series of manipulations over time that might lead to the target’s incarceration, loss of job, and public humiliation. 

This book is an effective tool for offender management and exposing criminal scams. The examples are accurate and anyone can use the tools it discusses. The authors discuss the anatomy of the setup, susceptibility profiles of both inmate and target, survival traits, and more. It can start with a pencil and end with… show more.

Sanders’ protagonist, the delightful New York Police Department Captain Edward X. Delaney, had the wonderful habit of building delicious sandwiches that he ate over the kitchen basin. From him, I learnt that crime fiction characters can be quirky. And what they ate said as much about them as what they said.

You gotta give props to Flewelling, who wrote a fantasy series with queer male protags in 1996! Just imagine – before Will & Grace, before Queer as Folk, before gay marriage was even a thing, she had the courage to write this deeply moving spy espionage fantasy book and the relationship between the noble rogue Seregil and his mentee/lover Alec was basically what I used as a model for every romantic relationship in my life. Also, the protag in my first two books was named Alek. Coincidence? I think not.

Billion Dollar Whale is the story of Asian financier, Jho Low, and the global financial swindle that involved Interpol, the Malaysian prime minister, Goldman Sachs, and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio. Low was even one of the primary financiers of—wait for it—The Wolf of Wall Street, the Oscar-nominated crime biopic about Jordan Belfort. Think about that for a moment: A film glorifying financial malfeasance was funded via financial malfeasance. You can’t make this shit up and you must read Billion Dollar Whale. 

I’ve always enjoyed Bill Pronzini’s work (including his work with wife Marcia Muller). The Flimflam Affair is the first book I read from his Carpenter and Quincannon series. This is a perfect example of how to embed historical fact into crime fiction. Although this is not a police procedural novel (the lead characters are private detectives), procedural elements are certainly included throughout. I’m envious of Pronzini’s ability to use the beginning of the 20th century as a backdrop for this fine series.

The best tale and totally mesmerizing story of the confidence-man Felix Krull, who developed the art of subterfuge and deception to a phenomenal degree.

Escaping from a childhood of poverty he eventually rose to mingle with the highest echelons of European society. Helped by being young and good-looking Krull was irresistible to women, of which he was not slow to take advantage.

This chameleon-like quality enabled him to adapt to countless situations and to pursue his career as a highly gifted swindler impervious to the conduct and morals of normal humankind.

When, eventually, the Marquis de Venosta makes him a proposal he cannot refuse - his world changes.

A bewitching experience.

Star Trek is a great series, but you expect the flagship of the Federation to be able to handle pretty much anything. I’m much more interested in how ordinary people deal with extraordinary situations. 

Michael Mammay, who like me, is former military, has a very ordinary hero in this story - Sergeant Gastovsky (“Gas” to everybody he knows). Gas’s one superpower is he knows everybody and can make a deal with anybody.

The Misfit Soldier is very enjoyable. The first half of the book is basically the plot of the movie Kelly's Heroes which is a WWII heist movie. It’s well-told and moves quickly. The second part, also based on Mammay’s personal experiences, is how his future military deals with the aftermath.

It’s a standalone, which is also a plus.

Sure, you could say con artist Meg Williams, or any of the aliases this woman goes by, is a vigilante, determined to right the wrongs done to her by society through the many lies she tells. Or you could see her as a sociopathic opportunist.

Kara Roberts is out to catch Williams and bring her to justice for being instrumental in both destroying Roberts’ career and her personal life. But once Roberts gets close to Williams, she falters…and falls under her spell. See a pattern yet? Yep, that’s right. The sociopath always charms the victim.

While the book skews toward a Machiavellian “the ends justify the means” philosophy, the characters are duplicitous and amoral at best, sociopathic and self-serving at worst.

One of the most enduring stereotypes about poverty and welfare, has been that of the welfare queen – someone living the good life on welfare and grossly abusing the system. 

Ronald Reagan used the example of Linda Taylor in the 1970s to epitomize and capitalize on this myth in order to score political points. Josh Levin tracked down the actual story of Linda Taylor. As is so often the case, the truth is much stranger than fiction. 

A riveting biography of the individual who was at ground zero of the welfare queen myth.

This was a fun and thrilling read about an intricate kidnapping plot. A seemingly perfect crime with the picture-perfect family; ‘Picture Perfect’, is only ever for the picture.

It taught me that even if the odds are stacked against you, you are not captive to your circumstance. This was a psychological and active fight for survival, not only for one’s own survival but for those whom you love.

Courage is contagious.

This as-told-to memoir by Weil, better known as the Yellow Kid, is a crash course in grifts of all kinds, from petty barroom scams to elaborate shady deals in oil, stocks, and real estate.

Weil is a witty tour guide and a gifted impostor, posing as a geologist, banker, or tycoon as needed. To me, what’s most eye-opening is his total lack of compassion for his victims, whom he regards as greedy suckers who deserve to be fleeced.

Criminals rarely see themselves as in the wrong, and Weil’s efforts to justify his larcenous career make for an intriguing con played on the reader.