Better To Give Than Deceive: Grifter Trilogy - Book 1

by Kobrinica Press

When you lose your share of $2.4 million, do you walk away, or settle the score? After a successful heist, three grifters stop overnight in a small town off the beaten path when their leader Frank is arrested and their $2.4 million score disappears. Believing there is no honor among thieves, Frank is reluctant to help fellow grifters Jared and Chance recover the money while he remains in jail awaiting trial. But with an unpredictable cop on the take, a double-cross in the works, and a hitman dispatched to recover the money, time is a luxury the trio of grifters cannot afford to waste by trying to figure out who's double crossing whom if they hope to have any chance of recovering the money and staying alive. And before they lose what little leverage they have, Jared and Chance make a bold and daring move to rig Frank's trial and execute a plan that sets in motion events that lead to a dramatic verdict, unforeseen consequences, and the wisdom that it would have been better to give than deceive. Crime Fiction, Courtroom Drama This book is also available in a profanity-free Alternate Edition. ( B00REN1UFK)

Genres: Mystery

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 23, 2014

Reviews

[Monnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good bit of what happens in this book exceeds the boundaries of what I believe could happen in real life, but no matter; it's one of the most intriguing and, well, just plain fun plots I've read in a long time - and I thank the publisher for making it available to me in exchange for an honest review.

It's almost impossible to describe what happens without revealing too much, but in essence it involves three grifters who manage to steal a couple of million bucks before Frank, the leader of the pack, gets arrested for a heist of a different sort. Now he's awaiting trial, and the money the other two thought they'd all share is blowing in the wind. Needless to say, they want their cut; grifters through and through, they're willing to do whatever it takes, including a double-cross that involves rigging Frank's trial, to get it.

But there's many a slip between the cup and the lip - too many to count, in fact. Just when I thought everything would go according to plan, a monkey wrench that altered the dynamic of the entire plot gets tossed in. Not until the end did I know how things would turn out; and even at that point, I learned that nothing's written in stone. Maybe that means there's a sequel in the works, but then again, maybe not.

I should add that according to the publisher, a less "sexually explicit" edition available. I can't imagine why that's necessary - I certainly wasn't offended by what little I encountered, and it seemed so unessential to the plot that I wondered why it was there at all. But if you object to that even a hint at kind of thing, I guess it'd good to know you can opt for a more chaste version.

[MsFolio * · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting story but not a great book. It would have read better and been a better book, without the detailed blow by blow narrative of every little action and event. No doubt this high level of detail was included to lend credibility to the writing, but sometimes less is really more. It's a laborious read when the author tries to describe every single action.its not necessary and slows the story down.

[Arnaud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weirdly written I guess

This one didn't work for me ultimately. It has all the right ingredients, simple but interesting plot too. But very quickly, I found myself skimming through the pages. The whole story is very wordy to begin with, with a lot of unnecessary descriptions all over the place. I found the pace of the story broken over and over again. Easy to lose focus in a case like that. Then there were some very weird inconsistencies between characters, or shortcuts that didn't make sense. Worst of all, a contract killer who gets only a few pages before tripping on his shoelace and fall off a building... Huh??? Dialogues between the siblings (main characters) did not make much sense at times either. I don't think I'll get to the rest of the series on that one

[Phatima Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and riveting

This was a great story about crime, law, and the street code. I enjoyed this storyline. Who would have thought a married man could be so underhanded, but that's a grifter for you! There were a few good plot twists. Definitely a box to recommend to friends.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three grifters steal $2.5 million from a politician’s secret account, but things start to fall apart right away. Twists and unexpected turns make this a very entertaining story, with interesting characters and a gritty setting. I give it five stars.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A trio of grifters try and hold on to $2.4million dollars when one of their group end up in prison. Unfortunately the grifters are very bad at coming up with a con, as each plot comes undone quickly and the conclusion occurs purely by chance.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced

For fans of Usual Suspects. The impersonations are invaluable as grifters manage an incredible heist and get away. Or do they? Looking forward to the second in the series.

[paulette sarelli]

Weird story

This book was really interesting. It gave you some insight into the life of a con artist. Interesting in how much detail and instinct you need. Love the hook at the end. Can't wait to read the next book t see why happens.

[Tammie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

This book had lots of twists and turns, some unbelievable, and some well otter. Good characters and a great cliff ending.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better To Give Than Deceive

Entertaining story about grifters who con innocent people out of lots of money and then try to con each other for possession of their ill gotten gains.

[Charles Lilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well presented

A story that could only be written if it were true. I venture the author knew the stars of this tale.

[Jim Buschmeier]

Enjoyable read.

[Susan Lerding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maze of twists and turns

This had me guessing up to the last page. Great read. Ready to read more in this trilogy. A definite page turner.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

tale of grifters (con men and con women?) and their betrayals of each other.
Interesting twists

[James N Fulton, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an Interesting story

This is not like the sting it is much more gritty and real world. I will definitely read more from this author.

[lora horak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected twist

Loved the characters. This author gave enough description to visualize each one. The storyline takes a couple of unexpected turns, overall a good read.

[Mailmanr5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never grift a grifter. That's the point I got out of this one. Clever and humorous.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun characters. Amusing ending.

[Harmony Kent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed on behalf of The Review Board by Harmony Kent.

I received a free PDF copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Three grifters con their way into $2.4 million. One of them sets up a double-cross. Forget honour among thieves. Soon enough, it all spirals out of control.
Please note, two versions of this book exist: the profane version with sexually explicit content and the milder profanity-free alternate edition. This review is based upon the full, unaltered version.
While the story premise sets up to be a good read, the execution lets it down. The writing style comes across extremely passively, and filter words (saw/heard, etc.) and delaying the action unnecessarily with ‘started to/began to’ formulations fill the text. Also, spelling mistakes abound in the narrative (waive instead of wave, wreaked instead of reeked, etc.). Some direct questions lack the requisite question marks. All of which makes for an arduous read.
Add to this the unlikeable characters (they’re all, basically, con-merchants) and the overabundance of information and minutiae, and I struggled to wade through this book. Personally, I don’t like novels that contain only main characters with a total lack of morality, which of course is just my preference, but it did further reduce the reading pleasure for me.
Also, when I read a novel, I like to know the identity of the author. For some reason, Kobrinica Press is given as the author, and so readers have no chance to connect with the writer let alone the writing. All rather strange to my mind.
No book should be published with this many errors, which even a cursory read through would eliminate. It gets 2 out of 10 TRB stars, which equates to 1 out of 5 stars on other rating scales, and means ‘Nope, we won’t push you in that direction.’ Save your money and your time for something better presented.

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Grifters-thieves-courtroom drama...this book has it all. I was fascinated from the first page when the long con began. They say there is no honor among thieves, but apparently that's wrong. Frank, Jarred, and Chance are like a well oiled machine that trust each other and all goes well. Very well to the tune of 2.4 million reasons to be happy with the con. Then right at the time they were preparing to split the money, Frank has to go and show off his light finger skills and get caught. Now if the book wasn't exciting enough already, you have the man who wears the money around his body arrested by an off duty cop, while the other two stand by in shock. Without funds to live decently, Jarred and Chance rent a cheap room for a week and set about finding a way to get Frank and the money back.
You have to read the book to find out all the interesting cons that go into the exciting and quite unexpected conclusion! I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It isn't the sort of book I usually pick, but after reading the first couple pages of the sample I was hooked. I read it in 2 sittings-it would have been one, but life got in the way. ;) I highly recommend this fascinating book to anyone who likes a mystery. It was an enthralling read!

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was twixt and between a 3 and 4 for this well conceived and executed grafter story with some innovative legal suspense woven it. After I slept on it for two days, I upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 because I truly enjoyed it. I would like to read a sequel and also to know something about the author.

[Elaine Mayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging crime novel about a crew of grifters. Sometimes suspenseful, occasionally amusing with plenty of twists and turns. I deducted a star for goofs such as waive for wave (and vice versa) and lose for loose and such errors. Will there be a sequel?

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grifters

Three people steal 2.4 million dollars from a Democratic committee. While two of them are trusting of the lead guy, he is busy figuring out how to take all the money and dump them. Pretty good book with a lot of deception going on. Hard to trust anyone!

[Ann Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story.

Good plot, lots of unexpected twists and turns in the story. The writing is a bit rough and could certainly benefit from a good proofreading, but I would say there is hope for this author.