Rating: 
Summary: The A Team meets the Bates Family
Review: I remember when I was (ahem) a mere child I used to have the opening sequence of the A-Team memorized, I was such a fan. Today, I can still recite it. "In 1971 a crack commando unit was sent to military prison for a crime they did not commit...." In the closing of that show I remember seeing Mr. Cannell yanking a final page out a novel out of his old electric typewriter. Little did I know that he was really writing...and writing well. King Con opens with a bang, er, a golf club and ends with a sentimentality that cannot be denied. So what if the roller coaster ride ended with a gentle roll? The plot twists are better than a good New York pretzel. The cons themselves are nothing short of glorious. And....the guy gets the girl. Granted, the last sentence seemed like ole Stephen was just plain fed-up with the plot and said to himself "Hey, this is good enough. After all, the deadline is in five minutes." Nothing, not the end nor the beginning, is as important as the meat of a book. And let me tell you folks, this novel is a bonafide thick-cut T-bone. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Gamblers, lawyers, con men (and women)...and $$$
Review: Stephen J. Cannell is best know for his various television series, but he also pens fast-paced action novels that are similar in spirit. King Con involves a fallen card sharp, Beano Bates, after he rips off a mafia boss named Joe "Dancer" Rina. The boss catches him and beats him nearly to death. A witness comes forward and is under the protection of a tough lawyer named Victoria Hart. Tragic events bring Bates and Hart together to bring down Joe Rina and his brother Tommy, in the biggest of all cons.
I like the progression of scams, from a card game, jewel switch, craps cheating and finally a bogus oil company. With each scenario, the stakes were upped and things were never easy, but rather a house of cards ready to collapse at any moment. The book features an interesting cast of characters, many in the Bates con artist extended family. The dialogue was ready for film, the sets were easy to imagine and there was tension on every page.
The characters were pretty forgettable, with not a whole lot of dimension. Most of the time they're thinking about how they should be living instead of doing it. The old show vs. tell criticism. There were also points where things got over the top, like the whole Arkansas Bates clan and the hillbilly stereotype, although the invoice was funny.
Obviously Cannell is having fun, and it's interesting to learn the con person's lingo. Don't take this book too seriously. It's a popcorn book to enjoy on a long flight or vacation at the beach house or ski lodge.
Rating: 
Summary: awful
Review: This book was horrible... the ending went on and on like it was written by a nine year old who had made no formal planning. It was a long time ago when i actually read this book but i still loathe it; the fact that i've come back to write a negative review after five years should be proof enough. The reason i wanted to let my opinion be seen is because I feel that if there are good reviews for a book this horrible then no other review for anyother book on this website can be of any merit.
Rating:
Summary: Grifters Delight
Review: Fun, fun, fun page turner for those who love to read about grifters and con artists. In the prologue the best con artist in the US cheats a number of people at cards, including a mobster, who beats him nearly to death afterward (an act which is totally contrary to the way the character is depicted throughout the rest of the book, but oh well). After a number of convolutions, the lovable con artist and the local DA team up to run a huge con to take out the mobster and his psychopathic brother. The characters are all cardboard, but its fun to read along and watch the author shuffle them around and spin a good story. Of course, Cannell knows that the details make the story, and this book is chock full of grifter tricks and cons which are a delight.
Rating:
Summary: The A Team meets the Bates Family
Review: I remember when I was (ahem) a mere child I used to have the opening sequence of the A-Team memorized, I was such a fan. Today, I can still recite it. "In 1971 a crack commando unit was sent to military prison for a crime they did not commit...." In the closing of that show I remember seeing Mr. Cannell yanking a final page out a novel out of his old electric typewriter. Little did I know that he was really writing...and writing well. King Con opens with a bang, er, a golf club and ends with a sentimentality that cannot be denied. So what if the roller coaster ride ended with a gentle roll? The plot twists are better than a good New York pretzel. The cons themselves are nothing short of glorious. And....the guy gets the girl. Granted, the last sentence seemed like ole Stephen was just plain fed-up with the plot and said to himself "Hey, this is good enough. After all, the deadline is in five minutes." Nothing, not the end nor the beginning, is as important as the meat of a book. And let me tell you folks, this novel is a bonafide thick-cut T-bone. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Quite a ride !!!
Review: My practically perfect spouse brought this book to me from the library. Said he thought I might like it. Turns out he was right. True, there was a lot of graphic violence, but it seemed to fit with the storyline. I liked the plot, even though it was a bit far-fetched. A small dose of fantasy never hurt anyone...and besides, I enjoyed watching the bad guys get what was coming to them and the original 'bad' guy (Beno) be redeemed by love. This book would make a great TV movie...maybe Cannell can sell his story to the networks...it's not like he has NO connections in Hollywood. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Grifter family vs. THE family
Review: Cannell pens a rather ordinary tale of revenge using a diverse array of characters. Beano Bates, the top con man in the nation and on the FBI's ten most wanted list, gets severely beaten after being accused of cheating in a high stakes poker game. The beating was administered with a golf club courtesy of Mafia kingpin Joe Rina. Despite the fact that Bates was of course cheating, he plots revenge after a witness to the attack gets killed by the Rina family while under protective custody. The witness, protected by New Jersey prosecutor Victoria Hart, was Bates' cousin Carol. Bates hails from a huge closely knit family of grifters or con men who are recruited to enact a fanciful swindle to take down Rina and his trigger happy brother Tommy. Hart, disgraced after the murder of her witness, hooks up with Bates to help in an oil company scam to put a wedge between the two brothers. Along the way, we meet a colorful cast of characters in both the Bates and Rina families. Bates and Hart eventually fall in love and Bates is reformed from his grifting ways. They sickeningly live happily ever after. I found this to be a totally unbelievable, quick reading bit of easily forgetable mediocrity.
Rating:
Summary: Dangerous, But Good Fun
Review: This is the story of a major con being set up with a couple of Mob leaders as the marks. The marks are set up as an act of revenge after they beat Beano X. Bates (the "King Con" of the title) almost to death and murdered his cousin. Although the danger faced by the protagonists is very real and extreme, it feels as though we are going on a light-hearted romp. This is a page-turner of the highest quality. The action doesn't stop as the con is being set up and I was always curious as to what was going to happen next. A good sign as far as I'm concerned.
Rating: 
Summary: Mass Market Fiction?
Review: Don't get me wrong, I like Stephen J. Cannell. His WISEGUY was a landmark in television, a foreshadowing of THE SOPRANOS. In WISEGUY even the evil mobsters had complex personalities, so why are the Rinas such shallow characters in this novel? Actually, everyone in this story has the depth of the cardboard that comes in the shirts you buy in the store. And, while story has some interesting passages on the techniques of con artists, Cannell repeatedly overwrites and "overtells" his story. If modern writers should show and not tell their story, KING CON is a classic example of the told story to the nth degree. Some readers may say: "I just read for entertainment." Regretfully, that does not absolve most mass market material from shortcomings in character, plot, and theme. If escapism is the goal, readers still should expect a higher level in their "pulp fiction." Unfortunately, Cannell must write for the commercial mass market that constantly strives for the lowest possible denominator. That market does not seek to entertain at a higher level. Dickens and Shakespeare wrote for a mass market but did not forget the nobler layers of their craft. Cannell doesn't have to be Dickens, but we know he can draft deeper ranges of character. But that approach to writing probably goes against the grain of publishing companies owned by conglomerates, who see books as commodities much like toothpaste or soap. I wish him well in future works, maybe he has another WISEGUY up his sleeve.
Rating: 
Summary: Cannell can con me anytime
Review: I bought this book with a half-hearted interest. Never one to gamble, I just didn't see a connection to the topic. From the first chapter, I was hooked, I could not put the book down (read it in one afternoon). The lead character, Beano Bates, is so well written you find yourself in the middle of this Con. If you love a fast paced read with lots of twists and turns, this book is for you.
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