A middle school thief feeling trapped in her new life rescues endangered animals with help from a friend.Frankie Lorde, former international thief–turned–Connecticut middle schooler, is back for another adventure with her best friend, Ollie, as they take on a local exotic animal ring. While volunteering at a local pet rescue facility over winter break, Frankie and Ollie find out that their last mark, Christian Miles, left behind an illegally owned pet Bengal tiger. Guilt-ridden, as she feels partly responsible for the tiger's plight, and feeling like a trapped animal herself, Frankie is determined to take down Sam and Emma Brasko-the wealthy celebrity twins who sell exotic pets-while learning that she doesn't have to change who she is in order to grow in her new environment. Frankie's first-person journal gives a detailed, almost co-conspiratorial account of her latest heist and her adjustment to life in Greenwich with her police detective uncle. With her snarky comments about contemporary music and references to older pop culture, Frankie often sounds more like an adult than a tween. While not required reading, those who enjoyed the series opener, Stealing Greenwich (2020), will better understand references in this entry. The fast pace and facts about the exotic animal trade may hold some readers' interest. Frankie is White; Ollie is queued as Latinx.A thriller for fans of plot-driven stories. (Thriller. 11-14)

Gr 5 Up-Frankie Lorde is back. She and her new bestie Ollie have been volunteering at an animal shelter for their community service requirement. Frankie has grown restless since her last heist, stuck living in a sleepy Greenwich community with her detective uncle since her dad is in prison. When she learns that Greenwich's idle rich have a penchant for illegally obtained lions and tigers, Frankie decides to act. She makes it her mission to not only free the animals, but to ensnare the traffickers. Along the way, she breaks an eager Ollie into the business and, once she finally gets to visit her dad in prison, has a break of sorts with him. The premise strains credulity, beginning with the supposition that an international jewel thief would keep an incriminating journal, and continues with the supposition that a 13- or 14-year-old could pull off the guise of a writer for a fashion e-zine. Frankie paints herself as worldly and cynically cool and everyone around her in broadly stereotypical strokesfrom her earnest yet clueless uncle to the bumbling and rich animal collectors and her theatrical best friend. There's little in the way of character development and subtlety, but the pace is fast and cinematic. This installment can be read as a standalone. Frankie is cued as white. VERDICT A candy-floss confection quickly consumed. Purchase where heist books are in demand or where the first installment is popular. Brenda Kahn, Tenakill M.S., Closter, NJ