Books about Con Artists
There is something so much fun about reading books about con artists. After all, it is something so far from the reality of our everyday lives. I rounded up my favorites all in one place.
And recently, there has been a huge interest in these schemers. From the rise in movies like Catch Me If You Can and Inventing Anna, to the real-life con artists’ stories popping up in the news, it’s no wonder authors have been churning out books about con artists.
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Fiction Books About Con Artists
Workhorse
Author: Caroline Palmer
Year: 2025
Genre: Literary Fiction
Spice Rating:💋💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Clo wants nothing more than to rise to from intern to Editor at the illustrious fashion magazine she works for. But Clo is a workhorse in a world built for show ponies, so she decides to manipulate and scheme her way to the top with trusted allies and frenemies. This insider look at the time when fashion magazines were being surpassed by digital media is equally insightful and entertaining.
Why Kirsten likes it
It’s clear Palmer put her extensive knowledge of the fashion and magazine industries, and the people that work in them, into this story. It was an elevated version of The Devil Wears Prada that was irresistible. Still, it was a touch too long and I sort of lost interest when the plot left the fashion world and swapped to Clo’s bad choices.
Find this book in: Novels About Fashion / Books About Con Artists / Novels About Publishing
Plot
Like everyone, I fell deep into the Netflix show Inventing Anna. When I realized this story was about a similar tale, I knew it would be the perfect summer book about con artists!
Essentially, it’s about an intern named Lora who was taken in by an Elle editor named Cat Wolff whose glamorous life quickly takes over her own. But is Cat who she claims to be, or is she someone else entirely?
Why Kirsten loves it
Let’s just say this is one of those books where you get to the end, and you want to go back and re-read. I gasped when I read the final chapter of this pick from summer reads 2023.
Find this book in: Novels About Fashion / Books about Con Artists and Thieves / Ultimate Beach Reads 2023/ Epistolary Novels / Novels About Publishing
The Art Forger
Author: B. A. Shapiro
Year: 2012
Genre: Historical Mystery
More info: New York Times Bestseller
Spice Rating:💋💋💋
Age Range: 18+
Plot
Claire Roth is a young artist who has been blacklisted from the art community after being named “The Great Pretender”. Claire painted a picture for her former lover who claimed the work as his own. When he broke up with her from guilt, Claire tried and failed to claim the art as her own.
Years later, she is working as a painter who paints reproductions. When she is given a chance to forge a painting for $50,000 and her own private gallery show, Claire jumps at the chance but does not realize what she is getting herself into.
Trigger Warnings
Suicide
Why Jackie loves it
I read this book long ago and it is one that still resonates with me years later. This is one of my favorite novels about art because of the unique story and fantastic writing.
Find this book in: Books About Con Artists / Books Set in Museums / Novels About Artists
Plot
Dani Poissant is the daughter of the world’s most famous art thief, who happens to be in jail because Dani turned her in. Now, ten years later, she is approached for a once-in-a-lifetime heist that can make up for her past mistakes and reunite her with her mother’s old gang, which includes the love of her life and her former best friend. Can she pull off the heist? Oh, did I mention that the secret to their success is magic?
Why Kirsten likes it
The magical realism of this story sets it apart from other art heist novels, but the magical mechanisms should have been more thoroughly explored in the story. The more interesting part was Dani’s journey of self-discovery and her realizations about her relationship with her mother.
Find this book in: Books About Thieves / Novels About Art
Thriller Books About Con Artists
Plot
Taking place on the shores of Lake Tahoe, this story is a dual narrative that switches between a grifter and the heiress she is trying to rob.
Nina and her boyfriend, Lachlan, are in town to steal from the wealthy Tahoe inhabitants, specifically Vanessa, an heiress and influencer. But Nina is hiding her connection to Stonehaven, the mansion Vanessa lives in.
The twists kept coming until I wasn’t sure what was going to happen or which person was actually being conned.
Why Kirsten loves it
I love a good thriller, but I’ve found they become predictable after a while. I adored Pretty Things because it kept me on my toes! I listened to this one, so I can tell you that the audiobook was one of my favorites of the year.
Find this book in: Fictional Books About Influencers/ Lake Novels / Books about Thieves
The Grownup
Author: Gillian Flynn
Year: 2015
Genre: Thriller
More info: New York Times Bestseller
Age Range: 16
Plot
When a woman pretending to be a psychic is hired to do an exorcism on a house, she learns that she just might believe in the supernatural after all.
It’s only 64 pages, but this Halloween thriller book will keep you up at night.
Why Kirsten loves it
A short and C-R-E-E-P-Y haunted house book, I wanted to put down and continue at the same time.
Find this book in: Best Short Stories / Books about Con Artists / Haunted House Books / Halloween Thriller /Best Short Stories and Collections
First Lie Wins
Author: Ashley Elston
Year: 2024
Genre: Thriller
More info: January 2024 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, New York Times Bestseller
Age Range: 18+
Plot
Evie Porter knows the rules for survival: the first lie wins. Her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, will first send her a name and then a location. She gets one piece of information at a time and is never sure what the end game is. She knows that she owes Mr. Smithe everything.
This time, her mark is Ryan Summer. But she is starting to feel like there might be something real with him. But, she cannot make any more mistakes. She is already on thin ice because of how she screwed up her last job. Soon, she is following twisted pathway and is not sure who to trust. Can she even trust herself?
Why Jackie loves it
This is unlike any thriller I have read. It is not a murder mystery thriller, but rather a fast-paced, secret-identity thriller where you will feel like you are one step behind the entire book. I listened to this on a road trip with my husband he loved it as much as I did. #gifted
Find this book in: Ultimate List of Beach Reads 2024 / Best New Thriller Books / Best Reese Witherspoon Books / Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2024
YA Books About Con Artists
Plot
After reading a few heavier books this month, I craved a YA book that would put a smile on my face. Enter The Fraud Squad, a story about 2 socialites who team up to convince Singapore’s high society that working-class Samantha is one of them to help her secure her dream job.
Why Kirsten loves it
This name-dropping, bejeweled story is like Crazy Rich Asians for teens. It was fun to revisit Singaporean high society through the eyes of young adults. It is fluff and fun in the very best ways.
Find this book in: Ultimate Beach Reads 2023 / Books about Con Artists and Thieves
The City of Brass
Author: S. A. Chakraborty
Year: 2017
Genre: Historical Fantasy
More info: The Daevabad Trilogy #1
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
This historical fantasy takes place in 18th-century Cairo. When Nahri accidentally summons Dara, a Djinn warrior, she is swept to Daevabad, the City of Brass. Soon Nahri must learn who to trust in a city when magic cannot shield her from the danger that threatens from all around her.
Why Jackie loves it
I read this book a few years ago when we first started the blog. This book was one of the books that got me back into reading fantasy, one of my favorite genres to read. I love the dark magic woven throughout.
Find this book in: Mythology Books / Books about Con Artists / Fantasy Book Series for Young Adults / Novels Set in Egypt / Historical Fantasy Books
Artemis Fowl
Author: Eoin Colfer
Year: 2001
Genre: Fantasy
Age: 11+
More info: Artemis Fowl Book 1 of 8
Plot
Artemis Fowl is a kid genius trying to utilize the power of fairies to find his father. With the help of his butler, they kidnap a fairy named Holly Short to restore his family’s fortune and find his power.
However, Artemis underestimates the power of the fairies because he thinks that he is the smartest.
Why Jackie loves it
This fantasy book for tweens is perfect for anyone who wants to see the villain’s perspective and root for them as well. These are the perfect books for Percy Jackson fans.
Find this book in: Books about Con Artists and Thieves / Books like Percy Jackson / Best Fantasy Books for Tweens / Books like KOTLC / Books for a 13-year-old
Non-Fiction Books About Con Artists
Plot
Frank Abignail Jr’s life is one that most people could never even imagine – running away from home, impersonating a pilot, lawyer, and doctor, and defrauding banks out of millions of dollars.
This is the story of how he got away with all of his cons and eventually got caught. It’s a truly fascinating book that reads like fiction.
Why Jackie loves it
There is a reason this book inspired the hit movie starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio – it’s a story you wouldn’t believe if it wasn’t true.
Find this book in: Con Artist Books / Plane Books / Feel-Good Nonfiction
Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West
Author: Dane Huckelbridge
Year: 2025
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Range: 18+
Plot
Myra Maybelle Shirley, also known as Belle Star, was shot and killed on February 3, 1889. At the time of her death, she was just 40 years old and one of the most dangerous women in the American West. She led a gang of horse thieves and married one of the most dangerous outlaws. She also married a direct descendent of the greatest female warrior in Cherokee history. This is the story of her life.
Why Kirsten loves it
As always, I adore Huckelbridge’s writing style as I learned about one of the most notorious bandits I’ve never heard of! Belle’s story is made to be memorialized in a movie because if I didn’t know this was a nonfiction book, I never would have believed half the things that she did! #gifted by HarperAudio
Find this book in: Books About Thieves / Beach Reads 2025
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks
Author: Patrick Radden Keefe
Year:
Genre:
More info:
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range:
Plot
This book about con artists and criminals includes stories featuring the almost unbelievable ways they committed their crimes. These 12 stories range from forging vintage wines to a black market arms dealer. Each story is more intriguing than the next.
Why Jackie loves it
Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning author, and it is clear why. He is a brilliant writer who meticulously researches his stories and whose writing is compelling.
Find this book in: Books about Con Artists and Thieves / Ultimate Beach Reads 2023
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress
Author: Rachel DeLoache Williams
Year: 2019
Genre: Memoir
More info: New York Times Bestseller
Age Range: 18+
Plot
The story of Anna Delvey has inspired numerous con artist books because Anna successfully conned the New York Elite. Rachel’s story is her take on the Anna Delvey drama – it is a fleshed-out version of her Vanity Fair article.
The book details how Delvey pretended to be a wealthy German heiress while conning her friend Rachel out of 60,000 dollars and almost getting them both arrested in Marrakesh.
Why Kirsten loves it
It’s no wonder Netflix has taken this con artist’s story and turned it into a hit series. It’s wildly unbelievable and entirely true!
Epilogue
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