Master con artist Julep Dupree has managed to stay at her private school, but now her life is in danger and, against her better judgment, she takes a shady case.
Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average. But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal. “A sexy love triangle and madcap mystery . . . I loved this book.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret One of TeenVogue's 15 Most Exciting YA Books Coming Out This Year! "Julep isn't just another high schooler beset by the usual drama of boys and academia. Nope—she also happens to be a con artist and master of disguise, which comes in mighty handy when her father mysteriously disappears. Determined, she delves into the underbelly of Chicago to find him (bringing a bunch of fresh plot lines and unexpected twists along the way)."--teenVogue.com
Grifters can't have all the fun... Sam Seward is a hacker, not a con artist. And after the events that landed him in a military school, he’s more than happy to leave the grifting to the expert he left back in Chicago. But when a classmate begs him to help her retrieve something one of the school teachers stole from her, Sam’s staunch belief in justice won’t let him turn her down. He forms a new crew and plots a heist of his own, but he’s not Julep, and something about this case just smells wrong. Will he be able to pull off a con that even Julep would never attempt? Find out in this companion novella to Down to the Liar. Praise for the Trust Me series "Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer." —Kirkus Reviews “Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly “Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Grifters' hearts don't bleed...or do they? It's been three months since the NWI job, and Julep's an unmitigated mess. Dani being gone is driving Julep to an early grave with all the dangerous, ill-advised schemes she's undertaking to try and find her, none of which have amounted to anything useful. She can't sleep, she can't focus, and she sure as hell can't grift. If it weren't for Sam, Murphy, Bryn, and Lily, J.D. & Associates would have hit the skids within a week. Then one night she gets a call from an unexpected young client outside Chicago, who believes his dad is being catfished by someone with ties to a murder that happened eight years ago. Unfortunately, he can't prove it, and no one he's gone to for help will take him seriously. Something about the case has Julep's grifter senses tingling, and she can't seem to turn the kid down. Will Julep be able to put her heart on hold long enough to help him? And if she does, will she be able to solve the case before she becomes the murderer's next target? For fans of teen detectives, crime thrillers, suspense, and heists with a badass heroine and a slow-burn LGBTQ+ romance, this series checks all the boxes. Praise for Trust Me, I'm Lying "Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer." —Kirkus Reviews “Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly “Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
NEVER JUDGE A CROOK BY HER COVER. Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money, Julep runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average. She's a fixer, and she's good at it. But it's not what she wants. And soon, she'll hang up her grifter skills for good. But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father missing, Julep’s carefully laid plans for going straight start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With her literal life at stake, Julep will need to use every grift in the book to find and save her dad before his mark finds--and eliminates--her. Fans of Ally Carter's Heist Society novels will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action. Will Julep outsmart her enemies and find her father? Or is she too late? Buy the book now to join Julep's crack team and discover each new twist along the way.
Grifters can't have all the fun... Sam Seward is a hacker, not a con artist. And after the events that landed him in a military school, he’s more than happy to leave the grifting to the expert he left back in Chicago. But when a classmate begs him to help her retrieve something one of the school teachers stole from her, Sam’s staunch belief in justice won’t let him turn her down. He forms a new crew and plots a heist of his own, but he’s not Julep, and something about this case just smells wrong. Will he be able to pull off a con that even Julep would never attempt? Find out in this companion novella to Down to the Liar. Praise for the Trust Me series "Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer." —Kirkus Reviews “Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly “Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
JULEP THOUGHT SURVIVING THE MOB WAS HARD... ...but surviving her guilt is another thing entirely. Running her investigation agency is Julep's only distraction from her losses over the last few months. With a few new minions on Julep's payroll, she's been taking on various investigation jobs, including one for Mrs. Antolini--the wife of a computer engineer arrested for embezzling a whole lot of money from his company. She's convinced he did it at the behest of the New World Initiative, a leadership cult that just so happens to be run by a grifter who supposedly went straight. Julep's not so sure she wants the case--going up against any grifter, even an ex-grifter, is no joke--but Mrs. Antolini's story links to a mysterious blue fairy, and potentially to Julep's own missing mother. To complicate matters, someone's put a contract on Julep's head, so even if she manages to take down the con artist at the top of the New World Initiative, she may not live to tell the tale. With a war on multiple fronts, and her enigmatic shadow, Dani Ivanov, as her only protection, Julep must face the ghosts of her past to even have a chance at surviving the present. Will Julep escape the clutches of everyone who wants her dead? Worse, will she escape the burgeoning feelings she's been catching for her mob-enforcer bodyguard? Get the book now to find out! EDITORIAL REVIEWS "The action moves as quickly and crisply as the dialogue... A clever romp that keeps readers guessing." --Kirkus Reviews "I would trust Julep Dupree with my life, Dani Ivanov with my heart--and Mary Elizabeth Summer with my every late-night can't-stop-reading session. An intelligent, fierce heroine of strength and loyal heart who refuses to suffer fools lightly? Yes, please." --Jennifer Longo, award-winning author of What I Carry "An irresistible mix of intrigue, high stakes, and self-discovery." --Lee Kelly, author of City of Savages and The Antiquity Affair "An engaging, fast-paced read." --VOYA Magazine
From the author of Trust Me, I’m Lying comes the next chapter in the Trust Me series… Julep Dupree is a lot of things–fixer, grifter, master of disguise. But one thing she isn't is okay. Dealing with the emotional aftermath of the death of someone close to her is proving difficult, especially for someone who isn't supposed to care. Then a friend of a friend hires Julep's team to stop a cadre of cyber bullies, forcing Julep to run an impossible con. Nothing Julep has been through could possibly have prepared her for the truth behind the bullying, or for the demons she'll have to face to save her friends. For fans of teen detectives, crime thrillers, suspense, and heists with a badass heroine and a slow-burn LGBTQ+ romance, this series checks all the boxes. Praise for Trust Me, I'm Lying "Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer." —Kirkus Reviews “Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly “Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Grifters' hearts don't bleed...or do they? It's been three months since the NWI job, and Julep's an unmitigated mess. Dani being gone is driving Julep to an early grave with all the dangerous, ill-advised schemes she's undertaking to try and find her, none of which have amounted to anything useful. She can't sleep, she can't focus, and she sure as hell can't grift. If it weren't for Sam, Murphy, Bryn, and Lily, J.D. & Associates would have hit the skids within a week. Then one night she gets a call from an unexpected young client outside Chicago, who believes his dad is being catfished by someone with ties to a murder that happened eight years ago. Unfortunately, he can't prove it, and no one he's gone to for help will take him seriously. Something about the case has Julep's grifter senses tingling, and she can't seem to turn the kid down. Will Julep be able to put her heart on hold long enough to help him? And if she does, will she be able to solve the case before she becomes the murderer's next target? For fans of teen detectives, crime thrillers, suspense, and heists with a badass heroine and a slow-burn LGBTQ+ romance, this series checks all the boxes. Praise for Trust Me, I'm Lying "Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. . . . A memorable debut; here's hoping for a lot more from Summer." —Kirkus Reviews “Entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly “Well-paced, well-plotted.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
What was lost must stay that way... Dani left Julep behind to secure Julep’s safety, but that doesn’t mean Dani’s work is done. In the spirit of keeping one’s enemies closer, she’s making sure Petrov doesn’t go anywhere near Julep or her friends, especially when Petrov’s mysterious plans bring his crew—and Dani—back to Chicago. She isn’t in town long before her ex-girlfriend Han cashes in the favor Dani owes her, sending her off on a supposedly simple delivery errand, only the package is three small children. The mission goes sideways, turning an easy handoff into a frantic escape from an unknown enemy, and forcing Dani to decide how much she is willing to risk. Because saving the children from the dismal fate that awaits them puts Dani squarely in the line of fire. For fans of teen detectives, crime thrillers, suspense, and heists with a badass heroine and a slow-burn LGBTQ+ romance, this series checks all the boxes.
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