I am fascinated by stories with female con artists and have gathered quite a collection.
Here is my list of romance novels.
I also have lists of con women in:
I'm always on the lookout, so if you've read other romances, let me know.
1: Enter The Saint (1930) by Leslie Charteris
"Saint" stories rarely deal with female con artists, and almost never involve love. But this collection has both in the third story, "The Lawless Lady."
2: If Tomorrow Comes (1985) by Sidney Sheldon
Chronicles a woman's journey from normal citizen to full con woman. She keeps running into a mysterious con man.
3: Pros and Cons (1987) by Bethany Campbell
Woman teams up with con man to recover money swindled by four old men.
4: Sweet Revenge (1988) by Nora Roberts
She's an arab princess who steals jewels and cons plenty. He's a retired con artist, now working for Interpol to find her.
5: Honest Illusions (1992) by Nora Roberts
She and her adopted brother grow up in a family of magicians and thieves. Of course, conning is an essential skill as well.
6: Crooked Hearts (1994) by Patricia Gaffney
Two con artist meet on a stagecoach in the 1800's. Grace is dressed as a nun and Reuben is pretending to be blind. Our heroes tangle with San Francisco crime bosses, thugs, and of course, each other.
7: Captured (1995) by Victoria Lynne
Civil war story of a British con artist who gets accused of murder. She escapes many times from the soldier sent to bring her to prison, and of course, she never gets there.
8: Thieves at Heart (1995) by Alina Adams
Lark cons her way into a rich home to steal a priceless diamond, but finds Damian already on the job, pretending to romance the family's daughter. A historical romance, set in the early 1800s.
9: Welcome to Temptation (1996)
10: Faking It (2002)
by Jennifer Crusie
A family of con artists. In Welcome to Temptation, Sophie meets Phin, the mayor of a small town. In Faking It, Davey (Sophie's brother) falls for Tilda, an art forger.
11: Stolen Hearts (1997) by Michelle Martin
Tess is primarily a thief, and a great one, too. She also runs an occasional con. Her nemesis is Luke, a young lawyer assigned to protect an estate that he thinks she's out to rob.
12: King Con (1998) by Stephen J. Cannell
Beano is indeed a king among con artists, but Victoria (a lawyer) learns quickly as they take down a common enemy.
13: The Bridal Season (2001) by Connie Brockway
Letty is a street performer and con artist who is mistaken for a bridal planner. Elliot is the upper-class town magistrate who suspects her. A historical romance.
14: The Ivy Tree (2001) by Mary Stewart
She pretends to be someone else who is impersonating herself.
15: Scandalous (2001) by Karen Robards
When Gabriella's brother dies, she and her sisters are left penniless. So she pretends that her brother is still alive to save her family. Too bad that someone else has also decided to keep the death a secret by pretending to be her brother.
16: Fingersmith (2002) by Saray Waters
A con woman and a more inexperienced woman try to trick each other, but fall in love instead. Made into a television miniseries and also a more recent movie, The Handmaiden.
17: Three Fates (2002) by Nora Roberts
Spanning multiple generations, the story weaves many people together as they search for famed silver statues. At least three female con artists appear, and romances abound.
18: Untie My Heart (2002) by Judith Ivory
Emma is a shephard and former con artist. Stuart is a Viscount who accidentally kills one of her sheep. It takes the entire book, but she gets him to pay for the animal, and then some.
19: The Mistress (2003) by Susan Wiggs
She's pretending to be rich and gets caught with him in the Great Chicago Fire. But he's not rich, either. Together, these two con artists survive the disaster.
20: Lip Lock (2005) by Susanna Carr
Fired from her job, she pretends to be rich and sneaks into the boss's vacation home.
21: Something About Emmaline (2005) by Elizabeth Boyle
Alex is a baron who invents a fake wife to keep women from bothering him. Emmaline is a con artist who shows up and pretends to be that wife. Great setup, strange ending.
22: Billionaires Prefer Blondes (2006)
23: A Touch of Minx (2007)
by Suzanne Enoch
Samantha Jellicoe is mostly a thief, but in book 3 of the series (Billionaires Prefer Blondes) she cons fellow thieves, and in book 5 (A Touch of Minx) she cons her way to a theft.
24: Make Me A Match (2006)
25: Sexiest Man Alive (2007)
26: Hungry for More (2008)
by Diana Holquist
Amy is a con artist and a psychic who can hear the name of a person's true love. Too bad she can't hear it for herself.
27: The Twelve Lies of Christmas (2006) by Kate Johnson
Samantha is a con artist and Nate is a spy. Besides being too short, the story is told first-person from Nate's point of view, so although Samantha seems to have amazing abilities, there is too little about her.
28: How It Happened in Peach Hill (2007) by Marthe Jocelyn
Her mother pretends to be a psychic, and she assists. But not for long.
29: If You Deceive (2007) by Kresley Cole
She's mostly a thief, but her trickery is clever, too. An historical novel set in old England and France.
30: Death Angel (2009) by Linda Howard
Drea is a con artist, pretending to be a mob boss's dumb girlfriend, while actually plotting his takedown. Simon is a hit man, working for the mob boss. He and Drea hit it off early, but he still scares her.
31: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (2009) by Eileen Cook
A young-adult story of deceit and revenge. Helen tricks her way through the high-school scene as she takes down the girl who ruined her life three years earlier.
32: Royal's Bride (2009) by Kat Martin
Lily is a former street urchin, schooled in cons and thievery. Royal is a duke, expected to marry Lily's cousin. Neither can resist the other, but many roadblocks stand in their way.
33: Skin Game (2009) by Ava Gray
Kyra has the ability to steal a person's best capabilities merely by touching them. Reyes has been sent to kill her, but once she touches him, she fights back using all of his best moves. A fun story, and it has three sequels.
34: Blue Remembered Heels (2010) by Nell Dixon
Abbey was a con artist until she was struck by lightning. Now she can no longer tell a lie. Mike is a policeman, unaware that Abbey and her sister have just conned the criminal he's investigating.
35: Fall Girl (2010) by Toni Jordan
Della is a con artist and Daniel is a millionaire. She and her family pull a long, involved con on Daniel, but who's conning whom? A great story (perhaps my favorite) with a twist ending.
36: Heist Society (2010)
37: Uncommon Criminals (2011)
38: Perfect Scoundrels (2013)
by Ally Carter
Katarina and her teenage con artist relatives do art swindles with Hale, a young billionaire. A young-adult series.
39: White Cat (2010)
40: Red Glove (2011)
41: Black Heart (2012)
by Holly Black
In this young-adult series about "curse workers" who can change you with a touch, the hero and his mother are con artists.
42: The Almost Truth (2012) by Eileen Cook
Sadie is a teenage con artist who grew up poor. She wants a better life, but keeps on swindling so she can afford college.
43: Beauty and the Bounty Hunter (2012) by Lori Austin
She's a bounty hunter and con artist. Along with her mentor, they trick their way to solving her husband's murder.
44: Scarlet (2012)
45: Lady Thief (2014)
46: Lion Heart (2015)
by A.C. Gaughen
A clever retelling of the Robin Hood epic, with Will Scarlet actually being a con woman (Lady Marian, in disguise).
47: Seductive Intent (2012) by Angela Claire
She's a con artist sent to steal from a rich playboy, and of course, they fall in love. Too bad she doesn't do any conning in the book.
48: Executive Sweet (2013) by Sage Ardman
My own book, about a bizarre game of erotic high-finance business deals. She isn't a con artist at the beginning, but quickly learns to be one.
49: Give Me Something (2013) by Elizabeth Lee
Lila is a con artist, swindling from older men without ever sleeping with them. Her partner is Nick who seems more like a pimp. Tucker is Nick's college roommate and, well, you can guess the rest.
50: How to Lead a Life of Crime (2013) by Kirsten Miller
The Mandel Academy finds street kids and teaches them to excel, to become captains of industry, to rule the world. Flick and Joi find their way in, and somehow back out again. A wonderful new-adult novel.
51: Mischief in Miami (2013)
52: Scandal in Seattle (2013)
53: Trouble in Tampa (2013)
54: Sin in San Fran (2014)
55: Crisis in Cali (2014)
by Nicole Williams
She works for a group of women who seduce philanderers so their prenup-challenged wives can fight back.
56: Sins & Needles (2013)
57: On Every Street (2013)
by Karina Halle
Ellie is a con artist, and Camden is a tattoo artist. They're on the run from Javier and his mob. On Every Street is the prequel. Be warned: Sins & Needles is the first of a trilogy and has no HEA.
58: Sweet Revenge (2013)
59: Winter's Heat (2013)
60: Dangerous Seduction (2013)
61: Wicked Temptation (2014)
by Zoë Archer
Nemesis Unlimited is an organization of con men and women fighting to right the wrongs with the world. Each book shows a different con woman working with, and falling for, a con man. Historical romances.
62: The Tell-Tale Con (2013) by Aimee Gilchrist
Mom pretends to be a psychic while her daughter assists. But the boy across the street needs help solving death threats, so she gets to use her conning skills. A young-adult novel.
63: Confidence Tricks (2014) by Tamara Morgan
Her revenge scheme against the man who robbed her grandmother runs into his art con scheme.
64: Pixie the Lion Tamer (2014) by Georgette St. Clair
In this fantasy world of people who can shift into animals, she's a thief and also a trickster, but a mere human.
65: Corkscrewed (2014) by M.J. O'Shea
The story of two gay con-men who independently try to swindle a rich old woman. Multiple con women appear throughout the story.
66: Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow (2014)
67: Sidney Sheldon's Reckless (2015)
by Tilly Bagshawe
The continuing story of two con artists in love with each other and with con games, these books continue Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes, years after the author's death.
68: A Talent for Trickery (2015) by Alissa Johnson
The daughter of a con artist with her own con skills falls for a "thief taker" who chased her father for years. Historical.
69: Pretending to Be Erica (2015) by Michelle Painchaud
She's been raised by a con-artist father to impersonate a kidnapped rich girl and steal the parent's priceless artwork. But living the good life is more than she ever expected.
70: Riskier Business (2015) by Tessa Bailey
A short prequel to a 4-book series about undercover police, this story features a female pool hustler.
71: Stealing Hearts (2015) by Sydney Logan
A team of two female con artists works with a team of two male con artists, and of course they fall in love. Too bad there are no actual cons going on in this book.
72: Twisted (2015) by Cynthia Eden
She's a con artist in this grisly tale.
73: Chasing Truth (2016)
74: Hiding Lies (2018)
by Julie Cross
She's a con artist at a rich-kids high-school who uses her skills to solve a crime.
75: The Player (2016) by Kresley Cole
She's a con artist wresteling with her love of a mark.
76: The Prince & The Player (2016)
77: A Player for a Princess (2016)
78: Dirty Thief (2017)
by Tia Louise
Two sister con-artist/thieves are offered a chance to con the future king of a small country. Heavy on action and love, light on trickery.
79: Razor Girl (2016) by Carl Hiaasen
She's a con artist who tricks men by crashing into their cars while shaving her crotch. A bizarre collection of characters.
80: City of Lies (2017)
81: City of Secrets (2018)
82: City of Scoundrels (2019)
by Victoria Thompson
She cons in old New York City and falls for a super-honest lawyer. The books also provide an interesting view of the suffragist movement.
83: From Duke Till Dawn (2017) by Eva Leigh
She conned him years ago and they fell in love. Now he finds her again.
84: Rock Con Roll (2017) by Sage Ardman
My own book, about a former con woman who tries to cheat a famous rocker. The story twists a few times, keeping the characters and the reader guessing.
85: Stealing Mr. Right (2017)
86: Saving Mr. Perfect (2017)
87: Seeking Mr. Wrong (2018)
by Tamara Morgan
She a thief and con artist who marries an FBI agent in order to trick him. Then, of course, they fall in love and work together.
88: Cozen (2018) by Bethany-Kris
She's a thief who ingratiates herself into her mark's life before stealing.
89: The Deceivers (2019) by Kristen Simmons
She's invited to enroll in an exclusive high-school for con artists, but the trickery runs deeper than she thinks.
90: Four Dead Queens (2019) by Astrid Scholte
She tricks and steals in a fantasy world where four queens share the power of a nation.
91: Food Court Justice (2024) by Sage Ardman
A team of young con artists trick powerful people into doing the right thing.
Full disclosure: I have written three romance novels that feature female con artists: Executive Sweet, Rock Con Roll and Food Court Justice.
See also: