Katarina Bishop

Katarina Bishop, nicknamed Kat, is the daughter of Bobby Bishop and the late Nadia. She is member of the "family" and throughout the course of Heist Society, becomes the leader of her own crew.

She had been assisting in cons since she was a toddler, a fact she eventually starts resenting. When she is fifteen, she attempts to leave the thief life behind and attend a private school in New England called Colgan. Eventually, she returns to her family, but this time she only re-steals and returns art and other property to its rightful owners, essentially becoming "noble."

Kat is the protagonist in the Heist Society Trilogy.

History
As a child, Kat was brought up to learn the Bishop trade-and learn it fast. When she was three, her parents took her to Paris, France, to case the Louvre. When she was seven, her Uncle Eddie took her to Austria to steal the crown jewels.

Kat has an impressive resume. Not only has she been assisting on jobs since she was three (by contrast, Margaret Grey pulled her first job at the age of nine, and Hale didn't get into the business until he was fourteen), but she's assisted on jobs all over the world. And while Kat may specialize in the role of greaseman, she has experience working in all positions, including the roles of insideman and wheelman.

When she turned fifteen, Kat used her skills to steal and con her way into a normal school, in an attempt to leave her former life behind. Her reasons for leaving the family for Colgan are never explicitly stated, but it is implied that Kat wanted to avoid going to prison, and was generally tired of moving constantly, living under fake names, and other aspects of her family's lifestyle.

Physical Appearance
Kat is described as being short, pale, with short brown hair and bright blue eyes. She does not think of herself as beautiful (or even female, compared to her cousin), but can be attractive if her job needs her to be. Of course, she does have certain feminine qualities that seem to come as a surprise to male members of her family, who don't seem to realize she is a girl.

She is also called "cute" by Natalie in Perfect Scoundrels, after which she refers to her as "Cute Kat."

Relationships
Hale 

At the start of Heist Society, Kat and Hale are best friends, something explicitly confirmed by Kat in Uncommon Criminals. Throughout the first book, Kat insists that they are just friends, but Gabrielle and Nick each suggest that they realize that Kat and Hale each care for each other non-platonically. Throughout the book, Hale suggests to Kat that he was deeply hurt when she chose to leave the family behind for Colgan, as it is revealed throughout the series that Hale has abandonment issues. Hale is also very jealous of Nick as soon as Kat introduces him to the crew. Gabrielle picks up on this, and tells Kat that she needs to tell Hale that Nick isn't his competition. After Taccone was arrested by Interpol agents in Paris, Hale sees Kat watching Nick walk away, and asks if she plans on leaving with her boyfriend. In response, Kat says "maybe, maybe not" and then joins Hale in his limo.

At the start of Uncommon Criminals, Hale is once again hurt that Kat has been performing jobs solo, despite the danger. Again, Gabrielle provides Kat with advice about her relationship with Hale, and says that even though Kat might not have needed Hale's help on the past few jobs she's pulled, Hale wants Kat to want his help, because again, he is feeling left behind. Later, when Kat kisses him in the limo during Uncommon Criminals, he believes that she only kissed him because she wasn't thinking clearly in the middle of her post-heist "high," rather than kissing him out of genuine affection. Hale then leaves to help the family on the major job they're planning in either Paraguay or Uruguay. He doesn't actually leave the country, but the important part is that he left. Kat and Hale's relationship is fairly awkward for the next few days, but relaxes over time. They flirt, as usual, and share an important conversation on the deck of the W.W. Hale, where they talk about Cleopatra and Marc Antony's relationship as an allegory for their own, because, like Cleopatra and Antony, they are in love, but from two completely different worlds, and a relationship between the two could very well end in tragedy. Later, Hale eavesdrops on a conversation between Kat and Nick, and is angry at Kat for not having told anyone that she saw Nick in Lyon. Kat then confronts Hale about the fact that he left after she kissed him. Hale confirms that it's not that he doesn't want to kiss Kat, but cannot say anything more, because their conversation is interrupted by Simon. Later, before it is revealed that the Antony Emerald is a fake and that Kat's crew beat Maggie, Kat kisses Hale again, for luck.

During "Double Crossed," Kat and Hale do not actually get to spend much time together, but they tease and flirt with each other on the phone and over their comms units. Kat awkwardly explains to Abigail Cameron that she's not sure if she and Hale are dating, but they have been kissing. Later, Macey is able to see that Hale has strong feelings for Kat as they talk to each other and help each other determine what's going on in the Athenia Hotel, and is jealous of the strength of Kat and Hale's relationship.

In the opening chapter of Perfect Scoundrels, Hale calls Kat his girlfriend, but Hale hides this from his family until the end of the novel (despite this, Silas, Natalie, and Hale's mother all suspect that Kat and Hale are together). Over the next few days, and throughout the rest of the book, Hale relies on Kat's emotional support to help him cope with the loss of his beloved grandmother (Kat, in turn, is encouraged by Uncle Eddie, Gabrielle, and even her father to continue helping Hale in this manner). Their relationship does hit a snag, however, when Hale arrives in London with Garrett and realizes that Kat has been keeping another secret fro him by not telling him about Marcus and Marianne's suspicions that Hazel's will was forged, something he reads as a sign that Kat doesn't trust him. They reconcile after breaking into Garrett's office together, and hiding out in Garrett's closet for several hours together. Throughout the rest of the novel, Kat does her best to be genuinely supportive of Hale, and empathetic to his pain as he learns about Garrett and Natalie's deception and greed. After the meeting with Garrett on the train, Kat reveals that everything she's done to help Hale Industries she did so that Hale would be able to return to the world that he was born into, because she knows that Hale's time spent in her world is his version of running away to Colgan. In the final chapter of the novel, Hale finally refers to Kat as his girlfriend to his parents, if only to make them angry.

Kat and Hale's relationship is much more established and stable (and also very cute) in "Grift of the Magi." Though they argue several times, they're able to resolve their arguments more easily than in any of the full length novels, and are more willing to take each other at their word. Kat's faith in her relationship with Hale is shaken slightly by Lady Georgette's claims that Hale cannot possibly be committed to a serious relationship with her, but Lady Georgette just seems to annoy Kat rather than make her actually self-conscious. At the end of the novella, when Hale discovers that Kat had donated her mother's Egg of the Magi in order for Hale's charity to avoid the public backlash, Hale has trouble accepting that Kat would want to make such a sacrifice for his benefit, but she is able to convince him that that was a sacrifice she was glad to make for him.

Gabrielle

Kat and Gabrielle are cousins. When Gabrielle is first introduced in Heist Society, the narration says Kat that has never liked Gabrielle very much, because of their perceived differences in personality. Because of this, Kat initially resents Gabrielle's involvement in her scheme to help her father, and is especially hurt that Hale enlisted Gabrielle's help in getting her expelled from Colgan. As they spend more time together, the two of them bond. Gabrielle comments on the state of her and Kat's relationship during the scene where she's altering Kat's costume for the heist while on the phone, when she tells Irina that she and Kat aren't close, while winking at Kat in the mirror.

Throughout the rest of the series, Gabrielle and Kat are very close. Gabrielle frequently gives Kat advice on her relationship with Hale. Additionally, Gabrielle often works as Kat's sidekick, and goes places such as Hazel Hale's wake and the Hale Industries Gala with Kat.

Bobby

Kat and her father have a strong, loving relationship, likely the result the shared loss of Nadia. Bobby was Kat's primary instructor in all things related to thieving and conning and grifting. In Heist Society, it is Bobby's need to be rescued that draws Kat back into the family business. To keep him safe from Taccone, Kat provides a false testimony to Interpol in order to have Bobby arrested.

In Uncommon Criminals, Kat talks to Bobby over the phone, and he is immediately able to know that Kat is upset about something (but he also falls for her lie about what she and Gabrielle are doing when they're not helping the family in Paraguay). Bobby also says that Kat isn't known for her "preferential treatment," even though he's not opposed to being reminded that his daughter loves him and misses him. In Perfect Scoundrels, Bobby makes several comments that imply that he's realizing his daughter has grown up, from joking about how Kat's reaching a milestone by planning her first Big Store, and by making a joke about how she's doing jobs without "parental proximity." Also, Bobby teases Kat on several occasions about how her relationship with Hale has officially become something beyond friendship, but ultimately, is accepting of it, and the story ends with Bobby welcoming Hale to the family officially.