Snared by Jennifer Estep

You have to admire the way Estep manages to keep this series fresh and captivating after so many books and years.

There are still so many nooks and crannies to explore when it comes to Gin & Co. Plenty of secrets to uncover, and most importantly there is always an adversary waiting just behind the corner to try and eliminate The Spider.

In this 16th book in the Elemental Assassin series Gin has to find a criminal of the more everyday garden variety. A serial killer with a penchant for pretty blondes.

Now we all know Gin is a sucker when it comes to helping people, regardless of who they are. When one of the mob bosses approaches her for help finding her sister, she doesn’t even think twice about lending a hand.

At some point during the investigation Gin figures out that someone is pulling strings behind the scenes, she just isn’t sure whether they are trying to divert attention away from the killer or simply pointing her in the right direction.

Then there is the whole Hugh Tucker thing, it’s interesting. It sort of makes you wonder why he keeps stacking the deck in her favour. There must be more to it than simply liking Mama Snow. It’s not just my imagination right?

Estep knows exactly how to thrill and enthral both new readers and readers who have been following Gin and her Merry Band of Misfits from the very beginning. It is urban fantasy with a slice of snark and topped with a cherry full of violence, courtesy of our very own quirky assassin.

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Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep

I have to be honest I kind of miss big bad Mab. Things were so much more fun when Gin was always trying to find a way to slay that nasty piece of work. Gin needs another arch-enemy asap.

Now you may wonder why I think that, well that’s because I think there were far too many giants in this story. In fact the author seems to have forgotten that there are actually other supernatural beings or elementals who could serve as villains. It made this all a bit one-dimensional. It was just all a bit easy for Gin.

True it might have been because the whole scenario takes place in the space of one night, which I must admit is quite an interesting concept. Gin does her version of Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

Owen deserves a slap round the face with a wet kipper as far as I am concerned. Talk about being a drama diva. He needs to wake up and smell the roses before Gin moves on to greener pastures. In fact I think the author should introduce a new hot-blooded male, preferably dark and dangerous, to get her pulse racing and to make Owen reconsider his actions. Gin needs someone who will accept her regardless of the fact she might have to kill the odd ex-girlfriend of her boyfriend’s. I mean that could happen to anyone right?

This did feel like an interim book. Sort of an in between morsel till the next. After the book with the epic showdown with Mab and Owen acting like a complete plonker, any book after that was going to have trouble living up to the hype. Not as strong as the previous ones perhaps, but one that fans will lap up anyway. I think Estep is keeping all her eggs in a basket for the next one in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Edelweiss.