Poison Promise by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #11)
Released: July 22, 2014
Urban Fantasy
Pocket
Reviewed by May
“You should watch yourself, young lady,” she said in a snippy tone as I handed over her change. “Some of us don’t appreciate such salty language.”
My smile sharpened. “Sorry ma’am,” I drawled. “But I can assure you that cursing is going to be the least of my sins today.”
Gin Blanco, aka the Spider just can’t catch a break or seem to stay in retirement. When one of her employees gets caught up in the latest big nasty, and with a drug called burn tearing up the streets of Ashland it seems that Gin has some work to do.
This is the eleventh book in this series, and remarkably the series has upheld and amazingly high standard of excellence and the stories just keep getting better. I credit this to the author’s commitment to reveal backstory as well as continuing to develop one of the richest casts in all of fiction. The bad guys are really bad, and the main characters are delightfully flawed and beautifully written. There is always someone to relate to, always a character you want to know more about, and always more to the story than first meets the eyes. Is there simply a new drug in Ashland? Oh no, it goes so much deeper.
Bria (Gin’s sister) is obsessed with catching a drug dealing murderer and there is a great strain with the relationship between her and Gin. Owen, Finn, and Sophia are all there and lending a hand – as always.
Finn sighed, grabbed a final strip of bacon off his plate, and crunched down on it. “Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be some grand operation that will most likely involve me schlepping to some disgusting rooftop and getting my clothes dirty yet again?”
I grinned. “Funny you should mention that. I’ve already worked out some of the details with Bria. Here’s what we’re going to do.”
This story was hauntingly painful, beautifully crafted, and amazingly detailed. Estep at her best – we went along with Gin on this adventure. From being so beat down she wants to give up to feeling the icy cold of her magic and being determined to succeed- you can’t help but fall in love with this tough and unstoppable heroine.
When something happens in Gin’s world the ripples will be seen and felt for quite some time – and I can’t wait to see the ramifications of the events that take place in this book. While there is a formula to the books in this series (Gin meets, battles, and eventually wins against a bad guy/gal), it never feels redundant or stale. Gin is in a continual fight not just for her own life, but to maintain the fragile relationships and balance she’s beginning to have in her life.
This world continues to intrigue and delight me, and I can’t wait to see what happens with “MM” and other future advisories not to mention the supporting characters we’ve come to love. Estep creates new stories while artfully weaving backstory and detail in to keep things building and oh so rich. I strongly recommend this to all fans of the series, and to those looking for a wonderful UF series – you want to check this out from the beginning.
Grade: A
Previous Jennifer Estep Reviews
Goodreads l Author Website l Series
I love this installment. The villain was great! Can’t wait for BLACK WIDOW.
“This story was hauntingly painful, beautifully crafted, and amazingly detailed. Estep at her best – we went along with Gin on this adventure. From being so beat down she wants to give up to feeling the icy cold of her magic and being determined to succeed- you can’t help but fall in love with this tough and unstoppable heroine.”
I agree with this. It’s the detail that Ms. Estep puts into her characters and scenes that make it one of the best series out there. I feel like Gin and her extended family are my extended family!