Description de l’éditeur
The next thrilling book in Jennifer Estep’s New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Elemental Assassin series—“an extraordinary series.…One of the most intriguing heroines in the genre” (Romantic Times Book Reviews).
Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.
One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.
My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Estep's quirky 13th Elemental Assassin urban fantasy (after Black Widow) makes it clear that 12 books' worth of magical battles will take a physical and emotional toll on the characters. Retired assassin Gin Blanco reluctantly takes charge of the criminal underworld in the fictional Southern city of Ashland. She'd rather be running her barbecue restaurant, and she's not as outwardly ruthless as her predecessors, so the town's crooks doubt her ability to run the show. When an unknown elemental takes aim at Gin and notorious smuggler Lorelei Parker, Gin has to dig deep into her past to figure out who's after them and why, and she gets a little help from her cadre of companions. The mystery soon becomes less about who the elemental is and more about how to stop an out-of-control vendetta. The normally vivid characterization comes across as tired, much like Gin and who can blame her given the never-ending litany of people trying to kill her? As always, the central mystery and interpersonal relationships are well crafted.
