I read most of Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep in one day. I really love this series, though numerous online reviews panned this addition in the Elemental Assassins books. Why no one liked it completely baffles me. I adored the premise of this book and I laughed the whole way through it. It's most entertaining.Gin Blanco has retired from the Assassin business following the death of her foster father, Fletcer Lane. She inherits his home, his business (a barbecue joint called the Pork Pit), and a nice chunk of change. Retirement at 30 is sweet, but Gin grows bored and craves excitement. Two incidents two days in a row at the Pork Pit find Gin in circumstances she thrives in. First millionaire badboy, Jake McAllister, decides to (try to) hold up the restaurant. Next, a mysterious young woman comes in asking for the Tin Man, Fletcher's old moniker when he was an Assassin. Both of these incidents lead to events that forces Gin out of her languid retirement (yay!) and introduce new people into her piecemeal band of family and friends. This book is too much fun. I found it a very natural progression of the story from book one. Of course Gin would react to Fletcher's death by retiring. She's mourning. This makes sense. Like I said earlier I have been reading reviews with many upset folks pooh-poohing this particular book and I find them all absurd. I did not find this book boring. It's quite fun and does a lot to open up Gin's character as well as many of the others. I love Finn and the Dwarf sisters, Jo-Jo and Sophia. I love some of the newbies also. It's hard to pick a part in this book that I disliked. Maybe I'm just not a joiner?I wonder if it boils down to the fact that there is less sex in this book? Granted, there was only one actual sex scene in book one. However, Gin's rampant bawdy imagination well made up for the lack. I blame her tamed down libido on the fact that lusty object-of-desire, Donovan Caine, doesn't make many appearances in this book. When he is there he makes them count, but overall he is very much not there. I think the feeling of calm that pervades the book only adds to the feeling of ennui, and that works within the confines of the story. Boring, no... just complacent. Gin is not a woman to be complacent too long though. I view this book as the proverbial calm before the storm. Which makes me wonder what in God's name she is going to do next?5 out of 5 stars. This is quickly becoming one of my favourite Urban Fantasy series.- review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net
