Review: Unraveled by Jennifer Estep (@Jennifer_Estep, @Pocket_Books)

Unraveled by Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin #15
Published by Pocket
Published on: August 30, 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss

Amazon | Book Depo | Chapters | Kobo | B&N | iBooks | GoodReads

After the shocking revelations of the previous book, Bitter Bite, the world of Ashland’s become even more sinister, and Gin Blanco (aka Ashland’s most fearsome assassin, the Spider) no longer knows who—or what—she can count on. Only one thing is for certain: danger and new enemies await Gin in Unraveled, Book 15 in the New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that RT Book Reviews calls “unbeatable entertainment!”

What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy?

As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.

Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

It’s been 9 books since Gin Blanco’s last vacation, and we all know how THAT turned out! I loved the old West theme behind UNRAVELED, the continuation of Deirdre’s plot line from the previous installment, and how Fletcher Lane’s legacy still lives on. Even though I couldn’t resist the lure of an advanced review copy, I’ll probably purchase the audio because Lauren Fortgang’s twang + cowboys = a match made in heaven.

Jennifer Estep has attempted to end this series on several occasions, and yet fans keep demanding more, so once again she’s put to the test by having to craft a villain that makes Mab Monroe, Salina Dubois, Harley Grimes, and M. M. Monroe look like kittens. Add to that the challenge of creating an antagonist with long-term nemesis potential, and a deep rooted history of animosity with the heroine. Presenting… The Circle!

As the name suggests, the Spider has a group of new foes to contend with, and in this novel readers get their first real taste of Hugh Tucker. He spent most of his time in the shadows pulling Brody & Roxy’s strings, but it made for a disguise-wearing, gun-slinging, theme-park-showdown of a good time. There was a treasure hunt for Sweet Sally Sue’s jewels, a safety deposit box mystery to solve, and Gin got her face on her very own wanted poster.

This title also branched out a bit from the standard ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN cast; Blanco, Owen, Bria, & Finn were the main characters, however Silvio, Phillip, & Lorelei made the trip to Bullet Pointe as well as backup which was a nice change of pace from the usual secondaries. They picked up another ally along the way too in the form of Ira, the ex resort manager turned disgruntled employee whom I thoroughly enjoyed.

UNRAVELED was another notch in Jennifer Estep’s belt of writing excellence!

Was this review helpful? If so, please vote for it on Amazon or like it on GoodReads!

Related Posts