by Sharon Tucker

We are part of Jennifer’s blog tour for Spider’s Trap. At the end of this post you can find more info on the tour, details on how to win a copy of the book from us, and info on her big blog tour giveaway. We also have a link where you can purchase the book.

Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series is quite a ride. If you have been with Gin Blanco on the whole trip detailed in the previous 12 novels in the series, then you have seen her begin as a lone assassin in Spider’s Bite and watched as events in it and her succeeding adventures have brought her to the point where Spider’s Trap, number 13, begins.

Spider’s Trap is set in Estep’s Ashland, in the vicinity of where four southern states meet. It’s also the vicinity where the four kinds of elemental magic (and their variants) are practiced widely. By the time Spider’s Trap begins, Blanco finds herself as de facto queen of the Ashland underworld—meaning that she can handle herself better than any underworld figure around. This dubious distinction does not come from her ability as any kind of crime boss: Blanco owns and operates a BBQ restaurant for a living . . . now. The distinction comes from the fact that Gin Blanco is a “retired” assassin (the Spider) who has essentially eliminated the chief proponents of corruption in her territory. She has faced down, fought, and won every battle against the most nefarious criminals around. She’s had help from talented friends and allies along the way but she’s the one who has become responsible for the area’s well-being.

As Spider’s Trap begins, Blanco has been called upon to settle a dispute between two gangsters, which turns into an assassination attempt. It soon becomes apparent that the attempt wasn’t on Blanco’s life but it’s not so apparent who the intended victim actually was. It becomes her business to discover not only who the intended victim might have been, but also to foil and bring the bomber to justice—her own kind of justice. Readers will note that an interesting aspect of Blanco’s rather murky morality is that it has allowed her to take out villains for pay as the series began and allows her to deal summarily (and gratis) with evil and its perpetrators as it continues, but she has also consciously chosen to face up to whatever moral consequences lie ahead for her actions.

New readers should not be concerned overmuch in starting at #13 in the Gin Blanco series—I began with this one myself. Ample clues are furnished in the way of how previous characters and plot developments originated, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself going back to the beginning and working your way through the entire Elemental Assassin list.

In reality where we too often deal with gray days, gray people, and gray moral dilemmas, it’s refreshing to pick up an urban fantasy novel where so much more is at stake and the characters can actually work magic to save the day.

Website: www.jenniferestep.com
Blog: www.jenniferestep.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JenniferEstepAuthor
Twitter: twitter.com/Jennifer_Estep
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/580315.Jennifer_Estep

To enter to win a copy of Spider’s Trap from KRL, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Trap,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 1, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address.

Tour giveaway-
– 1 winner will receive an entire print set of Jennifer’s Elemental Assassin series – all 13 books! (US/Canada only)
– 10 winners will receive one copy of SPIDER’S TRAP (US/Canada only)
– 1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card (this is open internationally!)

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Check out more fantasy book reviews in our fantasy and fangs section.

Use this link to purchase this book:

Sharon Tucker is former faculty at the University of Memphis in Memphis TN, and now enjoys evening supervising in that campus library. Having forsworn TV except for online viewing and her own movies, she reads an average of 3 to 4 books per week and has her first novel—a mystery, of course—well underway.