HEART OF VENOM - Jennifer Estep
Elemental Assassin Series, Book 9
Pocket Books
ISBN: 978-1-4516-8900-6
ISBN: 978-1-4516-8904-4
August 2013
Fantasy

Ashland, Southern City – The Present

When her foster father, Fletcher, first took Gin Blanco in, she worked in his Pork Pit restaurant with Sophia, a dwarf. They didn't actually get along, but as Fletcher mentored Gin in the assassin business, the two women became closer. Since Fletcher's death, Sophia is the one who gets rid of the bodies Gin leaves behind. So when two fire elementals abduct Sophia from a gathering of female friends and shoot her sister Jo-Jo, Gin ‘the Spider,' a stone and ice elemental, is on the warpath to get Sophia back and once again following in Fletcher's footsteps. Jo-Jo's life hangs in the balance, but she insists Gin rescue Sophia.

Harley Grimes and his sister, Hazel, use their fire power in tandem and plan to build a criminal empire in the void left by Gin's former enemy, the fire elemental Mab Monroe. Fletcher's death has emboldened Harley to return to Ashland and grab Sophia. Gin learns Harley is obsessed with Sophia and loves to torture her. Gin's foster brother, Finn, is going with her into surrounding countryside to find the Grimes's hidden hilltop encampment. Surprisingly, Owen, Gin's former lover, joins them in the hunt. Gin killed Owen's former lover. Another woman who joined him as a date was murdered because someone thought she was Gin. Their relationship is strained, and Gin isn't sure what it is anymore but is giving Owen time to figure it out.

As the ninth book in the series, readers who enjoy the Elemental Assassin series know there will be high body counts. Gin's enemies always under estimate her abilities, yet their plots are dangerous and deadly. Yes, as an assassin, she uses her power, but she is also trained in weapons and to think fast, which few seem to expect. Despite the deaths on her account, Gin has a strong moral code and acts for the good of her friends and community, which saves her from coming off as a murderous thug. In HEART OF VENOM, the roots of Gin's relationship with Sophia and Jo-Jo are explored. Owen has a larger presence with his attempts to have Gin's back covered. All in all, another excellent story.

Robin Lee