Early Review of Black Widow (Elemental Assassin, #12) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Black Widow (Elemental Assassin)
Classification: Adult Fiction

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Elemental Assassin (Book 12)
Format: Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books (November 25, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1476774544
ISBN-13: 978-1476774541

Author's Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/
Notes: I recieved and eARC loan from the publisher.

Gin Blanco's arch-nemesis, Mab Monroe, has finally been taken down, Her daughter, M M Monroe, is looking to take her mother's place as Ashland's Queen of the criminal underworld. Without her mother's street cred, however, she's going to have to do something big and Gin's just sitting back, waiting, and watching to see what she'll do. Gin's convinced that like mother like daughter, Madeline will be gunning for her, and when she does, Gin intends to be ready.

This is the 12th book in the Elemental Assassin series, and I'd advise anyone who hasn't already done so to read at least the first several books in this series before attempting this one. There's a lot of history that makes what happens in this book so much more enjoyable. That said, I really enjoyed this one. Gin is in her element and at her finest. I loved how she manages to get the best of Mab's daughter, Madeline, in such a spectacular way. Gin wove an intricate trap that took her victim by surprise. She was cool, she was patient, and as lethal as ever. It reminded me why I fell in love with this series.

I found Madeline quite surprising and devious with a very different style from that of her mother. She's a woman of many talents and she starts things off by slowly driving Gin crazy with the anticipation of waiting for her to make her first move. Given time, I have no doubt Madeline could be just as powerful as her mother. While I applaud her for her efforts and give her points for thinking outside the box, she really had no idea who she was dealing with or she wouldn't have gone about doing things the way she did. You should always know your enemy to anticipate how they will react to your every move, and Madeline had no clue.

Why is the book titled Black Widow? Well, it comes from this statement by Finn early on in the book as he describes Madeline. “She’s like a black widow spider. I can admire the beauty of such a creature, even if I know exactly how deadly it is.”

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. It had a fast pace, some nice twists, plenty of action and best of all it's a game changer. You're definitely going to want to read this one if your a fan of the series. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Estep will do in the next book.

Listen to a sample of the audible.com audio book: 

Order of the series: