Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep

I received this book free from the publishers for the purpose of reading, reviewing and leaving an honest opinion. This has in no way affected my opinion.

Although this is book eight of a series that I haven't read, it in no way detracted from the story. I wasn't wondering what the characters were talking about or why this was happening or that. It certainly stands well on its own and I shall be on the look out for the rest of this series.

Gin Blanco, A.K.A. The Spider is a strong lead character who knows what she's doing and how to go about doing it. No muss, no fuss. Sure there's the fact that she's one of the most deadliest assassins alive but don't let a little thing like that dissuade you from liking her. When she's not out doing her night job then she can usually be found at the Pork-Pit, a local diner which she also owns. She is also proficient in Elemental Magic, mainly Stone and Ice and it's come in handy on more than one occasion.

She's persuaded to go to a museum event, showing the collection of Mab Monroe, mega-rich Fire Elemental and one of Gin's victims. To be fair, she had tried to kill Gin on a few occasions but obviously failed.

Unbeknownst to everyone attending the gala, there's about to be a serious problem in the form of a robbery. All the guards are Giants and one of them has masterminded the heist of the century, unfortunately she hadn't factored Gin into the equation.

When a guest is killed by one of the Giants due to a simple case of mistaken identity, Gin is free to set about scuppering the Giants plans and making sure all the guest are safe. Meanwhile the Giant in charge, Clementine, thinks she's killed The Spider as well as pulling the heist off.

Needless to say things don't turnout how Clementine pictured and with a high body count and everyone else safe, Gin is victorious. She realises that Clementine was working for somebody and not the great mastermind she wanted everyone to think she was and with the help of her friend Finn, Gin finds out who is pulling the strings and the book ends with a great lead into the next.

As I said, I shall now be on the look-out for the first set of books and I would highly recommend this book and series to anyone who loves urban/paranormal fantasy. With a touch of murder thrown in too.