Early Review - Jennifer Estep's Widow's Web (Elemental Assassin # 7)

“I stood there alone in the dark and wondered who the hell Salina Dubois really was, why she seemed to have such an effect on my lover, and what I was going to do about her. Because this was a matter of the heart—and one problem that all my knives and all my prowess as the Spider wouldn’t help me solve.”

Oh baby what a story! Estep really threw me for a loop with this story! Yes, I was warned that there would be a shock or two coming and to try not to spoil it for others. I shall not spoil a thing! If you want to know what happens, please, by all means, check the book out for yourself!

Salina Dubois is a nasty piece of work who leaves bodies behind in her wake with her affinity for being a water elemental. This shouldn’t come as any surprise to readers of this series since most of Gin's opponents haven't exactly been charming or nice. Salina has come back to Ashland with an agenda and anyone who gets in her way ends up on her to be killed list. Salina’s return to Ashland is due in part due to revenge on those who stood silently by while Mab Monroe killed her father. Salina's family isn't the only one that Mab destroyed. Just ask Eva and Owen. Just ask Gin and Bria.

The battle between Salina and Gin is classic and the outcome really shakes things up for the series. Poor Gin just can't get a break. She's been pushed to the limit so many times, that it's a wonder her sanity doesn't break. She can’t even go on vacation without a villain or two trying to kill her. There are so many villains and evil doers who want a piece of the Spider that she has to watch her back 24/7.

Thankfully, she has been trained by the best, and has a wonderful support mechanism in place with Jo-Jo & Sophia, Finn, and even Gin’s sister Bria. Bria has changed a lot since her return to Ashland. I was actually pleasantly surprised by Bria’s actions this time out. She wasn’t churlish or angry when Gin is forced to do what she does best.

Bria’s eyes locked with mine. “Unless I’m mistaken, Salina Dubois is one of the most dangerous, sadistic people I’ve met in a long, long time.”

We get a look at Eva and Owen's background on the streets and what they did in order to survive. (It parallel’s Gin’s own experiences on the street). We even get to see that Owen was once friends with Phillip Kincaid the casino boss who has risen from Mab’s ashes to take over a part of the underground for himself.

I have to say that I liked Kincaid. I liked that even though he is the classic underground boss of gambling, he was very protective of Eva Grayson. He went as far as asking Gin for help against Salina knowing that Eva was on Salina’s list of people she wanted to see gone.

After reading Widow’s Web, I would love it if Estep were to actually come up with a T-shirt that read: "I ate at the Pork Pit . . . and lived!" I think it would be a classic in no time at all.

Deadly Sting, Elemental Assassin # 8, releases April 2013.
Expected publication: August 21st 2012 by Pocket

Title - Widow's Web
Author - Jennifer Estep
Publisher - Pocket
Releases - August 21, 2012