Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Set at her funeral, we say goodbye to Mab Monroe, Ashland Underworld’s Top Dog and Gin Blanco’s lifelong nemesis.

Opening Sentence: I couldn’t believe the bitch was dead.

The Review:

“Thread of Death” by Jennifer Estep is a novella set in between Spider’s Revenge and By a Thread, and covers the funeral of Mab Monroe, Ashland’s former underworld kingpin and nemesis to Gin Blanco. This is a taste of what life after Mab will be like. While it doesn’t surprise me that Mab’s funeral would bring all the big wigs of Ashland together, including Gin and her cohorts, how it all plays out does. Who knew funerals could be so hazardous to your health?

Up until now, the Elemental Assassin books have all been told from Gin’s point of view. This novella gives us not one, but three different and distinct points of view: Gin Blanco, Jonah McAllister, and Phillip Kincaid.

Gin Blanco has been conspiring against Mab Monroe for years. She trained to be a silent stalker, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike like her rune, the Spider, implies. To be honest, she was never sure if she would survive the encounter: the injuries she did sustain during the final fight almost did do her in. I don’t think that Gin allowed herself to think about a future beyond Mab. In the end, Gin goes to the funeral looking for closure because now she must make a decision with what to do with the rest of her life. Will Gin find the courage and temperament to lead a semi-normal life? I hope not because that would be a boring and unimaginative read for us.

Jonah McAllister is having similar issues. His place of power and prestige is being buried right along with his old boss, Mab. Even though his place within the underworld ladder is shaky at best, his arrogance and pride have yet to get the memo. His sense of entitlement hasn’t left him many friends but instead has gained him lots of enemies, including Gin herself. Luckily, Jonah has a black belt in manipulation. Can he maneuver through Ashland’s circling sharks without getting devoured all while still getting what he wants in terms of revenge?

Phillip Kincaid was one of the major competitors of Mab and her strangle hold on Ashland’s more “colorful” enterprises. But, unlike the other bosses, he has a little bit more going for him in terms of charisma and knowledge. He recognizes that Gin is most likely the famed assassin, the Spider, and begins to conspire about how this would help him in the future. He also has an ace up his sleeve: He and Gin’s lover, Owen Grayson, have a history together. There are lots of hints about their association but nothing definitive. I see this as foreshadowing for future novels.

All in all, a wonderful read. Thread of Death is a lovely interlude between much larger books. I am glad that Estep chose to separate out the funeral from main storyline. It enables the reader to acknowledge the significance of the event, just as Gin is forced to. This novella gives me hope for more exciting and intriguing Gin adventures sans Mab Monroe.

Notable Scene:

“Wow, Gin,” Finn said in an amused voice. “You’ve really done it this time.”

“What do you mean?”

He swept his hand out, the gesture meant to encompass the whole cemetery. “I mean, take a look around. Not only did you kill Mab, but you pretty much trashed her funeral, too, ruining her last little hurrah in this world. It’s like the cherry on top of the ultimate revenge sundae. A dish definitely served cold.”

FTC Advisory: Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books graciously provided me with a copy of Thread of Death. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. The only payment received came in the form of hugs and kisses from my little boys. ( )

This is a novella that takes place after the events of Book 5, Spider's Revenge, and before Book 6, By a Thread. It was a good novella that further ties up events from Spider's Revenge, and starts out a new story thread for book 6, By a Thread.

Gin has somewhat recovered from the debilitating battle with Mab in book 5. She has been outed as the assassin the Spider and has decided to attend Mab's funeral to make a point and judge the lay of the land now that Mab is gone. The story is told from multiple viewpoints; Gin's, Mab's lawyer Jonah, and Kincaid's. Things kind of go to hell when the funeral attendees are attacked by an unknown attacker.

This was a good transition novella and leads up to Book 6, By a Thread. Gin is trying to get some closure around Mab's death and figure out what is next for her. The city's power structure is struggling with the abscence of Mab and everyone is scrambling to see who fills her spot. Some mysteries around Owen are brought up and these hint at the storyline we might see in Book 6.

This was a fun read and it was great to read about Gin, Owen, Finn and other again. Definitely recommended for fans of the Elemental Assassins series; probably not the best place for people new to the series to start.

After the novella there was an excerpt from By a Thread (which I didn't read because I want to wait until the book comes out).

Overall a fun addition to the series. Recommended for fans of the series; not the best place to start if you are new to this series. Can't wait to see what By a Thread brings! ( )

As we read in the last full length novel [[ASIN:1439192642 Spider's Revenge (Elemental Assassin Books)]]the Spider (Gin Blanco) has finally taken out her nemesis, the powerful Fire Elemental Mab Monroe.
And as this novella begins we are put in the middle of Mab's funeral. Every crime boss in Ashland is there to either pay their respects or to gloat. And leave it to Mab, even while dead, to have a spectacular grande finale, with bullets flying and shovels being used as clubs.

This was an interesting novella in that it sets up future books so very well. We get to 'hear' the points of view and nefarious schemes from both Jonah McAllister who really wants Gin dead; and Phillip Kincaid who wants to use Gin for his own purposes. It was quite interesting to have a few chapters written in other characters point of view instead of just Gin's as we are used to. This novella plainly shows us that this series has a long way to go. I'm Glad to have Mab finally dead because dragging this one theme out for so many books was starting to get slightly predictable. I can't wait for the next book [[ASIN:1451651767 By a Thread (Elemental Assassin)]], coming out in February. ( )

**spoiler alert**
Mab is dead and Estep gives a glimpse into what happens when the assassin pays her respects to the Fire elemental. It is anything less than a blow out. Between every crime boss circling the cemetery to her own sworn enemies sitting graveside, you know things are not going to go smoothly.

What I loved about Estep's novella is that you get a glimpse into what direction the next installment of the Elemental Assassin series, By a Thread, is going to go. Gin, aka the Spider, still has enemies gunning for her. Philip Kincaid, who we discover has a past with Owen, and Jonah McAllister, who is without a job now that his boss is dead. We see both Philip's and Jonah's point of view. Loved this brief teaser and it has me licking my lips to open By a Thread!

(e-ARC was provided by author for an honest review) ( )

Gin is recovering from her huge showdown in which she finally killed Mab Monroe. She decides that she needs to go to Mab's funeral to say her final goodbye's. As we all know nothing is ever simple in Gin's life so of course the funeral doesn't go as it should and she finds herself revealing more about herself to her enemies then she planned.

Even though this is a novella it is still full of all the action and suspense that I have always loved in Jennifer's books. There are a few different POV switches. We get inside both Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid heads. Jonah definitely needs to be taken care of in the very immediate future. I'm kinda shocked that he is still alive at this point. We get a little insight into Philip and a past with Owen that we didn't know existed. Even though this should be read before BY A THREAD I think THREAD OF DEATH gives some great hints to what will happen in book 7 WIDOW'S WEB. ( )