Treadmill Reads: The Hitwoman Gets Lucky by JB Lynn

Synopsis (publisher):

Maggie Lee’s a lot of things:

The daughter of a mom in a mental institution and a dad serving time;
The niece of three meddling aunts;
The aunt (and now legal guardian) of her beloved niece, Katie;
The friend of a snarky lizard, a dyslexic Doberman, and a semi-psychic co-worker;
A contract killer.

But one thing she’d never thought she’d be is a thief.

That’s about to change as she heads to the casinos of Atlantic City to
help her sexy murder mentor, Patrick Mulligan, steal something from a professional thief.

Maggie’s never been lucky in love or money. Will this gamble pay off or will she lose her shirt, her heart or even her life?

My take:  The Hitwoman Gets Lucky is a fun novella to tide fans of the Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series over until the next novel in the series is published (soon, I hope).

Maggie trusts her mentor, Patrick Mulligan, so she doesn’t think twice when he asks her to help him with a job in Atlantic City. It just so happens that she has tickets to a Barry Manilow concert and was planning to go anyway. So she and her good friend Armani (who is unaware of Mulligan’s job) head off to AC with Maggie’s lizard along for the ride because he really didn’t want to stay home alone. It’s always a fun time for the reader when Godzilla (or god as he likes to be called) makes an appearance. He finds himself making quite an unexpected appearance during the job. That’s all I’ll say about that or the rest of the plot 🙂 You’ll have to read to find out. It’s a quick, fun read that made my time on the treadmill go by in a flash.

This novella is #2.5 in the series. Although it can be a stand alone I recommend you start with the first book (Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman) because you don’t want to miss learning how Maggie became a hitwoman.

• Title:  The Hitwoman Gets Lucky – Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series, #2.5
• Author:  JB Lynn
• Genre:  Romantic Suspense; Humor
• Published:  March 2013 – Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Source:  I bought it

Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by JB Lynn

Title:  Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

Author:  JB Lynn

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

Published:  October 2012 – Avon Impulse

Synopsis:  Take three wacky aunts, two talking animals, one nervous bride, and an upcoming hit, and you’ve got the follow-up to JB Lynn’s wickedly funny Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman.
Knocking off a drug kingpin was the last thing on Maggie Lee’s to-do list, but when a tragic accident leaves her beloved niece orphaned and in the hospital, Maggie will go to desperate lengths to land the money needed for her care.
But the drug kingpin is the least of her worries. Maggie’s aunts are driving her crazy, her best friend’s turned into a bridezilla …and a knock on the head has given Maggie Dr. Dolittle abilities—she can talk to animals. Unfortunately, they talk back. It’s just another day in the life of this neurotic hitwoman.

My take:  When I finished reading Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman my wish was that it would be the first of a series. Well, my wish was granted with Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman! Once again JB Lynn had me laughing as I read about the adventures of Maggie and her two animal sidekicks: an Anole lizard, God (short for Godzilla) and a Doberman, DeeDee (aka Doomsday).

Maggie needs to hire a lawyer quickly when someone threatens to sue for custody of her niece, Katie. To hire a lawyer Maggie needs fast cash. That means she needs to agree to the latest hit request from the mob boss who got her into the hitwoman business to begin with.

JB Lynn throws plenty in Maggie’s way as she deals with family, possible love interests, and those wacky pets. As I read I was impressed with how Lynn nuanced the story and characters just enough to evoke unexpected emotion a time or two.

Recommended to fans of comedic suspense with light romance. I also recommend reading the books in order – you’ll understand the story and characters much more. Because of how this novel ends I look forward to book three in the Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series.

Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review.

Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by J.B. Lynn

Title:  Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

Author:  J.B. Lynn

Genre:  Thriller/Crime/Dark Comedy

Published:  January 2012 – Avon Impulse

About:  Maggie Lee survived a tragic car accident that took the lives of her sister and brother-in-law. Maggie’s three-year-old niece also survived but is in a coma. When Maggie is told the hospital insurance is about to run out she vows to do anything to keep Katie from having to leave the first-class hospital – even if anything means taking the local crime boss up on an offer to remove a thorn from his side. That thorn is his son-in-law.

My take:  J.B. Lynn’s novel takes the reader on a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride – and I loved every minute of it! Maggie Lee is a sympathetic heroine who also has a bit of a temper. But who can blame her? She hasn’t asked for anything life has dealt her but still she bravely carries on helping her loved ones. I completely suspended any need to question her actions or the direction of the novel. It’s so entertaining that I didn’t want it to end. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way about a novel.

I absolutely adored the anole lizard that comes into Maggie’s care when she finds him in her niece’s bedroom. Actually, she hears him. That’s right, the lizard speaks and Maggie is the only one who can hear him. Not only does he speak but he sounds exactly like Alan Rickman – be still my heart. The give and take between Maggie and God (short for Godzilla, lol) is hilarious.

Lynn fills in a lot of Maggie’s background throughout the novel which gives the character a lot of depth. That’s not to say there’s too much detail. It impressed me that I didn’t want to miss a single word. [Do you ever just get bored with unnecessary or repetitive descriptions and want to skip ahead to dialogue? That didn’t happen to me at all while reading ‘Confessions’.]

And then there are the men in Maggie’s life. One becomes her mentor in her new job. There is definitely an attraction but that’s as far as it goes in this book. He seems to be a good guy with a very complicated life. Another man is the cop who wants to date her but somehow each date gets interrupted by a zany relative or two. I’m not sure whether or not to trust that guy.

The pages practically turned themselves near the end. As you might guess, I’m hoping there will be a second book. I’ll be waiting to buy it the day it goes on sale. Do I recommend this book – YES! It was a fun mid-winter escape.

Source: Avon Impulse

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for my review. See sidebar for disclosure policy.