Reviewed by Angie on
The Spider is a full length prequel to the rest of the series. It does start out in current times, with Gin working at the Pork Pit like usual. Then she gets a special delivery. Gin being Gin is highly suspicious, but she opens it anyway to find a dozen blue roses and a seemingly sinister note. Owen asks her about it, so she sits him down and tells the tale of 10 years ago.
It was interesting to get to see a full mission from Gin's past in The Spider rather than the random snippets we get in other books. It also helped avoid all of the annoying recaps since none of it had happened yet! However, it never fully held my attention. We already know how things turned out, so there's no sense of mystery or urgency. I was just waiting to see if this past job has any effect on the direction of the rest of the series, which it does not, so I was disappointed in that regard. But younger Gin wasn't as badass as her current self, and she was still a bit naive, so her job didn't go the way I had assumed.
What I did really like about The Spider was all of the cameos from the other characters! Of course, Fletcher and Finn are involved, and Jojo and Sophia. But we also get to see Roslyn, Xavier, Owen, and Bria before they were important parts of Gin's life. There's also lots of small details that stand out after having read nine other books set in this world, and that was a lot of fun.
I liked The Spider, but I wish it had been more relevant to the current story arch instead of just being a prequel. This type of story felt better suited to an in-between novella rather than it's own main book.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 22 March, 2014: Finished reading
- 22 March, 2014: Reviewed