When I'd heard that Jennifer Estep had a new series in the works, a darker series that was going to feature an assassin, I was conflicted. First was the sorrow at the end of the Bigtime series. It's a fun series, full of humor and a fictional world so vivid, I'd move to Bigtime if I could. After only three books, I wanted more. The potential characters were there. They just had to get a book contract so they could come to life.

It's okay, I ws told. Just wait, I was promised. The Elemental series will kick Bigtime's butt.

It does. It is darker, as promised, and the delicious absurdities of Bigtime have been smoothed out. Yet names still have matching initials, Fiona Fine makes an appearance in passing, and Estep's narrative voice -- this time in the guise of Gin Blanco, aka the Spider -- still rocks.

The plot's pretty standard: the bad guys tie our heroine up in a double-cross and she's got to untangle it. Important people die. There's a love interest.

But, as happens in all the best books, nothing is this easy. Gin may be an assassin, but she's got a conscience. Our romantic interest has got one, too -- only his gives him trouble (and really, when was the last time we saw this happen? A man? Really? A lot of fiction would have you believe men lack consciences.) and gets in the way of romance.

That's okay, though. Gin's too busy to be swooning over the good detective. Much. It's a good balance our girl gets going, and it all makes sense at the time. Decisions that would seem stupid if I wrote them here work.

A couple of things truly impress me with this series-starter. One is the world-building. Estep knocked it out of the park with Bigtime, and she takes it a step further with Ashland. We've got dwarves, vamps, giants -- and people who can control the elements: air, fire, water, and stone -- an interesting twist on the familiar Earth magic. It is this magic of Gin's that provides a low, humming resonance to the book.

Gin's got an unusual hobby, as well. Part of her cover is as a college student, so she amuses herself by taking, among other things, cooking classes. Our heroine rises above the stereotype of the working woman (always with a completely empty refrigerator) and has her place stashed. Not only is her larder full, so's her knowledge of what to do with those foods. It fits, as the other part of her cover is a part-time employee of the Pork Pit (note those repeating initials!). While she may not whip up barbecue at home, she's comfortable with a kitchen. And with knives (that's her joke, not mine).

Again, this is a series starter that I could go on and on about. Estep gets how sleazy the true forces behind a city's scenes can be, and she puts that on display. Mab Monroe is a character with huge potential; I hope Gin interacts on a more direct scale with her as the series progresses. I hope Ashland continues to evolve and become a character in its own right.

I hope... I hope... I hope.

I hope I can make it to March and the release of Web of Lies.