By a Thread

Elemental Assassin, Book 6

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis, Mab Monroe, a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco.

"So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all.

"Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently."

©2012 Jennifer Estep (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Gin Blanco is one of the most intriguing heroines on the scene.... If you have not gotten on the Gin bandwagon yet, do so today!” ( RT Book Reviews)

This if quickly becoming one of my favorite series

This was a great book. I could not wait for it to come out. I was afraid it would be a let down after the first 5 book dealt with one main character that dies. But, Jennifer, nicely transition from one crisis to another. I love the characters Gin. This series is so worth the credits. Start at book one and you will be hooked. Hurry with book 7...

Gin is IN....

Where does By a Thread rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love the story of Gin aka the spider, the naration of this series is masterful. This is a series I can listen to over and over..

What does Lauren Fortgang bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

her voice..

Any additional comments?

I hope to be hearing more from the spider

Great series and narrator

Excellent continuation in the Elemental Assassin series, and wonderfully performed by Lauren Fortang. Plenty of action and romance, and all the favorite characters are back. Gin's relationships with her sister and Owen continue to develop nicely and an old love finally gets what he deserves. Very satisfying.

Good Entry!

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 4.50

Audio Rating: 4.50

First Thought When Finished: Entirely to much repetition early in the story was distracting but the story itself (once past the repetition) was really strong!

Story Thoughts:

“You're mine," "Not his. Mine. Only mine. Always mine.”― Jennifer Estep Owen to Gin, By a Thread


By a Thread was all about relationships and tying up loose ends. For long time fans of the series, I feel like this is our payoff book. We get to see Gin getting right with the people in her life. I LOVED this part of the story and really felt like Gin (and us readers) deserved this story. I marked down the story part because the first 3 chapters felt like a book review of the story up to this point. Each book seems to add more repetition and character introduction. I just feel that it was entirely to distracting. If you are a new to the series though, I am guessing you can pick it up with this book and not miss a thing because it is told to you.

Character Thoughts: I love the characters in this series. They are strong, dependable, fun, and won't let you down. I could wax on for hours about them but I have done that in the past. Another remarkable entry where characters are concerned and most of my favorites made an appearance.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Lauren Fortgang at a running time of 11 hrs and 1 min


Lauren did excellent again. I love this series in audio format. Her voice for Gin is perfect both in pacing and attitude. I highly suggest this series in audio. Her male voices are also pretty good, especially Finn. She is dead on with him.

Final Thought: I am about to start Widow's Web and I am hoping for a little less repetition in the beginning!

My Fav Assassin

Gin Blanco is my fav assassin. I love how she has a heart yet has no problem with kicking kicking butt. She will mess a bad guy up in a heart beat. I love the magical elements in these stories as well.

The book I didn’t know I needed.

I’ve been listening to a lot of books lately and sometimes the main relationships just annoy the heck out of me, but I am really enjoying watching all of these relationships grow and change. This had all the feels. It just left me with one comment - can we not use the word “lover”? And one question - what’s with the weird music?! This is a great addition to my library.

Take That Donovan Cain

I loved every minute of this book, just as I loved the entire series. I have to admit, I miss the whole "Mab Monroe" story line, but this story wasn't too bad either.

Gin Blanco ROCKS!

Even on vacation Gin can't relax! Jennifer Estep never fails to deliver an excellent, interesting tale with this series, and this is no exception. The story pulls you in from the start. Lauren Fortgang is an EXCELLENT narrator for this series! Can't wait for the next one!

I thought it couldn't be better than the last one!

I really enjoyed the last one and read that this book brought the return of Donovan Caine so I wasn't sure I'd like this book. So wrong! Good story. The return of Donovan wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- it was nice that he got punched in the end. Liked this one a lot and looking forward to the next (which I just bought!). I've said it before, Lauren Fortgang is not my favorite but she really does grow on you.

The Spider is Back!

I left the climatic end of SPIDER'S REVENGE in kind of meh mood. For whatever reason though glad to see Mab go, I wasn't feeling it. But BY A THREAD revived my love for the series. Gin is BACK! Now with Mab out-of-the-way, she can get back to doing what she does best...some people just need killing.

Gin and Bria head out on a much-needed vacation and a chance to connect as sisters. I was really saddened by this. Gin took it on the chin and with a heavy heart, but let Bria go on and on about how much she loved her old life. I was actually kind of happy that trouble comes lurking to distract me and Gin from where they stood.

Now the vampire that needs killing in BY A THREAD is probably one of the most ruthless, evil villains we've seen in the series. ESTEP really pushed Gin and me as a reader. I felt every bit of the horrors. I wished I'd had a silverstone knife to stick in his heart myself.

But the Spider isn't the only one struggling for survival, Gin comes face-to-face with Donovan. ESTEP manages to have the sexual tension and longing leap off the page, just as you are also feeling all the hurt and mistrust. Hold on tight to your heart, because mine smiled at how this all wrapped up.

BY A THREAD has all that we've come to love in this series, while also being fresh and new.

This was my first time to do the series on audio. I really wasn't sure in the beginning how much I liked LAUREN FORTGANG as Gin. Even though I know that Ashland is in the South, I just never heard the drawl in my mind. LAUREN's Gin is southern, but with a street edge and not a mint julep. And by the end of the book, LAUREN's version was mine too. She also has a good handle on all the secondary characters. Her men are full on sex-filled or rough and tumbled. Finn and Owen drip a simmering, husky sexiness that feels like they are kissing their way up your neck. GIVE ME MORE!