New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep serves up an Elemental Assassin short story collection featuring danger, magic, and a touch of romance. Perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Anne Bishop, Patricia Briggs, and Faith Hunter. Flash back to one of Gin Blanco’s many missions as the assassin the Spider. Learn more about Gin’s relationships with her mentor, Fletcher Lane, and her foster brother, Finnegan Lane, and see what trouble the other characters get themselves into when Gin’s not around. From a ghost’s lost love to a villain’s origin story, this action-packed collection has something for every urban fantasy and paranormal romance fan. The Stings and Stones collection features ten short stories told by various characters: “Spider’s Bargain” — Gin Blanco “Web of Death” — Gin Blanco “Web of Deceit” — Fletcher Lane “Poison” — Finnegan Lane “Wasted” — Finnegan Lane “Tangled Dreams” — Jo-Jo and Sophia Deveraux “Tangled Schemes” — Bria Coolidge “Spider’s Nemesis” — Mab Monroe “Haints and Hobwebs” — Gin Blanco “Parlor Tricks” — Gin Blanco Note: Stings and Stones is a 67,000-word collection of Elemental Assassin short stories. Some of the stories previously appeared on Jennifer Estep’s website, while others have been featured in anthologies.

The truth won’t set me free—but it will probably get me killed ... As Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, I’m used to having a target on my back. But ever since I started investigating the secret society known as the Circle, that target seems bigger than ever. Still, I’m trying to relax and enjoy the events leading up to my friends’ wedding when I learn that an old enemy has returned to Ashland. And that’s the just beginning of my latest nightmare. Soon, I have Circle goons watching my every move, but I have no choice but to continue searching for a key piece of evidence against the evil group. The deeper I dig, the more horrifying secrets I uncover, and the more dangerous things become for me and my friends. Just when I think I finally have a handle on things, a shocking revelation shatters my heart and leaves me with an ugly realization—that betrayal is the sharpest sting of all ...

When her foster brother's suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, Gin Blanco, who wields potent Ice and Stone elemental magic, finds herself on the outside looking in until she discovers that this sudden interloper is planning something that could destroy them all.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.