Review: Devil’s Bargain (Red Letter Days #1) – Rachel Caine

Posted 29 January, 2013 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review: Devil’s Bargain (Red Letter Days #1) – Rachel CaineDevil's Bargain by Rachel Caine
Series: Red Letter Days #1
Published by Harlequin UK on 12 October 2012
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 331
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon
5 Stars

In Devil's Bargain, Jazz is at the end of her rope, no more money, no more partner, and even trying to find a bar where she can just go and drown her sorrows is not as easy as it sounds. She decides on a whim where she'll go to get enough whiskey to forget about everything, and that's when things get strange! As Jazz is minding her own business, a man comes into the bar - clearly he doesn't belong there at all - and he comes up to her asking her if she is indeed Jasmine Callender, he has something for her and was told he would find her in this bar at this time...

 

*I received a free ARC of Devil’s Bargain from Harlequin UK via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Devil’s Bargain isn’t what it seems when you only read the title. But it does have a great story with a mystery and some things that are difficult to explain. Two strong women are the main characters, and this made Devil’s Bargain even more enjoyable.

Things continue to be very strange, Lucia is having the same reaction to her offer of employment as Jazz has. They are both incredulous and thinking it is very strange that they have been offered something that is very difficult for them to turn down. For Jazz, that is the money; for Lucia, it is the ability to do something good and be her own boss. They have been offered $100K to start a private investigating firm together. They can work with other people, but they have to be partners. And when they receive a red letter, they have to take that job, by doing exactly what they are told.

Both Lucia and Jazz are strong women, well respected by their pairs, and used to having to get dirty to get their job done. They are not exactly trusting, so when they receive this offer they decide to meet for the first time to discuss the possibility of actually working together in a new enterprise. As soon as they meet, things get iffy, someone is following them and tries to kill Jazz right inside the restroom at the airport. This intrigues both women so much they think it’s worth it to go to New York to see the lawyers who drew up the deal for them to work together. It seems as if someone is always a step ahead of them, though, they are being shot at more than once, and none of them had noticed that they were being tailed.

devil's bargain coverAs they meet more people in the organization that wants them to start their private I business, the readers as well as Lucia and Jazz realize that something more than meets the eye is happening here. Even as they feel like chess pieces, they are also intrigued enough to want to give it a try. When they get the first red letter delivered, things become even more mysterious, especially because they end up saving a woman’s life by going to the place they were told at the time that is mentioned in the red letter.

The secondary characters are really well fleshed out as well in Devil’s Bargain. This made it even more interesting to read when even a secretary that was not a big part of the storyline or the plot seemed like a real person, because Jazz and Lucia chatted with her a little, and they are both very attentive to details – as they would need to be as either police or private detectives anyway.

I recommend this to everybody who like to read mystery with a slight paranormal twist – no there are no vampires or werewolves or things like that – and who like to enjoy female characters who are strong, multifaceted and seem real. Rachel Caine did an excellent job in this one. I look forward to reading more of her adult novels now, as I was only familiar with her Morganville Vampires series until now.

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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0 responses to “Review: Devil’s Bargain (Red Letter Days #1) – Rachel Caine

  1. I heard so many great things about this one but I don’t why I didn’t ask for it when it was on netgalley… Thanks for the great review!

  2. I heard so many great things about this one but I don’t why I didn’t ask for it when it was on netgalley… Thanks for the great review!

    • Yes, this was excellent, and I also liked that it wasn’t YA, it’s nice to change things up every now and then 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for your nice comment Brandee!

    • Thank you so much for stopping by and for commenting on my review. I thought this book had a lot going for it, and I love it when female main characters are strong and can take care of themselves.

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