All reluctant hitwoman Maggie Lee really wants is to have a calm, normal life.

She doesn’t want to go around killing people for money.
She doesn’t want her sister to be terrified of her ex-pimp.
She doesn’t want her Dad to disappear from the Witness Protection program.

But Maggie rarely gets what she wants. Instead, she finds herself trying to keep everyone out of trouble.

With the help of her ragtag team of supporters: her semi-psychic friend, a handsome, charming con man, her almost-lover cop/hitman mentor, her curious Southern Belle cat, her haughty lizard, and her sweet, but dumb Doberman, Maggie does her best to stay a step ahead of Law Enforcement, while helping those she loves.

​But will Maggie end up being the one who needs to be saved?/ Maggie Lee’s murder mentor (and almost lover) Patrick Mulligan wants her to find out who poisoned him before it’s too late. Keeping the man she loves alive would be hard enough if all she had to worry about was not getting caught, but nothing’s ever that simple.

In between dealing with her strung out cat, searching for Patrick’s poisoner, meeting a deadline to deliver a mysterious gift for her mobster boss and keeping a curious reporter on his toes, she finds herself entangled in the complicated (and potentially dangerous) romantic affairs of her Aunt Susan and her semi-psychic friend Armani.

Hearts and lives are in peril. Can the kooky, klutzy assassin save them?

Another double hitwoman action, this one more uneven. My friend and I agreed the Poisoned Apple was the better of the two. The 7 cops was marred by too many characters at a rapid pace that it felt more like Lynn wanted to rush through setting up the new status quo (ie Piss is now a drug addict, Jewel/Marlene has a paramedic/stripper bf, Aunt Susan is in a love triangle, new reporter character Jack Stern sniffing around, keep the joke of the 7 cops involved) because the next book, Poisoned Apple, has much better pacing allowing the story to breathe and for there to be some character moments.

Poisoned Apple has big developments in Maggie’s life like how she is now the head of the house (a role she is so not ready for, poor Maggie) since Aunt Susan is not in the right headspace. We particularly liked the sweet moments of Maggie and her boss, Harry, getting along and realizing he does have a heart. Jewel confiding her doubts about being a good gf and Doc accepting her, past and all. Same with Delvaccio admitting his soft spot for his grandson and her telling him he’s a good grandfather.

This was nicely balanced by the new mysteries regarding Armani’s new bf (never trust a guy who gives off serial killer vibes. Or if he has a neck tattoo of M-O-M), what the heck Jack Stern is doing stalking her (we sincerely hope he’s not a new love interest), and a clever way of solving the mystery of Patrick’s killer. Which left us wondering if they’re still the endgame. The thing about the neurotic hitwoman series is that the characters are always evolving so unlike other mystery series that seemed to prefer the status quo, we’re unsure whether Patrick will end up staying.

Our biggest question is who will be the next stray in Maggie’s travelling menagerie- I say bird like a parrot so everyone won’t think she’s crazy when she’s talking to it. She says bird, but it’ll be a wild bird hat hangs around the house, not a pet.

Next up on our movie night is Little Woman (version tbd) and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. Till next time!