Bonus: Gator Bait

Jana DeLeon

Gator Bait
Jana DeLeon
2014

The Summary
"Things are starting to look up for Fortune Redding.  Even though her life was at stake, the CIA assassin had balked at taking on a new identity in Sinful, Louisiana.  But instead of hating it like she'd thought she would, Fortune now has friends she cares about and just finished up an incredible first date with the sexiest deputy in the state.  Sure, there's been a murder or two that she's gotten mixed up in since she arrived in town, but she's hoping all of that is behind her.

"But when someone almost kills Deputy Carter LeBlanc, Fortune tosses her dreams of peace and quiet into the muddy bayou and shifts back into being the deadly trained professional that she is.  With the help of Ida Belle and Gertie, Fortune launches a manhunt, intending to find a killer before he tries again."

The Good
In Gator Bait, Jana DeLeon finally throws her readers a bone and offers some development with Carter and Fortune's relationship.  It gives an added dimension to the story and, more importantly, gives Fortune a little more depth as she contends with her feelings for Carter and attempts to balance her new identity with her chosen career.  It gives the novel a little more emotional complexity, which I appreciated.

However, I also liked that Fortune doesn't have anyone making her look like a complete and utter fool.  Wait, scratch that--she encounters fewer compromising situations, let's put it that way.  Mishaps still arise and Fortune, Gertie, and Ida Belle are unexpectedly caught with their pants down (figuratively speaking), but it seems like a less frequent occurrence since Carter isn't overseeing a police investigation.

I like that Fortune is given a moment to shine.  I mean, yes, I can point out several instances where Fortune manages to save lives--like saving Gertie and Ida Bell, getting in the middle of a mob operation and rescuing an undercover agent, saving Allie, putting her life on the line (multiple times) as she explores the bayou with her co-conspirators--but she's never really been recognized.  Which I find aggravating.

Yes, I know she's not supposed to compromise her cover; yes, I know she really doesn't even want to take credit for the things she does (that's not the motivating factor for her actions); and, yes, I know she'd prefer not to be in the limelight.  But it's nice to know that she can be recognized for her heroic moments, rather than the ignominious mishaps that seem to define her stay in Sinful.

I like that she's pictured more as the incredible super-soldier she is, rather than the flighty, blundering former-beauty queen she's pretending to be.

The Bad
Pretty much the same old, same old.

Between criminals continuously slithering out of the woodwork and townsfolk asking why Sinful is suddenly imploding, each story has an air of familiarity, an almost repetitive quality that gets very old very fast.  And, speaking of Sinful, I keep wondering if DeLeon does have an explanation for why criminal activity has suddenly skyrocketed.

Can you even give an explanation for it?  I'm curious to find out.

The Ugly
Murder.

And it's unexpectedly perturbing.

Sure, people have been dying left and right in Sinful since Fortune arrived; however, it's usually something that Gertie, Ida Belle, and Fortune learn secondhand.  I mean, I know Fortune is a trained killer and, in some cases, she is forced to use her considerable skills to save other people (even if it means using deadly force), but readers don't really get to see it happen before their very eyes.

This book changes that.  Quite drastically, I thought.