"Starr Sign" by O'Cinneide is a captivating addition to the Candace Starr trilogy, offering a refreshing take on hardboiled crime fiction. Candace Starr, a former contract killer turned internet sensation, is a character with a strong, distinctive voice that stands out in the genre. Her irreverent and sarcastic narration sets the tone for the entire novel.

The story kicks off with an unforgettable hangover scene, defying the traditional writing advice of not starting with a character waking up. This chaotic opening immediately introduces readers to Candace's unconventional lifestyle and operating procedures. From there, the narrative maintains a relentless pace that keeps the readers engaged.

The core of the story revolves around Candace's sudden responsibility for her sulky, 13-year-old half-sister, whose existence she was unaware of. Their mother's mysterious disappearance leads them to the mansion of their estranged and dangerous grandfather, the head of the Scarpello mob. This choice forces Candace to make a challenging decision: become a reluctant foster mom to a temperamental tween or try to rescue her mother from the clutches of the family she swore never to see again.

The characters in "Starr Sign" are well-crafted, with an emphasis on the main players and minimal extraneous details. Candace's wise-cracking persona shines, making her a memorable hard-boiled lead character reminiscent of the classics penned by Chandler. The sidekicks, the sulky sister, and the hot computer nerd, add fun and intrigue to the plot.

The novel takes readers on a wild ride from the mansions of the elite to the seedy underbelly of sex-trafficking brothels. O'Cinneide's storytelling prowess is evident throughout the book, expertly guiding readers through the intricacies of Candace's life and the dangerous world she navigates.

"Starr Sign" is a gallows-humor-filled, irreverent crime story that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a worthy addition to the Candace Starr trilogy, offering a fresh perspective on hardboiled crime fiction with a remarkable lead character and a plot that never lets up on its pace. This novel is a thrilling read that will keep you entertained from start to finish.

I was not able to get in to the storyline of this one. If I decide to try again in the future I will update my feedback.

I've been enjoying the Candace Starr series, the characters were great and I enjoyed the mystery that was going on in this series.

Starr Sign, the second book in the Candace Starr trilogy, is a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek irreverent take on hardboiled crime. Candace is a contract killer who has fallen on tough times and now gives lectures to internet groupies who follow her exploits on the dark web. She is also a whiskey-drinking savage who never knows where she will wake up or who she will wake up with, male or female, both being acceptable partners. This volume in the series is all about getting in touch with Candace's past, specifically long-lost relatives and their connections to the Detroit mafia family that her mother had been thrown out of decades earlier. Not to be taken too seriously, irreverent, light, gallows humor, although this sophomore effort is not quite the finished product the first one in the series was.

This just didn’t end up being a book that interested me. When I first read the premise, I was very excited and invested, but getting into it made it clear that it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully it works for others out there!

The next book in The Candace Starr Series couldn't have come at a better time. Starr is out there as a character, and we could all use a little bit of out right now. Absolutley love this book and the Candace Starr series.

If Crime queen Melodie Campbell‘s mafia-family heroine, Gina Gallo, had a goddaughter, it might well be O'Cinneide's Candace Starr, “a wisecracking former hit woman with a stunning array of ways to kill people“.

In STARR SIGN, 2nd in a new crime series from Dundurn Press,Candace finds herself in charge of a sulky stranger, the 13-year-old sister she never knew she had. Their highly erratic mother is missing. To Candace that's not unusual. What is odd is Mom's last known location: At the mansion of her estranged grandfather, a man she swore she'd never see again. The dying head of the vicious Scarpello mob.

Now Candace will have to choose: become a reluctant foster mom to a bad-tempered tween or try to retrieve their real mom from the clutches of her not-so-loving family.

The first thing that attracted me to this novel was the wise ass narrator's unique voice - as distinctive a hard-boiled lead character as any penned by Chandler. The second was the chaotic wake-up scene. They tell beginning writers never to start with a character waking up but there’s always an exception and this one is a boozy doozy of a hangover scene that flaunts the full chaos of Candace's standard non-business operating procedure.

From there the pace rarely lets up. By the end of the first chapter, not only was I fully grounded in the story and its main players,I didn’t need the exquisitely timed hook to get me flipping immediately to chapter two, and then three, and then reading well into the night. The sulky sister and the hot computer nerd are fun sidekicks if not fully-fleshed characters, and the mobsters, from the lowest goon to the coldly calculating mob wife, are deftly portrayed with a minimum of extraneous detail.

This is assured prose in the hands of a masterful storyteller, taking the reader effortlessly from the mansions of the very rich to the seedy sex-trafficking brothels where gangsters go to let down their guard.

Find out more about the author and her books at
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07H4VP3GT
#SheKillsLit #StarrSign #Dundurn #

Starr Signby C.S. O'CinneideDundurn Press (March 2021)ISBN 978-1-45974-487-5

A pretty entertaining, gritty tale. The main character is quite unique and there are a few memorable bit players here. It's dark, and pretty fast paced and a couple of humorous moments. Recommended for mystery fans that like a gutsy female lead. I missed the first book, so I'll have to circle back.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!