Book ~ "The Hitwoman Hunts a Ghost" (2014) J.B. Lynn

From Goodreads ~ Bumbling hitwoman Maggie Lee has discovered the sister she thought was dead might be alive. She’s desperate to find her but all of her bosses are making unreasonable demands. Demands she can’t afford not to meet.

Once again, Delveccio, the chocolate pudding loving mob boss, needs someone whacked.

Her obnoxious boss at her day job insists she intervene on his behalf with her semi-psychic friend, Armani.

And the mysterious organization with the power to put her almost-lover Patrick behind bars has saddled her with an annoying new partner and sent her on a mission that has gone to the dogs.

With the clock ticking, Maggie (along with her snarky lizard, dyslexic Doberman and Southern belle cat) does her best to pull off every job without winding up in jail or dead ... but is her best good enough?

When Maggie was in a car accident, her sister and brother-in-law were killed and Katie, her niece and goddaughter, was left in a coma, which she has come out of but is still in the hospital. Maggie hates working in the call centre of an insurance company but doesn't have the kind of money it takes to keep Katie in the high end hospital. To supplement her income, Maggie has become a reluctant hit woman for a mob boss. She has recently moved back to the bed and breakfast she grew up in, which one of her aunts run, and is living in the basement.

Maggie was approached in the last book that she must do the jobs a stranger she's dubbed "Ms. Whitehat" asks of her or she will reveal information that Maggie doesn't want to be revealed. A white dog named Ghost is lost and Ms. Whitehat has tasked Maggie with finding him or else. In the meantime, her mob boss is demanding that she kill his thieving accountant within the next few days. Two of Maggie's aunts are having issues in their relationships and Armani, her semi-psychic friend is making predictions but no one can figure out what they mean. So Maggie has a lot going on.

This is the sixth in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series (#52 is coming out next month) and I thought it was okay. I wouldn't recommend it as a stand alone. You should read the first ones first as there are many references that will make more sense if you have the background, which isn't really provided here but I think needed.

It's written in first person perspective in Maggie's voice and was humourous at times. I had my doubts about this series when I discovered Maggie can now carry on conversations with Godzilla aka God, Katie's tiny lizard, who Maggie takes care of until Katie recovers, DeeDee, a dog she took in when she killed her owner, and Miss Piss, the cat. It sounds dumb but they are amusing and good friends and confidents to Maggie. I'll carry on and keep reading the series.