Review by Sadonna
TITLE: The Hitman’s Guide to Codenames and Ill-Gotten Gains 
SERIES: The Hitman’s Guide
AUTHOR: Alice Winters
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 9 hours and 26 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 20, 2022
BLURB:
Leland
Stopping a robbery was only the beginning—to fun, action-filled mayhem. Jackson’s afraid that I’m running headfirst into trouble (again), but I’m not… I’m running gun-first into it. When one of the robbers who’s really just a kid comes begging for my help, I definitely have no choice but to help him.
The kid is convinced his brother has been wrongly accused, and while Jackson My Love might be over there going, “You were hired to look into it, not to go undercover, sink a boat, and hunt down a gang,” I feel like he’s simply confused… because I’m gonna hunt down TWO gangs (and is that a car chase I see?).
Jackson
A simple “Whodunnit” turns into us being targeted by multiple bad guys as we run after them instead of away from them, dragging Cassel and Henry—and some others—along for the ride. I really can’t be the only one who sees the issue here, but… as I watch them race into danger, I’m starting to think I am.
Loving Leland comes easy, but keeping him safe doesn’t because there’s someone trailing Leland who might want to hurt him. The problem is that as Lucas strings us along and tales begin to become tangled, it’s hard to tell who is right and who is wrong.
Contains: Lifejackets used to protect all the wrong things (Leland: all the RIGHT things), the greatest tragedy of ALL TIME (involving The Fence) (even if Jackson doesn’t think so), and the kind of friends that make you realize you don’t need enemies.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the fifth book in this series (sixth if you count Cassel’s spin-off book) and as such contains major spoilers for all of the previous books. in addition, this really can’t be read as a standalone – it just won’t make much sense 😉
I am always amazed at how Alice Winters can have Leland and Jackson’s story take it up a notch every time. This one had me laughing out load soooo many times. Despite some of the read angst and horrors that Leland has lived through, he’s still the completely OTT anti-hero of our dreams. Between the usual suspects of Leland and Jackson, Cassel, Jeremy, Henry, Mason, Micah, and even Ava get into the act. With new villains and of course Lucas trying to get Leland to do his bidding once again, our heroes are drawn back into a world that Leland does NOT want to revisit. Lots of this hinges on a VERY special gun. One that Leland is not willing to part with for any amount of money.
Starting off with a botched hold-up that of course Leland manages to foil, Leland and Jackson are drawn into a web of lies and spies and bad guys. Waylon, a teenager who just wants his brother back seems to somehow be the lynchpin in this endeavor. There are so many starts and stops and too many twists and turns, but they all seem to somehow involved Lucas. And since Lucas won’t talk to anyone but Leland, well you know this isn’t going to end well. Leland knows some things, but there are too many unanswered questions about how/why Waylon’s brother was set up and ends up in prison.
Then there is a little problem of the repeated attempts on Leland and Jackson’s lives. At first it seems like the culprit is an obvious tie to Lucas and just for money. But the longer this case/chase goes on, the muddier the motives and the true villains seem.
And of course there are lots of songs, car chases, gun battles, exotic dance numbers and an epic battle on the water that no one would see coming 😀
OMG. This book. If it is the last Hitman book (I really hope not), it truly goes out on a bang! Michael Ferraiuolo outdid himself on this one. And that’s saying something! The singing alone is worth 5 stars! The rap? The stripper scene? Truly a thing of beauty. Alice Winters hits every checkbox with this chapter of Leland and Jackson’s romance and their hilarious and heartfelt over the top adventures. Leland and Jackson are truly a couple I’ll never forget. I was laughing so hard I was crying at some points in this story. That doesn’t overshadow the difficulties of his past. But they way he deals with it and they way everyone deals with him is just perfect. I absolutely love this story and this series. The most perfect marriage of author and narrator I’ve ever had the privilege of witnessing. Perfection!
PS I wouldn’t be opposed to more spinoff books for some of these characters please. Micah anyone??
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Review by Sadonna […]