Slingshot

Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter #1

by Carsen Taite

Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Luca Bennett makes her living looking for people, but her sights aren’t set on lost children separated from their parents at a busy mall or elderly Alzheimer’s patients who wandered from the nursing home. She’s a bounty hunter paid to apprehend fugitives on the lam.

Luca caught her latest job from new-in-town, criminal defense attorney, Veronica “Ronnie” Moreno. Ronnie’s client, seedy local businessman Jed Quitman, failed to show up for court, and Ronnie’s boss, who secured the bond, wants him found right away. With Jed’s mug smiling from dozens of billboards and low-budget, late night television commercials, Luca figures finding him will be a breeze.

It doesn’t take long for Luca to realize there’s nothing simple about this job, from a stranger threatening her to stay away, to the fiery hot woman who has Luca looking for more than the usual one-night stand. The hunt for Jed quickly turns complicated, and the pursuit is fraught with danger, as is her attraction to the elusive Ronnie Moreno. In a case loaded with twists and turns, can Luca find everything she’s looking for?

Genres: Crime, Lesbian, LGBT, Mystery, Romance, Lesbian Fiction, Lesbian Romance

264 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2012

About the author

Carsen Taite's goal as an author is to spin plot lines as interesting as the cases she encountered in her career as a criminal defense lawyer. She is the award-winning author of a dozen novels and numerous short stories.

Reviews

[hubsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello Luca Bennett, nice to meet you! This character was somewhat reminiscent of of JM Redmann's Micky Knight series, and I've never shied away from my massive crush on Micky. This first book in a series of 3 was interesting, involving sleazy side characters that I could just imagine in a movie setting. I hope Luca's character continues to evolve and we learn more about what makes her tick. A few times I found the story dragged abit, too much details on bonds and court stuff that I glazed over, and I would have loooved a little more steam rather than fade to black. No matter, I look forward to seeing what other adventures Luca gets up to. 4/5.

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slingshot, published in 2012, was my fallback Friday choice. Carson Taite’s Luca Bennett reminded me somewhat of the Texas version of Redmann’s Micky Knight. A flawed bounty hunter who gets herself in a heap of trouble when she takes on a job from criminal defense attorney, Veronica “Ronnie” Moreno.

I loved everything about this fast-paced crime / mystery. It’s immersive and gritty and highly entertaining with a great cast of characters.

I loved the sexual tension between Luca, her academy friend and sometimes fuck buddy Jess Chance, and Ronnie – this almost love-triangle brought some sauce to the story that isn’t really a romance.

The ending begs to read part 2 straight away. Maybe I will manage before the year is done.

f/f

3.8 Stars

[Lex Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just started reading Taite's books and something about her writing just seems to really draw me in. Maybe because I've not read much other than romance, paranormal, and fantasy lately... that I seem to be just sucking up every detail of her crime/mystery books and can't get enough!
This book was different that I thought. I had a picture of a bad-ass assassin, who would kill as needed in her around-the-world adventures. What I got was a slightly unstable, messy, hard-up, private investigator. Well technically a bounty-hunter, but I don't remember her collecting a bounty. Way to read the back cover blurb wrong, I guess. Anyway, while this book was not what I was expecting, I really enjoyed it. And while the main character is very flawed, I like a book that can get me rooting for a messed-up lady.
Will I read the next book in this series?... you bet! If you like a good mystery with a flawed character you can get behind, you will enjoy this too.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luca kicks ass!!

Loved the hard boiled bounty hunter and hope that this is the start of a series as this character has more to add.

As I was reading this, I was constantly feeling like I was reading a script from cop TV drama - with sleazy strip club owners, attractive but unobtainable lawyer, corrupt politico, good cop, bad cop and drunken but lovable dad... It's an episode of the Rockford Files in Lesbianese

If I had a wish, the steam could have been steamier...

Great book and off to read more.

Mags

[FSH78 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, easy read. Luca Bennett is an easy character to get involved with. The romance is not too heavy so the action gets more of the readers attention which is a god thing. I will definitely seek out more books by Taite

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author. This book focuses on bounty hunter/ex cop Luca Bennett & her current adventure searching for an escapee. This features a semi love triangle between Luca, her academy friend Jess Chance & lawyer Ronnie Moreno.

I rate this 3.5 stars.

[MaxDisaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked the story, but I had the same issue as with any legal story set in the USA. I'm a European and find the American system of bails, bonds, bounty hunters and the justice system in general utterly ridiculous/very stupid on so many levels.

So while it wasn't bad, there vere many things that grated at me as "completely and utterly wrong" and I couldn't really enjoy the story.

[bookster · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[J H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good re-read from years ago

SAPPHIC BOOK BINGO: full-time writer, not a romance, meet-cute, unusual job, possibly other categories

When Bold Strokes Books had a sale, I found out that Slingshot was the first book in a series, so I bought the remaining books at a discount. I knew that I needed to reacquaint myself with Luca Bennett, the MC, in order to refresh my memory, as well as to be prepared for the rest of the series. Carsen Taite is a fantastic author, so there was no question about buying them without even reading the book blurbs.

Luca was a flawed and fairly typical bounty hunter, willing to do what it took to find the bail jumper, even if it meant bending the law. She lived paycheck to paycheck, sometimes not even making ends meet. She had a few people that looked out for her: Maggie, an older bar owner that kept her fed, even though she didn't keep up with her tab; Jess, a cop friend that went through training with her before she left the police force; and her boss that tried to keep her gainfully employed in order to pay for her necessities and bills.

Her boss ran out of jobs for her and sent her to a law firm that occasionally needed someone with her skills to find their absent clients. The first job ended up being way more than just a difficult person to find. It was also assigned by Veronica, a very attractive lawyer that was bound to complicate her life. The missing man was fairly well-known to the Dallas area through his various businesses and political support, but he also had some very bad secrets that most people didn't know. Luca's life became way more complicated and dangerous with the revealed secrets and the other people tied to them.

It was well worth the re-read, and I'm excited about the next books in the series.

[Cab · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give this 3 1/2 stars I would.

From the acknowledgements in the book this is Carsen Taite’s first mystery and the first time she has tackled a series. Luca Bennett is an ex-cop who quite the force under less than auspicious reasons. Now she is a bounty hunter because the lack of rules and people depending on her suits her personality. At least according to Luca.

The mystery was interesting, less so in the fact that you almost always know who is behind the crimes, although there are a few characters where you are left guessing as to their involvement and to what degree. What I think I found more interesting than the crime/mystery was trying to figure out how Luca was going to get out of the mess she was in and who was going to actually help her or betray her.

Overall I think this was a good introduction to the character of Luca and I’m looking forward to seeing another book and how this character develops.

[MEC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one quite a bit and have been hovering at 3.5 and 4 as a rating for it. Slingshot is a bit darker and grittier than Taite's other books and focuses on a rather hard boiled PI, Luka Bennett. This is a first person narrative, which always works well for PI/Bounty Hunter type stories - but it leaves the reader a bit in the dark as to what the hell is going on in other people's heads/lives. Regardless, Luka is an intersting character - more than a little rough around the edges but still likable - and the books moves along at a pretty fast pace. The mystery is resolved at the end, but there's a few things left open ended which makes me hope it means that Luka gets another book.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like very much the style of Taite's writing. The characters are well defined and I love Luca and Jess. The plot is exciting and the story is believable and understandable. Taite 's knowledge of law and justice and the work of police, prosecutors and defense is very big because she's working as a criminal defense attorney . Luca's love life also is not too short . I will immediately read part two and three.

[Bib · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, the pace gradually picks up into the story.

[Chris Paynter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Carsen's latest, told in the first person. A very different book and style for her and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, as I am with all her releases!

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the first book I’ve read by this author, though second ‘work’ (since I read a short story by them previously). This is also the first book in the Luca Bennett series.

I have two ‘issues’ that impact my ability to write a proper review for this book: (1) previously read a story in the Bennett series; (2) read this book in the middle of another book that had odd similarities.

(1) At the present time, the Bennett series involves three books, and a short story tacked on at the end. I read the short story before I read anything else, therefore I knew things about the people involved that I would otherwise not known – and yes, it did have an impact on my reading the book. Three of the people I had pinpointed as being possibly important in my review for short story show up in this book. Luca Bennett, Teresa Perez, and Jessica Chance. Teresa is/was an antagonist to Luca in both this first book and in the short story; and Luca & Jessica were quite friendly in both stories I’ve read. Though they have a different relationship in both.

(2) I had been reading a book titled ‘Cat Catcher’ by Caroline Shaw before I dove into ‘Slingshot’. I had been at around 47% completion when I paused to read Slingshot, though paused is somewhat misleading – ‘Cat Catcher’ is one of the few books, and maybe only book this year, that I’ve read the physical non-digital version (it’d be hard to check because I record whatever ISBN Netgalley gives me, and while they give me digital copies of books to review, the ISBN’s are, more often than not, for physical editions). Two days ago I left my house and forgot to bring my book with me. And so . . . I read Slingshot.

‘Slingshot’ involves, as its protagonist, one Luca Bennett. Luca is an ex-cop lesbian with a private investigator’s license who does not normally do PI work. Apparently she needs a PI license to be a bounty hunter in Texas. In other words, Luca uses her investigative skills to trace humans. ‘Slingshot’ is a mystery that includes investigation. ‘Cat Catcher’ involves one Lenny Aaron who is an ex-cop lesbian who works as a private investigator (I’m not clear if she has a license or not), but not the normal type of PI. She also works as something of a tracer. Though she doesn’t trace missing fugitive humans, but instead tracks missing ‘fugitive’ cats. Also both Luca and Lenny left the police force after violent incidents.

I mention all of the above because the first issue, the having read a short story that takes place after the events of this novel, gives me information that I might accidentally convey in this review; while the second issue might make me accidentally convey information from a book from a completely different series. Though, beyond all their similarities, Luca and Lenny are not really that similar in characteristics/personality. And Luca is something of a ‘player’ while Lenny might very well be asexual with a leaning towards women.

Characters
Luca Bennett : Luca’s mother ran off when Luca was young. By the time this story opens, the mother is on the fourth husband. The father? A drunk with an addiction for gambling. He has respect, though, for steady work, and pushed Luca in the direction of the police. Whether or not Luca would have joined the police force without that push, is unclear. But she did, definitely, pick up an addiction to gambling from dear old pops. Luca’s time with the police, though, was short lived – there was an ‘incident’ during which Luca was shot and her partner, Larry Brewster, died (I’d normally leave the partner dying out, but it plays its role in the book, and all of this took place before the book started). Once Luca got out of the hospital, she looked for other work. Which lead her to being a bounty hunter. I know Lenny’s 27, because I recall making a note of that information in passing. I forget if Luca’s age is given.
Of Importance: Pops – Luca’s dad whose name escapes me; Hardin (sp?) the guy who gives Luca people to chase; Jessica Chance – her friend with benefits. Maggie.

Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Moreno : is a lawyer who used to work for a big time firm ‘back east’ in NY. Pulling down the big bucks. But now works in a miniature office with/for her uncle. Defending any and everyone who walks in off the street. There’s a back-story/reason for the relocation and change in job status, but that’s something that has to be teased out over the course of the book. She’s the person who ‘hires’ Luca to find a fugitive named Jed Quitman.
Of Importance: family, including her uncle . . . ..

Maggie : an older woman, at least older than Luca. She feeds Luca and serves her bad beer when Luca doesn’t have the money for anything else. Steak and good beer when she does. As is noted in the book, Luca only eats there like 4 or 5 times a week. There being Maggie’s bar. Maggie is mentioned because she has a ‘favor’ – she wants Luca to track down her brother Billy, who apparently is in worse trouble than normal. Luca takes the case.
Of Importance: Billy.

Jessica Chance : Jessica and Luca entered the police force near/at the same time. One was trained by Teresa Perez (Jessica), while the other was trained by Perez normal partner (Luca). Every once in a while Luca and Jessica ‘hook up’, though they don’t have anything like a romantic relationship.

Plot
Jed Quitman is a huge local businessman with fingers in many pots. Seedy pots – run down apartment buildings, strip clubs, and pay-day-loan places (the kind that charges around 200% to 300% interest). He’s gone and gotten himself missing. Certain people are looking for him. Including one Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Moreno.

When Luca Bennett turns up to get paid for her latest bounty capture, she asks for more work. But her regular supplier of jobs, the bail bondsman Hardin (sp?) has nothing. But he does direct Luca to the Moreno law-firm.

Ronnie gives Luca the job of hunting Jed. Luca spends most of the book investigating Jed’s whereabouts, while at the same time looking for someone named Billy (as a favor to her favorite bar owner, Maggie), and ducking the pursuit of Teresa Perez. Perez would just love to find some form of criminal charges to stick to Luca – she blames Luca for the death of Perez’s partner when Luca was on the police force.

Perez gets something of her chance when Luca keeps stumbling over dead bodies. The first one is iffy to stick to Luca, but Perez tries anyway. The second one? Well, dead body, bloody sledgehammer. Blood and fingerprints on sledgehammer. Second dead body seems harder for Luca to dodge.

Mystery & Romance
This is a mystery, not a romance. Even so, there’s some ‘action’ on the romance front that involves Luca. First when she and Jessica Chance have one of their ‘normal’ flings and certain feelings might suddenly be there. Second there’s something of a pursuit involving Luca pursuing Ronnie. And whether anything could develop there. So something on the edge of romance goes on.

In terms of a mystery – there is an actual mystery story here. And an investigation. Quite well done, really.

Overall
I liked the book and the storyline. A few things here and there tripped me up, caused me certain moments of concern. (1) flirting and sleeping around – fine, she’s not in a steady relationship; (2) constant need to gamble – annoying; (3) making a point of always having at least one, no, multiple guns on hand – some even hidden in her vehicle – then deciding, WTF, let’s, just this once, go outside without being armed (it’s as if the author knew that if Luca stayed in character, the story would not be able to flow the way the author wanted it to flow). But still a good solid book. I’ve already acquired the two sequels and will be reading them shortly.

April 22 2016

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd really like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. It was good, not great however, the main character Luca Bennett is a great hard assed but vulnerable Bounty Hunter and careens through the book like a force of her own. Former cop, comfortable with guns, irreverent with the law and attracted to women in a big way, just not relationships, Luca finds herself in hot water often. In this story, Luca finds herself picking up work that is more detective than bounty hunter as she finds herself the main suspect in two linked murders.

Carsen Taite is new author for me and I have found that I like her style of writing. The story is gritty and action packed. There is sex but it is non explicit. I am looking forward to reading the second in the series to see where she takes Luca and her cast of characters.

[Sha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gritty and rugged story of a bounty hunter solving a mystery.
Politics, corruption, and just a bit of romance come to a boiling point in this book. The atmosphere is mesmerising. The story is fast-paced and the action scenes are convincing. It all feels like an authentic film noir style of a book, but the femme fatale is not so fatal, and her prey gets to stay alive and well.
The excellent writing had me engaged with this book from the very 1st chapter and until the end, which means I had to read into the small hours of the night.
I only wish more of the MC’s questions would have been answered in the end. I don’t like loose ends…
Highly recommended, if you like mystery/detective stories. Bear in mind this is not a cozy mystery. Nothing cozy about this book 🙂

Rating: 4.5 stars

[Nope Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not today, Satan

[Yvette Verwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luca is a great character and I really enjoyed this book.

[Alexis Westmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carsen Taite delivers a fast paced page turner with bounty hunter Luca Bennett. Carsen's expertise in criminal law creates a real world that envelopes the reader. A great read!

[Reneetc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first story I read by the author. It is an entertaining crime/mystery and Luca is a flawed character but good at her job. I found myself suspicious of certain supporting characters at different times during the story.

[Carolyn G. Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this one even though I love the author. It has plenty of interesting characters and lots of action. The bounty hunter, Luca, is disaster waiting to happen but I liked the story, the action and the characters. A different kind of legal thriller.

[Voz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luca Jess Ronie

[Velvet Lounger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luca Bennet lives right on the knife edge. On the edge of the law as a hard nosed bounty hunter picking up bail-bond runners. On the edge of society - with a beat up SUV, a dump of an apartment and her life savings in a coffee jar. Her family history is classic dysfunctional and her one real attempt at security – becoming a cop – failed when her training mentor was shot on her first serious call-out.

Now she is working for an upstate criminal defense attorney and has no real idea what is going on. Veronica (Ronnie) Moreno is an enigma, a high class lawyer suddenly working for her sleezeball uncle, insistently searching for a seedy businessman who seems to have very high society friends.

Life gets more and more complicated for Luca. She gets knocked out in her own place, keeps finding dead bodies, and keeps falling for the hard to read Ronnie. As the case unfolds can she keep her life – let alone her freedom - and her girl?

----------------

This is a classic detective fiction in the Philip Marlow style. Luca is hard nosed, ornery and emotionally cut off. She has few friends and even fewer people she trusts. She lives just inside the law – or at least the important ones.

Slingshot puts her in a triangle with two other women, Ronnie the sexy, powerful but enigmatic lawyer and Jess, her academy cop buddy – friend with benefits. Both are typically tolerant but exasperated by Luca, yet both clearly have feelings for her which she either doesn’t notice of doesn’t trust. We get to know them both to a degree, but are left wanting more.

The plot is fast passed and well planned. Luca lurches from one disaster to another and barely enough time to start putting the pieces together. Carsen Taite has skillfully woven a cast of lowlife and high-end baddies into a complex dance where we are never sure quite who is pulling the strings and who is doing the deeds.

Well written and well conceived this absolutely hits the spot for lovers of the private eye genre, all Luca needs is a battered trilby and a dangling cigarette to take her place alongside the classics. I really enjoyed it. Loads of fun and definite opportunities for Ms Carson to develop her characters in an ongoing series.

[Milkiways · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luca Benett reminds me of J.M. Redmann's Micky Knight! On the intensity, quirk, storyline, drama etc., if Micky Knight and her mysteries are 10/10 then Luca is like 6/10 nonetheless I liked this book as well. Luca and Micky has so many similarities Micky makes you laugh loudly and force you to weep for her while Luca is light hearted, brings up smiles and doesn't leave you in emotional turmoil as Micky does :)

I hope Luca's mystery series will also be as successful as Micky Knight's mysteries!

[Stephanie Ahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Luca's job (bounty hunter, but not the cool kind), backstory (ex-cop due to a complex tragedy), family issues (what a crazy family life...), and flaws of character so much more engaging than the actual plot of the book.
The romance didn't feel forced, but it also wasn't very engaging; I was rolling my eyes every time Luca described Veronica as some variant of fiery, sexy Latina. It's hard to believe the protagonist is truly falling in love with someone they seem to see as a racial stereotype.

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

As this was written in the first person I was expecting to feel something for the main character, but alas, I felt nothing. I made no connection at all.

I gave the book 2 stars because the premis for the story was a good one, but I feel could have been executed a little better.

[Laydin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Love Luca Bennett et al. Can't wait for the sequel.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed this book

[Heather Henkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story, it was gritty and intriguing. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.