Book ~ "Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman" (2012) J.B. Lynn

From Goodreads ~ Knocking off a drug kingpin was the last thing on Maggie Lee's to-do list but when a tragic accident leaves her beloved niece orphaned and in the hospital, Maggie will go to desperate lengths to land the money needed for her care.

But the drug kingpin is the least of her worries. Maggie's aunts are driving her crazy, her best friend's turned into a bridezilla ... and a knock on the head has given Maggie Dr. Dolittle abilities - she can talk to animals. Unfortunately, they talk back.

It's just another day in the life of this neurotic hitwoman,

Maggie was recently in a car accident and her sister and brother-in-law were killed and Katie, her three-year-old niece and goddaughter, was left in a coma. Maggie works in the call centre of an insurance company and doesn't have the kind of money it takes to keep Katie in the high end hospital she needs to be in. When she was approached by a mob boss to kill his son-in-law, she took the job as it paid off well. The mob boss offers Maggie another job ... to kill a drug dealer. At first, Maggie doesn't want to do it but changes her mind when she finds out the drug dealer had supplied the drugs to the driver who had caused the car accident that killed her sister. On top of this, Alice, her best friend, is getting married soon and Maggie is the maid of honour.

This is the second in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series and I liked it. It can be read as a stand alone but you should read the first one as there are many references in this one that will make more sense and you'll have the background. 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, and Doomsday, a dog she took in when she killed her owner ... it sounded dumb but they are amusing and good friends and confidents to Maggie. Maggie has a crazy assortment of relatives around her. Her mother is in the "looney bin" and Maggie has chosen to have no contact with her. Her father is in prison for robbery and murder. Her mother's sisters (aka the witches) are quirky in different ways. Maggie was one of four daughters and is the only one left ... but she recently discovered that her sister, Marlene, who had run away years ago and was presumed dead, is actually alive.

It's written in first person perspective in Maggie's voice and was humourous at times ... she hates her job (her boss keeps hitting on her) but has to keep it to appear "normal". But it's also heartwarming as she is dealing with so much from her past and the present. I look forward to reading the others in the series.