Review: The Devil of Downtown

The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

 There had been something in her eyes when she’d first watched him approach on the walk, an appreciation. Feminine interest. Just the hint of a flame waiting for the right match. And God help him, because he was a terrible man, the worst man, he’d love nothing more than to watch her burn. 

The third book in the Uptown Girls series stars the youngest Greene sister Justine with New York City's top criminal kingpin Jack Mulligan. I'm new to the series and I think that might have hurt my enjoyment, I felt like I was missing some foundation for the characters, especially Jack. Justine is the quiet and fade into the background do-gooder sister but quiet doesn't mean weak. She spends her days chasing down wife deserters and forcing them pay child support. When one of the deserters works for Jack, she simply goes to him and requests he find the man for her. 

“I thought I wasn’t your type?” He lifted a shoulder and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. “The more you argue with me, the more ‘my type’ you become.” 

Justine and Jack had instant chemistry and since I was new to the characters, I wanted their fire to simmer a bit longer so I could get to know the characters first. Jack runs a huge criminal enterprise but the story doesn't really veer into that involvement, he's more trying to go more legit with a beer business. Jack grew up extremely poor, mother was a sex worker and he never knew his father, so he has a strong desire to remain at the top. The story starts right off the bat with Justine and Jack and even as the story went on, I never felt like I 'knew' Jack, he had his character outline points but I felt like I was missing some of his substance; readers of the series might not have this problem if he is featured in previous books. 

Her sisters had no idea of the woman she’d become. Or the things she’d done and the things she hoped to do. Her sisters gambled, drank and kissed their way across the city . . . but they wouldn’t dare let her do the same. And she was tired of it. 

I thought the story highlighted Justine better, we see how she doesn't have an exceptionally tight relationship with is sisters and even though she is born to privilege she's out there trying to help people. It was convenient that her parent's were away to Europe (even though I'm not sure why Jack as a partner was such a big deal when one of her sisters lives in a casino with her man unmarried) and while she has a grandmother to oversee things, we get around two scenes with her and then granny disappears from the story. I also thought that even though Justine was out there trying to help women, it wasn't truly pointed out that she enjoyed the protection of her rich father and then her protection from Jack. Not that she could help either but it took away some of the danger from the character. 

He couldn’t tell if he hoped a little of her goodness would rub off on him . . . or if he prayed his wickedness rubbed off on her. 

These two were pretty hot and heavy for each other from the beginning but my lack of feeling like I knew the characters hampered me feeling some emotional depth between them, which I need to feel and enjoy the heat. Towards the end I also thought Justine gave up Jack way too easily and this made her love feel even more airy to me. There was also an ending climatic scene that just had Jack disappearing from it, to solve the problem I guess, and it left the whole scene and mood deflated. I did love how Jack was loosely inspired by a real Gilded Age New Yorker along with all the other historical people, places, and events the author added to the story; it really set the time and place for me. Like I said, if you've read the other two books in the series, you might have some of the character foundation I found lacking and ultimately hurt my enjoyment here. This had more of a focus on the couple with their intimacy more at play than outside story, readers of the series will probably enjoy the youngest do-gooder Greene sister getting her happily ever after with the bad boy Jack. 

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