I really enjoyed this series when I read it years ago, and revisiting the first book again was fun. The writing and dialogue are so witty and intelligent. The characters are diverse, interesting and easy to love. There is some fascinating history involved. The mystery really keeps you guessing. There is some light romance as a subplot. One jalapeño out of five. This book is really fun. Highly recommend. 

The beginning does a really good job of capturing your attention.  The main action of the story didn't seem to build drama the way I expected.  Instead of one scene leading to another and feeling like i'm following the threads alongside the characters, it fell to little disjointed.  Also some of the last minute saves felt forced.  Groundwork was laid that could have been built upawn to heighten suspense.  Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this story and will give the series a second chance in the second book.  A lot of loose ends were left to follow up on in later books in the series which I can appreciate.