Following up her initial Rachel Benjamin mystery, The Pact, Jennifer Sturman’s newest book, entitled The Jinx, follows Rachel to Boston where she is involved in hiring for her investment banking company. Rachel is excited to be in Boston because she is meeting up with her long-distance boyfriend, Peter, and gets to see all of her best friends from college for their annual get-together. However, Rachel’s excitement is quickly dampened when her client and friend, Sara Grenthaler, is attacked and lands in the hospital. Could her attack be connected to the recent attempts of a hostile takeover at her company, Grenthaler Media, or does it have something to do with the recent string of murdered prostitutes that have turned up in the city?

Rachel feels it is her duty to figure out who is behind her client’s attack, and this puts her in contact with Jonathan Beasly, a former college crush who is now one of Sara’s professors. Since Peter has been ignoring her in favor of work since arriving in Boston, Rachel’s head is turned by Jonathan—but he just might be involved in the dangerous events surrounding Sara. Will Rachel be able to keep her relationship with Peter strong and find Sara’s attacker before something violent happens to her?

While The Pact was a delicious, fast-paced chick-lit thriller that left readers wanting more, The Jinx starts out disappointingly slow and a little boring. While The Pact was set at a glitzy wedding, The Jinx is set in the comparably dull world of high finance. However, as the action picks up and Rachel gets more embroiled in the mystery, The Jinx becomes more of a page-turner. Unfortunately, Rachel Benjamin isn’t quite as likeable as she was in the first book, and her entertaining college roommates, who nearly stole the show in The Pact, get very little page time.

Rachel’s romantic relationship with Peter also gets little attention as he is missing in action for most of the book. However, the convoluted mystery that takes center stage is enough to keep readers entertained, and they will likely tune in for the inevitable third book in the Rachel Benjamin series. If you enjoy the new-ish genre of chick lit mysteries, you should start with The Pact and then follow up with Rachel in The Jinx—though it’s likely you won’t enjoy the sophomore effort as much as the debut.