Second in the Nadia Stafford suspense series, the title is a theme, which runs throughout the series and particularly applies to this installment.The StoryThe disappearance of a local young girl and her baby triggers a flashback and the need to know for Nadia. The girl is not from a respected echelon of society and she can’t get the cops interested enough to look into it even though there are just too many clues indicating foul play. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of the right kind of clues so Nadia enlists her police experience and makes a start while keeping it under the local cop radar. Laid up with a broken ankle, Nadia has “invited” Jack to the lodge to mend in safety and Jack is just too interested in Nadia volunteering his help in the hunt for Sammi and baby Destiny. It’s a fascinating stalk incorporating Quinn and Evelyn’s help as they uncover a major ring of players preying on the segment of society represented by Sammi and Destiny.Side notes involve a little hotter romance between Quinn and Nadia with yet more gameplaying by Evelyn, a glimpse into the life of a lodge keeper dealing with guests a hitter might want to off, and a mechanically-inclined Jack who seems to slide right into life at the lodge. The CharactersThe primary hitmen include Nadia, Jack, Evelyn, and Quinn. Nadia is an ex-cop with a bad past that affects her life 24/7 with wonky decisionmaking. Nadia is hoping to expiate some of her guilt by finding and bringing justice to Sammi; she has no problem doing a little pro bono work. As opposed to the taciturn Jack who doesn’t play if he’s not paid except when it comes to helping Nadia…hmmmm…his cryptic speech creates a bit of havoc for the other players in this story.Evelyn joins in the search when Jack asks for her help. Unfortunately for Nadia, Eve is putting it on her tab. We find out just what flavor of cop Quinn is and he brings his extensive contacts and detectival experience to the table.Minor players include the ever-present shade of Amy whose demise, combined with the stories told by her cop family, triggered Nadia’s, um, hostile reaction; the very-hostile view Staff Sergeant Don Riley has of Nadia and who heads up the local Ontario Provincial Police in White Rock; Janie, Sammi’s mother, who provides an excellent reason for birth control (of Janie’s mother); and, Emma who cooks at the lodge while Owen takes care of outside maintenance and leads the guests on nature hikes, fishing expeditions, and canoe trips at the lodge for Nadia.My TakeAnother good one! A deeper, intriguing look into hitman culture: their commonly-held concerns; the expected manners; the ethics of just meeting with a potential client; the different categories into which a hitman may fit; and, additional information on how one finds a contract. There’s such a hard, cold feel in this heartwarming story---very different from most of what I read and I love it!Armstrong writes a lot about how “chatty” Nadia is and of Jack’s interest in her chatter. I can’t figure out if it’s the normality of Nadia’s life that intrigues him or Nadia herself probably a combination of both! Whatever the hook, Jack is far more interested in Nadia than he’s willing to admit or she’s expecting. However will he reconcile his feelings with Quinn’s obvious interest in Nadia?The CoverI don’t care for this cover. It’s obviously Nadia on the cover in front of a building but what relevance it has for this story…I don’t know.I am so hoping that Armstrong is working on book 3…this one was published in 2009 so I’m crossing my fingers!
4.5 STARSThe second installment in the Nadia Stafford series was phenomenal! Better than the first book, which was good but didn't move fast enough. This book was like a shot of adrenaline. From the intelligent writing, fast paced scenes and amazingly tight plot, I was thoroughly impressed. Nadia is trying to solve the disappearance of a young, single mother that works at her lodge. The town doesn't care, the police don't give a rat's ass and the girl's own mother seems to be in a position to reap the benefits of losing her only child and granddaughter. But Nadia knows something's up so she starts her own investigation to figure out what happened. Slowly things start to look shady with the possibility of foul play. On a side note, Nadia hasn't seen or spoken to Jack in many months. Although reluctant to admit it even to herself, she's hurt and angry. But circumstances bring them together once more and the tension between them is at an all time high. If you know this series you'll remember that the relationship between Jack and Nadia is complicated. On the surface they're friends that help each other out professionally, but below all that is a mysterious connection that's hard to label. Does Nadia want Jack? Put aside her denial and you've got her answer. Problem is, Jack is hard to read and even harder to break. Some readers say there is a love triangle here: Nadia, Quinn and Jack. But really...NO. If you've carefully read this series so far there's really no contest, and the relationship between all three characters doesn't even fall into the traditional definition of a triangle. Anyways, I digress. The chase for justice is a taut and twisty road here. So many scenes were incredibly suspenseful and well written. I was on the edge of my seat, full of anticipation. There's something about KA's writing that really gets to me. It's in the execution, the delivery and the sheer intelligence coming off the pages. I finished this and quickly requested the third and final book from my library despite being on vacation. I loved it and as with the first book, things are left very 'to be continued'. The romance wasn't really present here since this is suspense/thriller, but the sexual tension and emotion is there. Highly recommend this author and this series.
What do You think about Made To Be Broken (2009)?
A unique idea, strong characters, a fast pace and well written scenes made “Made To Be Broken” a pleasure to read and showed that Kelley Armstrong is just as good at writing about thoroughly human monsters as she is at writing about werewolves, witches and demons.“Exit Strategy” introduced Nadia Stafford, a disgraced ex-cop who moonlights as a hitman to keep her wilderness lodge business open, tracking down a rogue hitman with the help of her mentor, Jack and Quinn, an FBI agent who occasionally kills the people he can’t convict. I enjoyed the book but it suffered from an “Episode One, Series One” feel.“Made To Be Broken”, the second book in the series, has the same characters and the same moral ambiguity but much faster pace and a more interesting plot with more surprises in it, but what sold me on the book is that I finally got inside Nadia Stafford’s head.In most books, Nadia would be the bad guy, and a fairly scary bad guy at that. In this book, Nadia is working to do something good, rescue a teenage employee of the wilderness lodge and her baby who seem to have been kidnapped, but her pursuit of justice is entirely outside the law.Nadia is not a vigilante. She is more like a professional carpenter volunteering her time to a charity building project except that Nadia’s professional skill is tracking people down and executing them.The book is character, rather than plot driven. We learn a lot more about the things in Nadia’s past that formed her. We see her able to relate emotionally to other killers but being able to pull the trigger and do her job without a moment’s hesitation. Kelley Armstrong evokes the emotions Nadia experiences, making her human without making her a hero.There are no sharp edges in the this book. Nadia sometimes behaves in a way that screams pyschopath and yet is capable of great empathy and compassion. The good guys are all breaking the law. The violence of what Nadia does for a living is contrasted with the picture of her relaxing among friends and lovers.The story resolves itself but Nadia remains a hitman and her relationships with the men in her life remain “unresolved”, setting up the final book in the trilogy, “Wild Justice”.
—Mike Finn
I'd rate this one as a 3.5 for sure. More interesting premises, this time continuing with Nadia moving further into the world of 'hitpersons', although with a conscience. This time, the underlying topic relates to good-looking but poor young women being murdered and their beautiful babies disappearing. The first inkling we hear about is a young employee of Nadia's who disappears. Nadia tries to find out what has happened to her, since no-one else in the small town, including her alcoholic mother, is interested to find out if she has run away or something else has happened.
—Vontel
4.5 StarsI love the character, Nadia Stafford! Yes, she's a disgraced ex-cop. She's a part time hit man and full time lodge owner. She has a moral code - she only kills bad guys like the Mafia thugs her employer wants dead. She's been toying with Evelyn's suggestion that become a vigilante assassin; especially after pulling the trigger on Quinn's latest job. She can do a long shot. Her feelings for Quinn haven't changed since Exit Strategy. She hasn't talked to the monosyllabic Jack in months. She's hurt and more than a lot angry at her mentor regardless that he only speaks in three word sentences.Also troubling her is her teenaged employee, Sammi Ernst. She is always complaining, rude, and a pain in her...But Sammi is good mother to her infant daughter, Destiny. When both Sammi and Destiny disappear Nadia and Sammi's lone friend are worried. Sammi is what the small Canadian town calls "trash" - a girl made to be broken. The police are more concerned with a cougar that may be on the loose than they are about a missing teen and her baby. Sammi's mother is no better than the rest of the town. And she seems to have benefited from their disappearance. Nadia decides to investigate Sammi and Destiny's disappearance. Maybe she can save Sammi. She couldn't save her cousin, Amy. The nightmares have come back.A few days into her investigation, Nadia gets a phone call from her "Aunt Evie." Jack broke his ankle on his last job and needs to recuperate at the lodge, says Evelyn. Stafford still doesn't trust the retired hit woman, but goes to Jack anyway. Soon Jack insinuates himself into Nadia's search for Sammi. Seeing the string among the trees and leaves, "looking for her body." Despite her hurt feelings and anger, Nadia welcomes Jack's help and expertise. They follow the clues down a twisty dangerous trail that could lead to disaster and jail for all of them - Nadia, Jack, and Quinn.Kelley Armstrong's narration is wonderful. She builds the suspense slowly at first, then jams the suspension petal to the metal. She gives the reader enough twists and turns that made me feel I was driving down a mountain road at 100 miles per hour. The love triangle? Really no contest between Jack and Quinn if Nadia is really honest. Wild Justice is waiting for me soon, very soon.
—Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo
