Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong (2013) Plume

Nadia Stafford is back in the concluding novel in the trilogy.  As you will have noticed that I have reposted my reviews of the first two books and the interview I did with Kelley Armstrong three years ago.  Well finally here is the end of the story.

In reading this story I was reminded of this quote from Scream 3:

"Because true trilogies are all about going back to the beginning and discovering something that wasn't true from the get go. Godfather, Jedi, all revealed something that we thought was true that wasn't true.... Number 3. The past will come back to bite you in the ass. Whatever you think you know about the past, forget it. The past is not at rest. Any sins you think were committed in the past are about to break out and destroy you."

Because in Wild Justice Armstrong takes what we thought we knew about Nadia's past and shows us just how little Nadia and the readers really know about her. In the review of Exit Strategy I summed it up as  "Nadia Stafford came from a cop family and when she was 13 witnessed her cousin Amy getting raped and murdered, only to see her killer found not guilty and walk away unpunished."

Wild Justice reveals that there was much, much more to the story when Nadia's hitman mentor Jack tracks down the man Nadia blamed for the death of her cousin - Drew Aldrich.  But when Nadia goes to confront him, she finds him already dead and a search uncovers Aldrich's journal of all his crimes.  

Nadia is shocked to discover that while Aldrich was involved he did not rape and kill Amy.  In fact his involvement was with Nadia - a discovery that makes Nadia question everything.

Wild Justice then becomes about tracking down Amy's real killler.  There is action aplenty as the killer knows that Nadia is after him and he sends several hitmen to kill her - none of who know that she is a hitwoman.  

The Contrapasso Fellowship introduced in the second book plays a significant role in this novel also as the killer may have a connection to them.

I really enjoyed this book, my only gripe is that there is a significant subplot about the romantic triangle between Nadia, Jack and Quinn that runs through the book - although not to the point of dominating the book.

The novel wraps up Nadia's story quite nicely but leaves us open for more adventures if Armstrong decides to write them   You'll have to read the book to see if she joins the The Contrapasso Fellowship or if she retires from the life.

Kelley Armstrong Interview

originally posted Saturday, January 9, 2010 12:36:15 AM

Well it seems that January has turned into Kelley Armstrong month here at The Serial Vigilante Blog. I contacted Kelley Armstrong and asked her about the Nadia Stafford series.

Brad: Nadia Stafford is a fascinating creation with a rich back story. Tell us what sparked the idea of an ex-cop turned hitwoman.

Kelley: I started writing Exit Strategy way back in 2003. I was done the 3rd in my Otherworld series, but the release date on the 2nd one kept being pushed back, and the publisher hadn't bought the 3rd yet. I was getting very worried that my new career as an author was about to tank. To calm me down, my agent suggested I write something different. We talked about it and I said I'd be interested in a thriller without paranormal elements. I wanted something with the same dark elements as my paranormal fiction, though, and I didn't want the traditional detectives--police, PI, lawyers, amateur sleuths etc. She suggested a criminal protagonist and I latched onto that idea and decided that the type that would interest me the most was, naturally, the darkest one: a professional killer.

Brad: You've cited Stephen King and Anne Rice as writing influences on your Otherworld series. Which crime writers have influenced your writing?

Kelley: Oh, there are plenty! While I read a lot of horror and paranormal fiction, I read more crime/mystery. I grew up on Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers. You won't see a lot of them reflected in the Nadia books, though. My influences there are far more modern. I love dark or psychological thrillers and I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman, John Connolly and Karin Slaughter. One series that did influence this one was the Carol O'Connell Mallory series. It was the first time I'd seen a female protagonist who was a clear anti-hero. Nadia isn't as dark as Mallory, but she was an influence.



Brad: I've read that you weren't comfortable with the idea that Nadia was an ethical hitwoman, at the time you made that statement Exit Strategy was still being written. Has you opinion changed since you completed the book?

Kelley: My publishers described the series as "ex-cop turned ethical hitwoman." While I know what they were trying to say--Nadia has her own moral code and won't just do any contract--I think "ethical" is pushing it. What I've tried to do with the series is explore ideas of justice and, yes, ethics, but I don't offer conclusions, such as saying that what Nadia does is ethical.

Brad: In your Otherworld books, you have a rotating cast of narrators. In the Nadia Stafford books, you have stuck with just Nadia. Will potential future volumes change narrators or will we continue to follow Nadia?

Kelley: I see this as a short series, following a character arc. There would only be another book or two before I completed Nadia's arc. After that, I'd like to continue in crime thrillers and in this darker vein, but it would be a completely new set of books, rather than spinning off to a character from the first set, as I do with the Otherworld.

Brad: Nadia is reluctant to embrace the idea of becoming a vigilante. What are your thoughts on vigilantism?

Kelley: Honestly, I don't have a firm opinion. I think, in some ways, Nadia and I are exploring it together. I don't have a problem with the purest form of vigilantism, where action is taken where traditional justice has failed. But there's such a capacity for abuse. The zeal for justice may over-ride reason--the vigilante may act without sufficient proof or inflict a punishment worse than the crime. And it may attract those who are less interested in justice than simply having an excuse to commit violence.


Brad: Will we be seeing more of Nadia Stafford and her world? I'd love to see Quinn take centre stage, or Evelyn back in the day.

Kelley: I do plan at least one more book, and I'd love to do some short fiction with the other characters. While I get many requests to contribute stories to paranormal anthologies (more than I can handle!), I'm not yet getting them for mystery/crime ones, which would be the perfect excuse to expand Nadia's world. Maybe someday!


Well that wraps up my first interview and I am extremely grateful to Kelley for her time and thoughful answers to my questions. For more on Kelley Armstrong and her books visit her sitehttp://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong (2009) Bantam

originally posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 9:45:52 PM

After reading Exit Strategy I was quite excited to discover that there was a sequel.



When I finished the last book Nadia was still in the air about becoming a vigilante for hire. Made to be Broken opens with Nadia (or Dee to her colleagues) helping vigilante for hire Quinn take out one of his targets who had escaped the law. Quinn and Nadia had met in Exit Strategy and their relationship forms one of the subplots of this book.

Nadia then returns to her regular life running her wilderness lodge and dealing with a problem new employee Sammi Ernst. Sammi is a teenaged single mother from the worst family in town. When Sammi and her baby disappear nobody seems to notice or even care, everyone had written Sammi off from birth but Nadia is determined track down her missing employee.

At the same time, Nadia offers her mentor Jack a place to recover from a broken foot and he soon joins the investigation.

Nadia and Jack eventually find Sammi without her baby Destiny and the rest of the story is trying to track down the baby. Quinn joins the team and helps them. To say more than that would being giving too much away.

Matters are complicated by the arrival of Evelyn with a possible offer of a vigilante gig with a mysterious group called The Contrapasso Fellowship. Whilst Nadia rejects the offer, the idea of a group that exist to make the punishment fit the crime is intriguing and hopefully they will appear in any sequels.

One theme that ran through the book was that of destiny. Sammi's daughter is named Destiny. Nadia talks about Sammi was "made to be broken" and it was essentially Sammi's destiny to end up that way. Nadia compares Sammi to her cousin Amy, another girl everyone had written off and seemingly destined for the fate that awaited her. Nadia at one point ponders her own destiny questioning the vigilante darkness that makes her hunt down evil men.

Once again Armstrong has delivered a book with strong action scenes and soul seraching. I found myself pondering if we are too quick to judge people based on their background and what level of crime is okay to take a life. I went into the book expecting that Nadia would make a decision one way or the other about a vigilante lifestyle but I was not disappointed with the outcome.

Highly recommended.

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong (2007) Bantam

Originally posted Sunday, January 3, 2010 8:23:55 AM

Recently, I received a gift voucher to my favourite bookstore Pulp Fiction (http://www.pulpfiction.com.au/). So I was looking through the shop and I discovered Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong.


In my vigilante reading, I have never been very happy with the series with female leads, with a couple of exceptions* they focus on women who seem only to screw their way from case to case. Don't get me wrong, I love The Sexecutioner, The Baroness, The Girl Factory, etc. but I wanted to read about strong capable women working outside the law.

Enter Nadia Stafford. Ex-cop with a tortured past turned hitwoman. She works for the Tomassini crime family under the alias of Dee taking out gangsters who step out of line for them. But that's only the thumbnail version when we dig deeper things become interesting.

Nadia Stafford came from a cop family and when she was 13 witnessed her cousin Amy getting raped and murdered, only to see her killer found not guilty and walk away unpunished. Years later, Nadia joined the police force and shot and killed a suspect who gloated that he would be free soon.

With that Nadia was off the force and started a nature lodge. Working for the Tomassinis helps keep the lodge afloat and allows her to keep her vigilante desires in check.

That is until the Helter Skelter Killer (HSK)came on the scene. When the FBI believe that this serial killer is a renegade hitman, it becomes bad for business and Nadia's mentor Jack brings her a couple of other hitmen to track down the HSK.

What makes Exit Strategy interesting is the relationship dynamics between the hitmen.

Firstly we have Jack, Nadia's mentor in the ways of the hitman. In some ways, Jack and Nadia's relationship echoes that of Remo and Chuin, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin and Steed and his various proteges. Some other reviewers were hinting that there was strong possibility of a romantic attachment between the pair but I'm not so sure.

Next is Evelyn, Jack's mentor. Evelyn was one of the first female hitters back in the day and she has retired to a mentoring role and information brokerage service. We discover that Jack was supposed to introduce Nadia to Evelyn so Evelyn could be Nadia's mentor but Jack decided to do it himself and Evelyn starts trying to tempt Nadia to work with her offering a contract on a paedophile.

This mentor triangle doesn't resolve in this book but it says a lot about Nadia and her reluctance to became a vigilante for hire.

Then we have Quinn, a member of law enforcement who moonlights as a vigilante for hire. He is comfortable with his double life.

The other important character is the Helter Skelter Killer, a hitman who has gotten off on the rush of killing.

Each of these characters have different interaction with Nadia as she sorts through what she wants to do, how she deals with the desire to kill those who escape the law. Each one represents potential outcome and paths for her. What makes this book fascinating is that Nadia wrestles with this issue. For characters like The Executioner and The Punisher there is no questioning if this is the life they should lead, they do it because they beleive it has to be done. Dexter does it because of his compulsion to kill which has been channeled towards those who escape the law.

Nadia is different. I love the fact that she wrestles with this choice, I really like the idea that she is still learning. But this psychological depth doesn't come at the cost of action as the team of hitmen race after the HSK trying to stop him claiming another life.

Highly recommended.




*Modesty Blaise and The Domino Lady