Exit Strategy

Nadia Stafford, Book 1

By: Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda, Richard Ferrone

Regulars at Nadia’s nature lodge don’t ask what she does in the off-season. And that’s a good thing. If she told them, she’d have to kill them. She’s a hit woman for a Mafia family. Tough and self-sufficient, Nadia doesn’t owe anyone any explanations. But that doesn’t mean she always works alone. One of her contacts has recruited her in the hunt for a ruthlessly efficient serial killer cutting a swath of terror across the country. The assassin is far too skilled to be an amateur - and the precision of the killings is bringing the Feds much too close to the hit man community for comfort. To put an end to the murders, Nadia will have to turn herself from predator to prey as she employs every trick she knows to find the killer. Before the killer finds her….

©2007 KLA Fricke, Inc. (P)2013 Recorded Books

Fast Paced Excitement

Love this fantasy for myself. This is the sort Dreams Easiest to see myself in. The caretaker, nice girl who Could Kill with the idea of making the world better. Each of the settings was so beautifully detailed - many of the places I've been were described So Well! Plus Richard Ferrone added a Great Touch to anything he adds his voice to. Great book while traveling🔆

Slow for a thriller

Although the writing was quite good and intelligent, the story was not very original and dragged on. A serial killer is terrorizing the country, committing murders from state to state, getting more daring as he goes. Slowly, an unusual team is formed to put the guy away, but with the addition of some characters, the story line gets cumbersome and jerky.
The two narrators worked well, but the killer's persona (read by the male narrator) does not intrigue or create much emotion in this reader. And although J. Ikeda is a master storyteller, I thought a little more urgency and emotion in her reading - the main character's POV (Nadia)- may have raised the story a notch/star developing greater excitement level or "thrill."
Regarding the interaction between characters, what might be seen as a potential love interest and possibly a triangle was boring and not well developed.

Jack is interesting and getting to know him better is enticing. Nadia, however does not present well for a hit man, and so the story falls flat.

Would I read another by this author? It's doubtful I'll pursue another in this series. The ONE reson I may, is to see if Ms. Ikeda's reading pulls me into the story number two.

Loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. It kept me bitting my nails start to finish. I like the characters and the focus on human emotions and non-verbal communication.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jack I suppose. He's enigmatic and with his silences and grunts leaves a lot to be interpreted.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Jack and Nadia go back to Evelyn's house and they are all pointing guns at each other.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yep.

Any additional comments?

I want to get the rest of the series!!!

Like Reading Your Favorite Thriller Movie

I cannot believe I waited so long to read this. I'm a huge Kelley Armstrong fan, having read just about everything of hers, but I was skeptical of this book being outside her more common paranormal genre.

Boy, was I mistaken. This book had me *hooked*, and I nearly stayed up all night listening to it. It was fast-paced, thrilling, sharp, and the characters were so, so good. Even though the mystery was wrapped up by the end, I immediately went and grabbed the next two books (which I also finished in a day each).

If you like crime drama, mysteries, thrillers, and strong female characters, this is absolutely the book for you.

Great story! Great narrator!

Love this series. Nadia’s story was the one that hooked me up with Kelley Armstrong l’s books! After that her books is pretty much auto-buy for me.
This series has everything you need - deep and lovable characters, great suspense and superb writing!