Review--Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong

The long-awaited final installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling author’s Nadia Stafford series

Since Kelley Armstrong wrapped up book two of the Nadia Stafford series, fans have been eager to know what happens to the tough-as-nails contract killer. At last, Wild Justice brings Nadia back for the series’ thrilling conclusion—an action-packed tale that will dazzle fans of the series as well as those who are only familiar with Armstrong’s bestselling paranormal books.

In Wild Justice, Nadia is confronted with her most difficult task to date: going after the man who killed her cousin Amy twenty years prior. But when it turns out that someone else has already taken justice into their own hands, she is drawn into a complex situation where everything she knows and loves is thrown into the path of danger. Nadia is forced to take matters into her own hands, ultimately requiring her to confront her darkest secrets—and her deepest desires—in a way that she never thought possible.

Kelley Armstrong's Wild Justice is the long waited ending to the Nadia Stafford series. In 2009--two years after the first book came out--we thought the series was done as is, but Kelley was still working away on the real ending here. Granted my memory of the last book was totally nonexistent in some ways. I recalled the characters as I read, remembered Nadia trying to have a relationship with Quinn and it not going totally well...and yet, Kelley did an amazing job of telling us what needed to be remembered. Nadia reflects back on what's necessary. But most of the past events aren't necessarily important for this one, except for the event that started it all.

When Nadia was 15, her cousin Amy was raped and murdered. Worse yet, the killer got off free. Now Nadia has the chance to end Drew Aldrich. Jack comes to her and tells her where he's at. Nadia and Jack go together to study their mark before ending him, so Nadia can finally have some closure. Only thing is, when they move in for the kill, he's already dead.

This book definitely delves deep into Nadia's past, especially surrounding the incident with Drew. Memories that were buried deep and all but forgotten come back when Nadia discovers Drew's journal where he wrote all about his attacks. This was one sick dude. You would think with Drew dead that would be the end of the story, but in fact, it's only the beginning.

Now someone else, some mysterious villain is out to get Nadia. He or she is sending hitman to off her, but Nadia is too smart for that. Or the hitman are just plain stupid! Plus she's got Jack at her side, her mentor and friend from over the years.

All that tension that's been building up over the course of the books between Jack and Nadia is finally heading somewhere. We've gotten glimpses of what could be, and now there may actually be something. Nadia has found herself attracted to Jack for awhile, but always thought her feelings were one-sided. Well, we learn that's not exactly the case. To add to the fun, Quinn joins Nadia and Jack in trying to find out who's after Nadia and that definitely leads to some explosions.

This story definitely took me by surprise. It's definitely outside my reading scope, but I read the books because they were by Kelley. And I did find myself enjoying them. There's a lot of action and intrigue in this one. It's the perfect read for the action movie lover too, because I could totally see these being awesome action movies. Assassins hunting assassins trying to kill murderers or just plain ner-do-wellers (ok, I have no idea how to spell that word and spell check is not helpful). But you all know what word I'm trying to say here right? Okay, moving on!

I didn't see the ending to this one coming! It was a total twist to the story and yet I was enjoying it every minute! The title totally fits the story as well, as I reflect back on it during this review. It will be sad to see this series go, but end it must and I think Kelley couldn't have done a better job!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars