Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong – a Review

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Description:
Protect the innocent. If there is any one principle that drives hit man Nadia Stafford, it’s this. In her own mind, when she was thirteen, she failed to protect her older cousin Amy from being murdered. Now she fails again, disastrously, when she botches a hit. To help her find her equilibrium, her mentor, Jack, brings her a gift: the location and new identity of the predator who killed her cousin and disappeared after the case against him failed.

Vengeance, justice? With the predator in her sights, nothing seems more right, more straightforward, more easy. But finding justice is never as simple as it seems

Review:
Wild Justice is the 3^rd and final book in Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford series.  I am a big fan of Kelley, as I loved her Woman of the Otherworld series.  Nadia Stafford is a totally different genre, but I have loved this series also, and have waited patiently for this final piece.  Kelley does not disappoint, as Wild Justice was perfectly done. 

Nadia Stafford is our heroine, a former cop, who has two jobs. As Nadia, she is a lodge owner; and on occasion in secrecy, she is Dee, a hitwoman.  From the start, we had learned that Nadia performs these hits on assignments to kill very bad people, such as mob hits, abusers, murderers (who may have gotten away with it).  She uses this well paid income to build up her lodge.  We know from previous books, the three main characters that Nadia will work with, are also hit people.  Jack, Quinn and Evelyn are major characters in this series. 

Wild Justice starts off as Nadia misses an opportunity to eliminate a wife abuser, since she did not want to endanger the other people around.  When she finds out the husband killed the wife a short time later, Nadia becomes distraught and blames herself. It is Jack, who comes to her aid, and gets her to focus on what he has found for her from her dark past.  Nadia, as a 13 year old child, saw her cousin raped and murdered, but the person who did this was acquitted, and disappeared. Jack has found the man of Nadia’s constant nightmares, but by the time they get to him, he is dead.  The bases of the story begins here, with Nadia, Jack, Evelyn and eventually Quinn who will work together to find out who killed Drew Aldrich and why are they trying to kill Nadia.

This becomes a very exciting suspense story, with some surprises and twists.  Nadia’s nightmares bring forth more memories of that awful night years before.   In between, Nadia tries to justify her ending her romance with Quinn; and at the same time act on what has been hidden between her and Jack. Who will Nadia choose?   Will Nadia learn the secrets of her past?  Who is trying to kill Nadia, and why?    

Wild Justice is a fabulous story that ends it all.  This is different type of story, in the world of hit people, who justify what they do to remove miscarriages of justice, and the evil people who get away with commiting awful crimes.  In Wild Justice, Kelley Armstrong saved her best for last.  Thank you, Kelley Armstrong for giving us Nadia Stafford, who was a wonderful smart, savvy, and tough heroine.  Wild Justice was a great series that I will miss.

Reviewed by Barb