Review – Made to be Broken (Nadia Stafford, Book 2) by Kelley Armstrong (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: February 24, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0553588385
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Nadia Stafford series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Nadia Stafford isn’t your typical nature lodge owner. An ex-cop with a legal code all her own, she’s known only as “Dee” to her current employer: a New York crime family that pays her handsomely to bump off traitors. But when Nadia discovers that a troubled teenage employee and her baby have vanished in the Canadian woods, the memory of a past loss comes back with a vengeance and her old instincts go into overdrive.

With her enigmatic mentor, Jack, covering her back, Nadia unearths sinister clues that point to an increasingly darker and deadlier mystery. Now, with her obsession over the case deepening, the only way Nadia can right the wrongs of the present is to face her own painful ghosts—and either bury them for good, or die trying. Because in her book everyone deserves a chance. And everyone deserves justice.”

This is the 2nd book in the Nadia Stafford trilogy. I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the first book in this series; I thought the pace was a lot slower and didn’t enjoy the mystery as much. However, it was still a very readable and engaging book.

In this book a young teen mother who has been helping Nadia at the lodge disappears. Everyone in town assumes that she ran away, but Nadia suspects a more sinister plot. It’s up to Nadia to figure out what really happened to this poor teen.

The mystery in this book was a lot more personal. Nadia takes on this case because of personal interest and because of events relating to Amy; her childhood friend who was murdered.

I felt like this plot was a bit too convoluted and drawn out for the mystery presented here, I also felt like the pacing was slow at points. That being said I still really enjoy Nadia, Jack, Evelyn and all the characters we meet in the first book. This series continues to be engaging, and the psychology of the characters is interesting.

Overall this is a great continuation of this series. I really enjoyed it, I plan on reading the final book and finishing up the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy murder mystery/thriller types of books with complex characters.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge