Our September Book Club book was Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong. If I haven’t mentioned it, the way we are picking books this year is from a long list of random book topics, subjects and general fun book stuff. I randomly pick three from the list below each month and we try to fill 1-3 of the topics to pick a book (this month it was 1, 2, and 10). This book happened to fill 2 of them. A friend in book club found this list online somewhere and it has been a really fun way to find a variety of books we may not have found otherwise. This list was a little more fun than just picking a book from a certain genre, too.
1. A book with more than 500 pages
2. A classic romance
3. A book that became a movie
4. A book published this year
5. A book with a number in the title
6. A book written by someone under 30
7. A book with paranormal characters
8. A funny book
9. A book recommended by an author
10. A romantic mystery/suspense/thriller
11. A book with a one word title
12. A book of short stories
13. A book set in a different country
14. A nonfiction book
15. A popular author’s first book
16. A book from an author you love but haven’t read yet
17. A book a friend recommended
18. A NY Times bestseller
19. A re-adaptation of a popular story
20. A freebie you’ve downloaded
21. A book that hits close to home
22. A book you can finish in a day
23. A book with antonyms in the title
24. A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to go
25. A book that came out the year you graduated college
26. A book with bad reviews
27. A trilogy
28. A book about childhood friends
29. A book with a love triangle
30. A dystopian book
31. A book set in high school
32. A book with a color in the title
33. A book that made you cry
34. A book with magic
35. A book by a male author
36. A book by an author you’ve never heard of
37. A book you own but have never read
38. A book that takes place in your hometown
39. A book published during a year that is significant to you
40. A book set during winter
Here is a little about the book:
From the author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series comes an exciting new heroine whose most secret identity is both lucrative…and lethal.
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…
When I first found this book, I read some reviews and found that it was considered a romantic thriller. After reading the book, I don’t think that was the case at all. There were a couple possible love interests, but aside from a pretty innocent kissing (and slight groping scene) there wasn’t a lot of romance. Maybe some romantic tension, but that may come out in the following books (this was book 1 of 3).
I was weary that I wouldn’t be able to finish the book in time (since I started reading midway into the month) because it was over 500 pages on my Kindle. I also don’t consider myself a very fast reader. But I think because there was a lot of dialogue I was able to read it quite quickly. I was actually surprised it only took me a few days to get through. I also didn’t want to put it down. I was intrigued by the author writing some chapters from the perspective of the victims. Very chilling and fascinating.
It was a pretty exciting book since I haven’t read much about hit-men (or hit-women) before. Although I think there were a few parts of the story that were lengthy and a bit dull, the overall story was quite entertaining. I am not sure I will be rushing out to read the next books in the series, but this one was a pleasant surprise.
Happy reading, friends.
