This book was filled with many twists and turns and I really enjoyed going along for the ride. This had a great mystery build up but the ending was a little obvious. I still enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to mystery fans.

In a profession where attention to details is a top job requirement, having OCD works. So Nadia Stafford thinks she may have found the perfect (temporary) career to help her get by after being retired early from the police force. She never expected to be working with partners in her new line of work, but when a professional killer goes on a murdering spree endangering everyone in the biz, it takes a team of pros to catch them.

While Exit Strategy differs from Armstrong's usual novels in that there are no supernatural elements, the central character in Exit Strategy is still a strong female you can't help but root for. Even when she's doing something as questionable as preparing to murder a mark, Nadia manages to remain a likable character. I had a hard time feeling much for the other characters in the story though. It seems a common trait among professional killers is to keep all personal information secret. While this makes sense, it's hard to generate any emotion for a group of characters who you know nothing about. And I must note that the male lead's tendency to speak in two word sentences grew increasingly frustrating as the book went on.

Despite those issues, Exit Strategy is a captivating story with a well-crafted mystery that unravels slowly, never giving away too much, ensuring that we're always wanting more. An interesting touch was that the reader got to see each of the murders happen from the killer's point of view, instead of learning about them along with the main characters as they investigated the killings. Overall I didn't enjoy Exit Strategy as much as I do Armstrong's Otherworld novels, but I do think it's a great read for those who prefer their mysteries to remain in reality.

Exit strategy is a book by kelley armstrong. This is the first time reading her work and I thought she was great (and canadian) a bonus!

Nadia is a young woman whom owns a lodge up north in canada EH! and most of her clients are cops, cops she knows well because she use to be one.
Now, what does she do on her off season well,,,,,,,she's a hitwoman. She has been working for teh tomassinis family for a few years now hitting her marks and collecting, but it get's lonely for her, until now.

Jack is a hitman, one of the best in teh business and he has an offer for nadia that he know's she won't refuse... going after the Helter Skelter Killer.
There is someone going around the country killing random people then leaving a page from teh helter skelter book, hence his nickname.
The police and fbi are stumped, with only a couple of angles to go on, one of them being he's a hitman and that gives jack, nadia and the rest of them a bad name, so he has to be offed, and soon.

This was a great book becuase there were so many twists and turns along the way. Just when you think you've solved it a big twist happens.
There are alot of interesting characters in this story, each with their own little back story, and I really liked how the author puts the names of people as the chapter title.
If you enjoy fast paced action and spy's r us then I would really recommend this book.

Can't wait to read more of kelley armstrongs's books.

2010-017

I really liked this book. Despite the premise, a cross-country hunt for a serial killer - it is not what I would call a mile-a-minute thrill ride. If that is what you are looking for, you may be disappointed. Instead, Exit Strategy is a slow and steady, yet twisting story that builds momentum up to the final show down. In this book, the action isn't the star, the main characters are.

Nadia Stafford was once a cop. In fact being a cop was her life and, as a third generation cop, it was in her blood. Haunted by a traumatic experience and the injustice she witnessed as a child, Nadia is involved in a less than righteous shooting and driven from the force. Having lost her livelihood, her career, her friends and her family, she is not about to lose the only thing she has left, a wilderness hunting lodge she bought after leaving the force. So, when an opportunity arises she takes it and begins working for a NY crime family, only taking 'hits' where the 'mark' is truly deserving.

When a sensationalistic serial killer, dubbed the Helter Skelter Killer, begins cutting a swath across the U.S., Nadia's latest hit is at first mistaken for his work. Understandably, Nadia is worried. Did she leave any trace behind? Will her careful attention to detail when making a hit be good enough to withstand the additional scrutiny of the FBI looking for a serial killer? Making things worse it begins to look like the Helter Skelter killer is a fellow hitman gone rogue. In order to stop the killer before things get worse for their profession, Nadia teams up with her mentor, Jack, to stop him.

The development of the characters of Jack and Nadia and their relationship is what this book is really all about. Jack is mysterious and a man of few words, but his actions begin to speak volumes. What does he really want from her? Originally, he is nothing more than Nadia's mentor. But, as the story progresses the tension between the two becomes positively smoking. More than student and mentor, but not romantically involved (at least yet), their relationship is balanced on a fine line of mutual trust in a profession where there shouldn't be any at all.