STOLEN

Elena Michaels is a wanted woman. She hasn’t done anything wrong. Well, not recently, anyway. But ten years ago her lover turned her into a werewolf: the only female werewolf in the world, in fact. And now, just as she’s finally coming to terms with it all, a group of scientists learns of her existence. They’re hunting her down, and Elena is about to run straight into their trap. But they haven’t reckoned on Elena’s adoptive family, her Pack, who will stop at nothing to get her back. They haven’t reckoned on Elena herself, either, and that’s a very big mistake…
Stolen is the second book in Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. In Stolen, Kelly Armstrong creates a fascinating plot, exploring not only Elena, the only female werewolf, but a whole band of supernatural beings, a plot to capture and expose these creatures and the sick mind of a multimillionaire. Sounds a bit difficult to believe, but it works. The story opens with Elena going to investigate a suspicious internet advertisement from someone claiming to have solid proof of the existence of werewolves up for sale. Within her Pack, it’s mainly Elena’s job to make sure that the activities of the Mutts (non-Pack werewolves) do not expose their existence, so she always investigates claims that look like they might amount to something. As it turns out, it amounts to much more than Elena expected. Two witches tell her they put the ad on the internet to lure her to them so that they could warn her. Elena, who until that moment had believed that werewolves were the only supernatural beings, suddenly finds out that there are in fact many other supernatural races; and that the safety of all these groups are at stake. Before she knows it, Elena finds herself at a meeting of the supernaturals - from Witches and Shamans to Half-Demons and Vampires. This unlikely assembly strive to prevent a group of scientists undergoing an investigation from capturing and exposing their kind. Despite the meeting and warnings, Elena is kidnapped and taken to a high-security compound in a forest in the middle of nowhere, where she finds many other supernatural beings being held. There, they are kept under round the clock surveillance, living in cells with 1-way, soundproof glass for walls. They are poked and prodded by doctors and scientists looking to find a way to tap into their powers for the benefit of the human race. However, we soon find that the manipulative, self-centred billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who is funding the project, has an agenda of his own. He is funding the project on the condition that once the scientists are finished with each supernatural ‘specimen’, he can let them go in the forest, which is rigged with high-tech surveillance equipment and traps, and then proceed to ‘hunt’ them to their death. This is his sick idea of a game.
Stolen is brilliantly written, combining quick, quirky, snatches of humour with graphic, gory scenes of battle and mayhem. Kelly Armstrong provides just the right dose of comic relief to ease the tension that is built in the gorier scenes. The plot develops too quickly for the reader to become bored or to question the use of such ideas as a witch casting a spell to become invisible and really leaves us wanting more. All her characters are unique individuals and are very well developed as the story progresses. Another great thing about this book is that unlike other books that are part of a series, you don’t have to have read the book before it to be able to understand and enjoy it and it has a proper ending, instead of leaving you hanging. It is truly a brilliant read, with a gripping story-line that leaves you unable to put the book down.
Fantastic story, great plot, brilliantly written, well worth reading.