Review: Stolen

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Publisher:  PlumeBooks/Penguin Group
Released:  2002
Format:      Ebook, 468pages
Genre:        UrbanFantasy

From Goodreads:

It was in Bitten thatthirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites andclaimed the proud identity of a beautiful successful woman and the only livingfemale werewolf.

In Stolen, on amission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the new of ruthless Internetbillionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation ofthe “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in hisunderground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals- witches, vampires,shamans, werewolves- are then released and hunted to the death in a real-worldvideo game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match.

As the follow-up to Bitten, Stolen is one heck of a sequel! Ms.Armstrong introduces more wonderful characters. We meet Paige, Adam, and, ofcourse, Savannah, major characters that we will see throughout the Otherworldseries. The story opens with Elena finally coming into her own. She has come toterms with being a werewolf. Plus, she has accepted Clayton as her lover/mate,with some conditions. Life is pretty good for Elena until Jeremy, Pack Alpha,sends her out on a mutt mission. Elena’s role in the pack is to huntout-of-control mutts (werewolves outside the Pack). She heads to Pittsburg toinvestigate a lead into possible werewolf attacks. While there, she finds thatwerewolves are not the only supernaturals in existence.

Enter Ruth and Paige Winterbourne. After a little bit of arough introduction, Ruth and Paige present themselves as witches. They explainthere is a supernatural council that contains witches, demons, vampires, andshamans and they would like assistance from the Pack. It is really amusing to watchElena deny the existence of other supernaturals, even though she is one. Werewolvesexist, but it really is impossible that there would be witches and vampirestoo. Just crazy!

I really enjoyed the flow of this book. Ms. Armstrong canreally tell a good story and create some really nasty wicked characters.Winsloe is a particular nasty piece of work. His kidnapping and experimentationof supernaturals is truly disturbing.  Sondra is also really disturbing character.For her, be careful what you wish, you just may get it.  The underground lab is almost a characteritself. It is creepy and a perfect backdrop to the awful events that unfold.

When Elena finds herself captured and held inside the lab,she exposed to constant surveillance and experimentation. While imprisoned someold demons rise inside her. She feels isolated and alone. Has Jeremy abandonedher? Her insecurities told hold. But in the end, Elena is strong and faces herenemies with tremendous strength and power.

I have to write a little something about Clayton. He is oneof my favorite characters in the urban fantasy genre. He has total loyalty toElena, Jeremy and the Pack, in that order. He would do anything to keep Elenasafe. While Elena is held captive, Clayton will find her by any means necessaryand he doesn’t care who gets in his way. However, what I love about Clayton ishis lack of toleration for anything outside the Pack. He has no patience forothers, humans or other supernaturals. Elena and Clayton’s interaction ispriceless. They are the opposite sides of the same coin and make the perfectteam.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars