Stolen, the second book in Canadian author Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld saga, continues the story of Elena Michaels, the world’s only living female werewolf. Elena, who first appeared in Armstrong’s popular debut Bitten, monitors the Internet for signs that rogue werewolves are calling attention to themselves, be it a brutal unsolved murder, a strange animal sighting or a sensationalized tabloid story. The safety and anonymity of her pack are her main concerns and when Elena finds a posting on a website selling valuable information on werewolves, she investigates by posing as a journalist. Upon meeting the sellers, an elderly woman and her niece, Elena is shocked to find out that the two women who claim to be coven witches know exactly who and what Elena is. They warn her that a demented billionaire named Ty Winsloe has been secretly abducting people with supernatural powers vampires, witches, sorcerers, shamans for supposed scientific research. The abducted are never heard from again.
Elena disregards the warning and is soon after kidnapped and taken to a subterranean laboratory hidden somewhere in the forests of northern Maine. Also imprisoned are a Voodoo priest, a half demon, a rogue werewolf and a 12-year-old girl who is allegedly a witch with deadly powers. It soon becomes clear that the research center is really just a human game preserve for Winsloe, who likes to track and kill the supernaturals for sport. With its strong supernatural female character and generous helpings of unadulterated violence and sensuality, Armstrong’s series is reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels and Alice Borchardt’s Legend of the Wolves saga. Fans of those series should thoroughly enjoy Armstrong’s captivating mix of fantasy, horror and romance. Paul Goat Allen is a freelance editor and writer who lives in Syracuse, New York.
