I Read: Every Step She Takes

Every Step She Takes by K.L. Armstrong

Though it's listed as K.L. Armstrong, this is yet another from my favourite author Kelley Armstrong. Adult mystery-ish fiction. 

I'm always amazed that no matter what genre Armstrong seems to go for, she does it just as well. Likely because her strength lies in creating characters the reader can believe in and has them doing things that you can believe they'd do. In this style, they do tend to get caught up in crazily dramatic situations but that's part of the fun, really. 

In this stand-alone, we meet our main character and learn pretty quickly that she's hiding from something. Or maybe not hiding, but has been running. I love that Armstrong throws us right into the action or at least the intrigue. We're engaged with the character immediately because we don't know what's about to be revealed. She gives us amazing detail about the location that isn't really necessary but absolutely ground us to the moment she wants us to be in.

In the case of this character, she's paranoid almost from the start, even before we know she has a reason to be. The paranoia, and what it's leading to are what drive the story forward and make you want to keep reading from chapter to chapter. 

I often don't like female lead characters - they mostly come across as whiney and stupid. They don't seem like they spend much time thinking, just panicking. But there's something in Armstrong's characters that make me better relate to them. I would panic in the situations she's put in, and I likely would whine. I'd probably be far whinier actually and that makes me feel like she's doing the right things, even when it's pretty clear she's not. But if I'm being honest, if they all followed "real-world" rules, there'd be no story. There has to be a little ridiculousness to make drama. Someone has to make a stupid mistake. 

I didn't actually figure out where the ending of this one was going until it was revealed, which is pretty unusual. I also read it within about a 36-hour span, so I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it when I wasn't actually reading the book. I might have been a bit quicker if I had. 

I'll make the obvious statement and say that I enjoyed the book - we all knew I would. It's Kelley Armstrong. If the day ever comes that I'm disappointed in something she writes, I will likely have lost my mind. 

#53-2020