Product Description

In this thrilling new novel from the author of Industrial Magic, a pregnant werewolf may have unwittingly unleashed Jack the Ripper on twenty-first-century—and become his next target.

Ever since she discovered she’s pregnant, Elena Michaels has been on edge. After all, she’s never heard of another living female werewolf, let alone one who’s given birth. But thankfully, her expertise is needed to retrieve a stolen letter allegedly written by Jack the Ripper. As a distraction, the job seems simple enough—only the letter contains a portal to Victorian London’s underworld, which Elena inadvertently triggers—unleashing a vicious killer and a pair of zombie thugs.

Now Elena must find a way to seal the portal before the unwelcome visitors get what they’re looking for—which, for some unknown reason, is Elena.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14929 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-25
• Released on: 2006-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553588187
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Action abounds as old characters and new ones run with a plot full of twists, turns and enough red herrings to keep the most persnickety of readers entertained. A vastly entertaining read!"
— FreshFiction.com


From the Paperback edition.

About the Author
Kelley Armstrong lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children and far too many pets. She is the author of a new crime series, the Women of the Otherworld series and an upcoming young adult trilogy, The Darkest Power.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Changes


Clayton doesn't do "unobtrusive" well. Not even when he tries, and that afternoon, he was trying his damnedest. He was downwind of me, at least two hundred feet away, so I couldn't smell him, see him or hear him. But I knew he was there.

As I stood under the oaks, I couldn't suppress a twinge of resentment at the pressure his presence added to an already gut-twisting situation. Yes, I'd been the one to suggest the run, leaping up from the lunch table and declaring I was ready. He'd asked if he should stay inside—possibly the first time in our fifteen-year relationship that Clay had been willing to give me space. But I'd grabbed his hand and dragged him out with me. Now I was blaming him for being here. Not fair. But better than to admit that what I felt was not resentment but fear—fear that I would fail, and in failing I would disappoint him.

I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the loamy richness of a forest emerging from winter, the first buds appearing tentatively, as if still uncertain. Uncertain . . . good word. That was what I felt: uncertainty.

Uncertainty? Try abject, pant-pissing, stomach-heaving terror—

I took another deep breath. The scent of the forest filled me, called to me, like Clay's presence out there, beckoning—

Don't think of him. Just relax.

I followed the sound of a rabbit thumping nearby, upwind and oblivious of me. As I moved, I saw my shadow and realized I was still standing. Well, there was the first problem. I'd undressed, but how would I Change if I was still on two legs?

As I started to crouch, a pang ran through the left side of my abdomen and I froze, heart pounding. It was probably a random muscle spasm or a digestive complaint. And yet . . .

My fingers rubbed the hard swell of my belly. There was definitely a swell there, however staunchly Jeremy swore otherwise. I could feel it with my hand, feel it in the tightening waistband of my jeans. Clay tried to avoid the question—smart man—but when pressed he would admit I did seem to be showing already. Showing, when I was no more than five weeks pregnant. That shouldn't be. Yet one more thing to add to my growing list of worries.

At the top of the list was this: the regular transformation from human to wolf that my body required. I had to Change, but what would it do to my baby?

My fear over losing my child came as a revelation to me. In the nearly three years I'd wrestled with the thought of having a baby, I'd considered the possibility that the choice wouldn't be mine to make, that being a werewolf might mean I wouldn't be able to conceive or carry a child to term. I'd accepted that. If my pregnancy ended, I'd know that I couldn't have a child. That would be that.

Now that I was actually pregnant I couldn't believe I'd been so cavalier. This was more than a collection of cells growing in me, it was the actualization of a dream I'd thought I'd lost when I became a werewolf. A dream I was certain I'd given up when I decided to stay with Clay.

But I had to Change. Already I'd waited too long, and I could feel the need in every muscle spasm and restless twitch, hear it in my growls and snaps whenever someone spoke to me. Twice I'd come out here with Clay, and twice I'd been unable—or refused—to Change. Make it a third, and Clay and Jeremy would be flipping coins to see who locked me in the cage. That was a safety precaution—being Change-deprived makes us violent and unpredictable—but given my surly behavior this past week, I wouldn't blame them if they fought over the privilege.

Just Change, goddamn it! Get down on your knees . . . See? That feels fine, right? Now put your hands on the ground . . . There. Now concentrate—

My body rebelled, convulsing so hard I doubled over, gasping. Change into a wolf? With a baby inside me? Was I crazy? I'd rip, tear, suffocate—

No!

I pushed up onto all fours and cleared my head, then opened the gate only to thoughts bearing the pass-code of logic. Was this my first Change since I'd become pregnant? No. It was the first since I'd learned I was pregnant, two weeks ago. I must have Changed a half-dozen times between conception and testing.

Had anything happened during those Changes? Bleeding? Cramping? No.

So stop worrying. Take a deep breath, smell the forest, dig your fingers into the damp soil, hear the whistle of the April wind, feel the ache in your muscles. Run to Clay, who'll be so happy, so relieved . . .

My skin prickled, stretching, itching as fur sprouted—

My brain threw up the brakes again and my body tensed. Sweat trickled down my cheeks. I growled and dug my fingers and toes into the soft earth, refusing to reverse the process.

Relax, relax, relax. Just stop worrying and let your body do the work. Like constipation. Relax and nature takes over.

Constipation? Oh, there was a romantic analogy. I laughed, and my changing vocal cords squeezed the sound into a hideous screech, more worthy of a hyena than a wolf, which only made me laugh all the harder. I toppled sideways and, as I lay there, laughing, I finally relaxed.

The Change took over, spontaneous. My convulsions of laughter turned to spasms of pain, and I twisted and writhed on the ground. The pain of a Change. Yet some still-panicked part of my brain convinced me this wasn't the normal kind of pain—I was killing my child, suffocating it as my body contorted.

I must—Must stop—Oh, God, I couldn't!

I tried to stop—fighting, snarling, concentrating on reversing to human. But it was too late. I'd waited too long, and now my body was determined to see it through.

Finally, the pain ended, gone without so much as a lingering ache, and I lay on my side, panting, then leapt to my feet.

Damn it, not so fast! Be careful.

I stood there, motionless except for my tail, which wouldn't stop whipping from side to side, as if to say "Well, we're Changed. What are you waiting for? Let's run!" The rest of my body didn't disagree with the sentiment, though it let the tail do the shouting, settling for subtler displays of restlessness: heart tripping, ears swiveling, muscles tensing. I refused to move, though; not until I'd taken inventory, made sure everything was as it should be.

First, my belly. No obvious signs of distress. I panted, letting my chest rise and fall, testing whether the movement seemed to hurt anything. It didn't, though my stomach did let out a growl as that nearby rabbit's scent wafted past. You wouldn't know I'd just devoured a three-course lunch. Ungrateful stomach. But the other part of my belly, newly filling with life, felt fine.

I lifted my paws one at a time, stretching and rotating my joints. Good. My nose and ears had done fine picking up that rabbit. And the still-wagging tail was obviously working. Okay, enough of this.

I stepped forward. One paw, two, three, four . . . No sudden scream of complaint from my belly. I broke into a lope, then a run, then a headlong dash across the clearing. Still no signs of distress.

Next, the tougher moves—the wolf maneuvers. I crouched, wiggled my hindquarters, then leapt at an imaginary mouse. As I hit the ground, I wheeled around, teeth bared as I snapped at an unseen foe. I bounded across the clearing. I jumped and twisted in midair. I pranced. I lunged. I charged. I chased my tail—

A wheezing sound erupted behind me and I froze, the tip hairs of my tail still caught between my teeth. There, across the clearing, was a huge, golden-haired wolf, his head between his forepaws, eyes closed, hindquarters in the air, body quivering with that strange wheezing noise. His eyes opened, bright blue eyes dancing with relief and amusement, and I realized what that noise was. He was laughing at me.

Laughing? I'd just gone through a horrible trauma, and the guy had the nerve to laugh? I knew half of that laughter was relief at seeing me Changed, and I admit I probably looked a little silly gallivanting alone in the clearing. But still, such indignities should not be tolerated.

With as much grace as I could muster with tail fur hanging out of my mouth, I swept around and stalked in the other direction. Halfway across the clearing, I wheeled and charged, teeth bared. His eyes widened in "oh, shit" comprehension and he backpedaled just in time to get out of my way, then bolted into the forest.

I tore after him. I loped along the path, muzzle skimming the ground. The earth was thick with the scent of my prey—a deliberate move, as he weaved and circled, permeating this patch of forest with his smell, hoping to throw me off the trail.

I untangled the web of trails and latched onto the most recent. As I picked up speed, the ground whooshed past beneath me. Ahead, the path opened into a clearing. I pitched forward, straining for the open run, but before I hit the edge of the clearing, I dug in my claws and skidded to a graceless stop.

I stood there, adrenaline roaring, urging me to find him, take him down. I closed my eyes and shuddered. Too eager. Keep that up and I'd run straight into a trap. After a moment, the adrenaline rush ebbed and I started forward again, cautious now, ears straining, muzzle up, sniffing as I walked.

My eyes saved me this time. That and the sun, peeking from fast-moving clouds. One break in the cloud cover and I caught the glint of gold through the trees. He was downwind, crouched to the left of the path's end, waiting for me to come barreling out.

I retraced my last few steps, walking backward. An awkward maneuver—some things easily accomplished on two legs are much more difficult to coordinate...

Customer Reviews

Not her best-but anything with Elena is sure to be good
I was super excited for this book to come out-I even ordered it a year in advance. I've loved the Woman of the Otherworld series from the get go, although I have never read another horror novel. This book is about my favorite of the narrators, Elena, the only female werewolf.

Centered around her first (and difficult, seeing as both parents were werewolves) pregnancy this book is the story of what a mess Elena got into because she was bored. There was this letter that a half demon wanted her pack to steal so he could sell it. But somehow the letter contained a time cell, a little piece of Victorian England that pops out in modern Toronto. Including such fun things as zombies, cholera and possibly jack the ripper.

So what will the pack do? Well, naturally they try to fix it. Only to find out that the zombies want something specific-Elena. As usual her narrative and sarcastic observations are the best part of the book, especially since this one is not as sex-scene heavy as those previously written. There are a whole lot of chase scenes though, with lots of fighting. Add in a lesbian vampire thief with the hots for Elena, Jamie Vegas the necromancer with the hots for Jeremy, the pack Alfa, and a sorcerer who doctors the poor and presto! Another wonderful book by Kelley Armstrong.

This isn't the best of the series (I'd call that one Bitten) or the scariest (for me-Industrial Magic) or the most action packed (Haunted.) But it is another very good, if not great, novel from Kelley Armstrong. I strongly recommend this book to fans of her series and encourage new readers to start at the beginning. [...]

If this is the last of Elena's books, as some reviewers mention, it makes me quite sad. But with this author I am sure there are more, and maybe better, things to come.

As always with this author-I'll read this book again and again, so five stars.

Another great Women of the Otherworld book...
I have read all of the Women of the Otherworld books and had enjoyed them all. I loved the first two books about Elena Michaels, the only living female werewolf on the planet, and was thrilled to know that she is back in Broken. Elena Michaels has settled into a stable life after her awful experience as a prisoner at an experimental compound (Stolen). But things get confusing for her after she discovers she's pregnant. She has more than just the average pregnancy angst; she is downright terrified that her change to werewolf form might harm the baby. And there is also the question over whether or not the baby will be a werewolf or not. As if there weren't enough problems, she receives an impromptu phone call from demon Xavier with a very strange request. He wants her to steal a letter that was supposedly written by Jack the Ripper. The assignment seems simple enough, except that the letter has a portal to Victorian London that unleashes zombies, former human beings that had been used as a ritual sacrifice. Now all of those creepy crawlies are on the loose in Toronto and Elena, Clay and Jeremy have to do whatever is possible to catch them and close the portal for good. They especially have to do this because the zombies are for some reason after Elena. There are various twists throughout the novel.

I am not as into paranormal/fantasy novels as I used to be, but there are certain authors of the aforementioned genre that will forever be on my must-read list, and Kelley Armstrong is one of them. This is another enthralling installment of the Women of the Otherworld series and I was entertained from beginning to end. This novel contains the paranormal and horror aspects combined with action, humor and romance that I've come to expect from this wonderful series. Elena is as tough as ever, Clay is antisocial as usual and Jeremy is enjoyable as the taciturn, sensible alpha werewolf. The novel also brings back our favorite characters from previous books, like Paige, Lucas, Xavier and Jaime Vargas. There are some new characters here as well. I get a real kick out of the characters, especially Jaime and Xavier. And I of course LOVE the witty dialogue. The dialogue has always been one of the biggest highlights in these novels and the bantering here is as fun as it was in the previous novels. As for the plot, the whole Jack the Ripper letter and portal thing was quite interesting. I admit, however, that this isn't my favorite storyline in this series. There have been so many fictional accounts on Jack the Ripper that I wish Armstrong had come up with something different. I very much enjoyed the subplot centered on a pregnant Elena though. It was an excellent source of conflict for her, for she doesn't know what to expect once she gives birth, being the only female werewolf alive and all. It gave her a sensitivity that she hadn't shown in previous books. She has always been tough and tomboyish, but I have a feeling that motherhood will change that. I also have a feeling this will be the last we'll read of her as a main character in the series and I'm disappointed with that. I do hope that we'll read a novel about Cassandra the vampire or Jaime the necromancer. I especially want one about Cassandra. She is such an interesting character and I want to read more about her and Aaron. The vampires in this series sound quite unique. Anyway, Broken is another awesome offering in this enthralling series. Kelley Armstrong is still one of the best fantasy authors I have read. She remains on my must-read list and I look forward to reading her next book in the series.

Pick it up, put it down...
I must admit I'm a little confused by the reviews of this book. Most everyone agrees that it is "not one of her best", or "a little tired", or a "redundant plot line", yet everyone gives it 4 to 5 stars. Huh?

For me, I'd pick the book up, read a few chapters, get bored, and put it down. Read some books by other authors, then pick up Broken again. I finally finished it, but it definitely took determined perseverance, not an overwhelming interest to do so.

Evidently the new buzz word among popular fantasy authors is "hell portal". I can name six authors who are now using this contrivance in their newest books. First a rush of vampires, then were-animals, witches (black white and gray), fairies, dragons, now portals to Hell. Is everyone (at least the same six authors) getting together by chance? Or, are the publishers giving their bestselling authors the subject line of their next book to increase sales? Is there no one out there with an original idea? Inquiring minds want to know.

I loved Bitten and Stolen, but this book was a serious departure from those rather clever plots. This was slow moving, had "Groundhog Day" repetition (I lost count on how many times they killed the same zombies-and quit caring), and I became as bored with Elena's pregnancy as she was. The villain was obvious, yet the heroes didn't figure it out until he literally tapped them on the shoulder and said "hey there". Even childbirth at the end was staid and anticlimactic.

Hopefully now the entire wolf pack will stay at home and live happily every after. It's time for the rest of us to move on to yet another author with a mysterious "hell portal", which of course we will all read and shower with four or five stars.