JUST about every night I end up sitting in front of my TV watching some sort of crime show on cable. There's the three different CSIs, a number of Law and Orders, some new stuff like The Beast as well modern classics like The Sopranos.
And while I enjoy them all, there is one thing that never ceases to get up my nose – all the central protagonists are men. Sure, you've got a couple of female CSIs and cops, but they are generally subordinate to the blokes in their offices.
It's not just the White Hats who suffer from this malady – where are all the female mafia bosses?
So, I was pleasantly surprised to pick up Kelley Armstrong's latest book, Made to be Broken, and discover that her protagonist is female.
Not only is Nadia Stafford an ex-cop, she's now employed as a hitwoman. Yes, as the blurb on the book says: "Nadia Stafford is a smart, good-looking, law-abiding citizen. Well, two out of three's not bad."
Made to be Broken is actually Armstrong's second book about Nadia, a former police detective who finally snapped and shot a certifiably evil man after the courts let him off.
Nadia has something of the vigilante about her – she works for a Mafia family but she won't kill women or children. How refreshing, a killer with morals.
The novel finds her working her 'day job', running a rustic hunting lodge in the American backwoods, and musing over the difficulties of getting good staff.
When a young, unwed mother and her child disappears, Nadia is concerned enough to get involved, opening up a can of worms.
Armstrong's novel's are tightly-paced, and Made to be Broken is no exception. The reader moves quickly along with Nadia as she brushes off her rusty cop skills and calls on favours from her fellow hitmen.
Her somewhat enigmatic boss, Jack, an aging cold-faced killer, agrees to come on board and Nadia's love interest, Quinn, is roped in as well.
Tracking down the reasons behind the young woman's disappearance makes Nadia take stock, not only of her present life, but also helps her come to terms with her past.
Made to be Broken is a quality crime thriller with the added twist of looking in from the other side. Armstrong doesn't go all mushy and make the Black Hats entirely sympathetic.
It is the tension that's established by 'bad people' ie. assassins, doing good things, albeit in bad ways, that makes this novel better than it could have been.
The premise of Made to be Broken actually says something about modern society – that there is no black and white, but only shades of grey.
Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong is published by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, and is available at good bookstores and online.