"Exit Strategy" by Linda L. Richards is a fast-paced thriller that introduces a hired killer on an unusual assignment – to keep someone alive rather than eliminate them. While the novel offers moments of suspense and intrigue, it falls into the realm of a three-star rating for several reasons.

The premise of a hired killer undergoing an assignment shift from taking lives to protecting one is intriguing. The protagonist's internal struggle and the toll her previous career has taken on her add depth to the character. The narrative unfolds with a sense of urgency as the killer navigates the complexities of her new assignment.

The pacing is generally swift, with action-packed sequences driving the plot forward. The novel explores themes of redemption, the impact of one's past choices, and the possibility of change. The tension is maintained as the protagonist works to protect the CTO of a tech company and a groundbreaking invention with the potential to change the world.

However, certain aspects of the novel may feel somewhat formulaic, and the plot's reliance on action scenes can occasionally overshadow character development. The protagonist's emotional struggles are touched upon, but a deeper exploration of her psyche and internal conflicts could enhance the reader's connection with the character.

The supporting characters, including the CTO, are introduced with varying degrees of depth. While the novel focuses on the action and the mission at hand, the relationships and interactions could be more nuanced to create a more immersive reading experience.

The resolution of the story may leave some readers wanting more closure and a more thorough exploration of the consequences of the protagonist's choices. The novel hints at the potential for moral and ethical dilemmas but doesn't fully delve into the complexities.

In summary, "Exit Strategy" delivers a fast-paced thriller with an unconventional premise. While the action sequences and suspenseful elements contribute to an engaging read, the novel could benefit from a deeper exploration of characters and themes to elevate it to a higher rating. Fans of action-packed thrillers with a unique twist may find elements to enjoy, but those seeking more depth in character development and plot execution may find the novel falling slightly short of expectations.

Second book in an interesting series that is completely different from what I normally read. A woman who hires out as an assasin is hired to keep a woman alive. Linda Richards takes the abrupt turn around and skillfully gives us a woman who must now reverse everything she has trained herself to do. The first book was great, this second one just as good. Read it for yourself, you'll love it too!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me advance access to this title. I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more from this author. As a reader, I am really motivated by character driven stories and I found myself quickly becoming immersed in these characters’ lives. Full review to come.

Exit Strategy
by Linda L. Richards

FEMALE ASSASSIN!! You had me right there. Also, being likened to Dexter didn't hurt my chances of loving this book! But the character development is what drew me in. The writing style was different, but I really liked it! I was unaware this was a book 2 when I first got it, but knowing that has made me seek out the first book in this series! I will definitely check out more of her work!

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Oceanview Publishing, for the advance digital copy to read and share my review!

This series was enjoyable and Exit Strategy was the proper ending and the best you could hope for.

An assassin turned bodyguard faces more problems on this side than she did on the other. Never knowing if she’s going to make it from day-to-day, you’ll keep reading until the end.

This incredible thriller kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. The characters draw you in and the plot is fast paced. A great pick-up from the first novel, I am already excited to read number 3. Unrelated to the story-line, just a note that the formatting was a bit difficult to get through.

Alas, a DNF for me. I understand uncorrected proofs are called that for a reason, but this particular one was simply dreadful. Between the dropped letters or words in virtually every sentence, I gave up after two chapters because it was giving me a massive headache.

Neutral three out of five. If I pick it up now that it's released, I'll edit this.

Sorry, Oceanview. You know I love you.

Thanks to Oceanview and NetGalley for the reading copy.

All the missing letters and formatting issues made this quite difficult to read but, as this was a proof copy, this will not factor into my rating.

I actually really enjoyed this story and thought the plot was super interesting. The nameless main character was really well written and grew on me throughout the book. This is the second book in a trilogy so I'm going to go back to read the first one before the 3rd book is released.

4 stars.

The unnamed narrator, a middle-aged female assassin, is in the midst of an existential crisis and deep depression. She thinks often about killing herself, but ultimately doesn’t because of her also unnamed Golden Retriever. She took on the job of assassin after a life-altering tragedy, but now is tired and has regrets about past jobs and killing again. She contacts her handler, who listens and tells her she will only call on her services for something that will be in line with her talents. The handler phones after a short hiatus with a different type of job offer: she is being hired to keep Virginia Martin, the CTO of a start-up tech company, alive. Seems someone wants Virginia, who is developing a world-changing technology, dead; and the handler has a special stake in the assassin keeping her alive. Virginia is her daughter.

This book is a clever twist on the usual hired assassin novels. Not only is our narrator in a personal crisis, depressed, and having a change of heart about her later-in-life career, she is slowly developing a personal phone relationship with her handler. The handler in this type of thriller is typically anonymous, through the dark web or another such instrument used to get a message to the assassin. The circumstances in which one might have fairly prolonged conversation with their handler I could have never imagined before this book. As in all first-person accounts, I did wonder how reliable the narrator was, though by the end of the book I thought she was authentic. I became invested in her personal crises, her relationship with nature and her dog, and the way she kept her demons at bay. (The fact that she was taking an online nutrition course from Cornell was a bit farfetched for me, though—there was more than a little suspension of disbelief involved. A suicidal assassin studying nutrition to keep herself healthy and extend her longevity?) It was a page-turning work; and once the typos and missing letters are filled it, it will be a very enjoyable read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Oceanview Publishing, and Linda L. Richards for the ability to read and review this ARC.

A female assassin who is tasked with an assignment that differs from her previous jobs. She is hired to protect a female CTO of a tech company. The assassin is flawed character that is going through some dark situations in her life. The reader can sense all the angst she is experiencing and the emotional journey she is on. With all she is going through, she needs to keep her head in the game. This is an exciting story that keeps the reader guessing.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this book, I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a very intriguing and riveting novel of a married couple and 20 million dollars Couldn't put the book down!

Exit Strategy, the sequel to Linda L. Richards’s novel, Endings, was extremely intriguing. It is about an unnamed hired killer who questions her chosen profession. Her anonymous hirer who had assigned previous assassinations, is aware of her alternative career wishes, but there is one more assignment: protect the life of the handler’s daughter, Virginia Martin, the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of start-up Greenmüll, a “green” plant that converts waste to energy. The company is privately funded, someone is short-selling the company stock, and Greenmüll purchased for the CTO a high-value life insurance policy. Now, someone wants her dead.

To get close to Martin, the narrator takes on board the persona of a private financial advisor for the exceptionally wealthy. The unnamed narrator became an assassin because of the deaths of her family members which left her despairing and in a bad place. Her only friend is an unnamed dog - a Golden Retriever. Suspenseful, intricate and well worth a look.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is the second book in the series. I haven't read the first one, but I plan on it after being captivated by this one. She is an unnamed assassin that wants to stop killing. When she is offered a job that instead of killing, she is hired to keep someone alive. As she is trying to do her job, she doesn't know who she can trust and who is the enemy.

A fast paced page turner that keeps you guessing. Thank you to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Exit Strategy is the second in this wildly engaging series. We find the assassin middle-aged and at a crossroads living in the dark underworld of society. It's clear she, at one time had family, friends, and routine however that changed, and she found herself nameless and friendless except for her no name dog who remains with her through the story.

She is currently trying to figure out how she went from a normal life to this one. She struggles with depression and living seems unbearable. Through this we see glimpses of the trauma that began her spiral downward and are left wondering if she'll get to the other side or end it all.

As she debates this, an unexpected job presents itself. This one directly opposing contract killing, instead she is asked to save the life of high-profile, internationally known target. Taking the job may just be her road to redemption.

I love the author's ability to weave in suspense while building an intricate story. This book left me on the edge of my seat, and I really hope there is a book three. I love how strong our anonymous heroine is and I want to see her keep evolving.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, Oceanview Publishing, Linda L. Richards, and Partners In Crime Tours. I'm excited to be a part of this tour.

A woman who has lost her husband and son while she survived: In her pain and isolation, she does not fit in the world anymore. Going back to her home in the forest and her big beautiful golden retriever dog gives her contentment and helps keeps the darkness at bay.
A gun for hire suits her new sphere of life. Who would want to kill the brilliant and beautiful Virginia Martin?

The refreshingly unusual storyline combined with fast pace was pleasing.
The twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the shock ending.

3.5 rounded up
Enjoyed the writing style. Interesting idea for a story. Easy to follow. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I enjoyed this novel, the plot a change from the usual one featuring an assassin. Richards' writing style is a bit different from the typical thriller in that it is in the present tense and mostly prose. We readers experience the life of the heroine through her thoughts in first person narrative. There is some dialogue and not a great deal of action. Most of the novel's text is descriptive prose.

The character development is a bit different than I expected. Richards does not delve into the particular mental attitude the nameless heroine experiences as an assassin. This was covered, I think, in the first novel in this series where the heroine actually becomes an assassin. We do experience her thoughts about her remaining family members and an attempt to reconnect with her as well as her attachment to her dog.

I always like to learn something when reading a novel, in this one a bit about start up companies and financing. I also found out more about short selling stock and what it might take to make that work. Since the company in this novel is about energy production, I also learned about private generation of energy and selling it to the power company. And there was also some interesting information about nutrition.

For the assassin to protect the woman to whom she is assigned, she has to figure out who would want to kill her and why. That is a bit of a strange process and it is only by making mistakes and eliciting the help of others she gets even remotely close. There is an interesting twist at the end as to who killed who and why.

I liked the novel. I liked learning about energy and stocks. I would have liked less prose and more action but did enjoy the novel as written. I think I need to read the first in the series to satiate my desire to understand the mind of an assassin.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Synopsis/blurb....

A shattered life. A killer for hire. Can she stop? Does she want to?

Her assignments were always to kill someone. That's what a hitman—or hitwoman—is paid to do, and that is what she does. Then comes a surprise assignment—keep someone alive.

She is hired to protect Virginia Martin, the stunning and brilliant chief technology officer of a hot startup with an environmentally important innovation that will change the world. This new gig catches her at a time in her life when she's hanging on by a thread. Despair and hopelessness—now more intense than she'd felt after the tragic loss of her family—led her to abruptly launch this career. But over time, living as a hired killer is decimating her spirit and she keeps thinking of ending her life.

She's confused about the "why" of her new commission, but she addresses it with her usual skill and stealth, determined to keep the young CTO alive against the ever-increasing odds.

Some people have to die as she discharges her responsibility to protect this superstar woman amid the crumbling worlds of high finance and future technical wonders.

The spirit of an assassin—and her nameless dog—permeates this struggle to help a young woman as powerful forces mount against her.

Fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Dexter will love Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy stands on its own and follows Endings in this series.
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My take...

Exit Strategy was my second outing with author Linda L. Richards after the enjoyable Endings. Exit Strategy picks up with our solitary, unnamed hitwoman and main protagonist. Here she is tasked with preventing a killing as opposed to carrying one out.

Again I enjoyed this one. It's almost a study in human psychology..... loss, bereavement, solitude, fragility, dark thoughts, coping mechanisms, a pet dog as a companion and comforter, a closer connection to her handler and almost a kind of mental health therapy conducted through their ever increasing contact and conversations. There's a sixth sense at play as her anonymous handler senses that she may have reached the end of the road both as far as her career as a killer goes and with life itself. She's offering her an alternative path.

Her mission is to save the brains of a technology company that is about to launch some revolutionary tech. Interestingly the woman she needs to save is her handler's daughter. We disappear down a rabbit hole of science, secrecy, finance, technology, investment, stock manipulation with either potential massive profits or unimaginable ruinous losses, research, beta testing, implementation schedules, failures and setbacks, romance, surveillance, burglary, sham meetings, keyboard warriors issuing threats, missing persons and investigation.

Against this ongoing drama, there are also some family matters from the past that both open up old wounds and also offer the potential for some healing and a reconnection with her former life. Always assuming our unnamed heroine is brave enough to face it.

Thoughtful as well as exciting. Linda L. Richards manages the perfect blend of an evolving story featuring an unidentified danger and attempts to thwart it, with a character trying to figure out whether her life has any real purpose or value.

Another rock solid read.

4 from 5

Read - May, 2022
Published - 2022
Page count - 288
Source - review copy from Net Galley
Format - Kindle

http://col2910.blogspot.com/2022/05/linda-l-richards-exit-strategy-2022.html

Exit Strategy is the follow up to the previous book in the series, Endings. I highly recommend that Endings be read prior. The previous book fills in the backstory of our unnamed protagonist and why she does what she does.

This book begins with what the male in the restaurant believes is a first date with our character. It is the first and last since she fatally poisons him. Our character is a hit woman.

Against type, her next job is one of protection. She is hired to protect Virginia Martin, a scientist and head of a company that is going to save our civilization by processing trash into energy. This job is a welcome change. Now this is not to say that there is not some killing still, but our character begins to try and work out who wants to kill Virginia and why.

Our character begins to question why she is doing what she is. Will she continue, or will she seek out something else? With only a dog as a companion, is she satisfied? Perhaps these questions will be answered in the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The review is my own.

This was a very hard book to read and review, mostly because of the many words that were missing letters. The letters fi, th, ffi, ft, and ff were missing throughout the entire book. Now I know that this was not the author’s fault, but it was extremely distracting. I realized this when I figured out that the word nance was supposed to be finance. The main character had lost her husband and child in an accident (perhaps caused by the husband) and she doesn’t believe that she has anything left to live for. So, she became an assassin and poisons the man with whom she is dining. She has a “handler” who assigns her the next victim, but for her next case she is asked to protect someone, that someone is the daughter of her handler. As she follows and tries to protect the daughter, her only friend is her dog. I had read the first book and hoped this one would be better, it wasn't. A bit too depressing for me as she is still a lost and lonely soul. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)