Book Review: Knives and Knuckledusters

 

There's a darkness - a guilt that gnaws at my soul, reminding me with every whooshing pump of blood that flows through my veins that I alone am responsible for his death. I alone stole a life - a good life.

No good deed goes unpunished, and this never-ending suffocating guilt is mine, only now I'm forced to endure that guilt under the scrutiny of the Club - of his people.

But there are secrets to be uncovered here - my own lies need to be protected, and while no one will ever be him, friendship and benefits seem more and more appealing with each passing day, reminding me that I'm more than just my blade and the guilt that its weighted with. I am no longer the uncertain girl who found her salvation in the form of Gunner Priest, no, I'm now the first female prospect at the London Charter and their unofficial knife for hire.

The Hell Hounds finale sees the forging of a new era, that long-awaited happily ever after for Nicci, and the closing chapter as the Club pulls together for one final showdown.

My Review

Reading this book, I was full of emotions. I could totally relate to Nicci and what she was going through. She experienced sorrow, rage, love and found a family for life. From the first chapter I almost cried at the mention of "Gunner". Oh, Nicci, girl. 

Nicci is not the same girl from Guns and Gags. In fact, I would call her a woman. She is a killer. Yet, at the same time there were moments when Gunner's Nicci did slip out. I loved the dynamics between Nicci, Paige, and Spyro. It was a "raw" connection that they all shared together. 

I loved these lines spoken by Paige about Nicci:

"She was cherries and dark rum - the kind of taste you could get drunk off of - the kind of woman you could become addicted to. I wanted to taste her, lick her, devour her."

One last thing. There is a character that is briefly mentioned in this book who were share the same first name including the spelling. Erin, intentional or not I love this, even if the character is a villain. Sad to see this series come to an end but Erin did all the characters justice. A fitting ending.