Broken is the sixth novel in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. It is narrated by Elena Michaels.
Synopsis[]
When half-demon Xavier Reese calls in the favour Elena owes him, it seems easy enough, steal Jack the Ripper's 'From Hell' letter away from a Toronto collector who had himself stolen it from the Ripper evidence boxes. But nothing in the supernatural world is ever as simple as it seems. Elena accidentally triggers a spell placed on the letter, and opens a dimensional portal into Victorian London, releasing zombies, disease, and maybe the notorious serial killer himself.
Plot[]
After several years of considering the possibilities and risks, Elena and Clay decide to try to have a baby and she is now a month along in her pregnancy. The Pack are all anxious since a female werewolf, let along a pregnant one, is so rare and vulnerable.
Xavier Reese contacts them to follow up on the favor Elena owes him for saving her life. He wants them to steal Jack the Ripper's "From Hell Letter." In exchange he will help them catch a mutt they have been tracking for a while. They agree but have to wait for Xavier to track it down.
Elena is five months pregnant when Xavier contact them again with information about the letter's current owner. Elena, Jeremy, and Clay go to Toronto to steal it and in doing so, they accidentally trigger a spell that releases dangers from the Victorian era. Because Elena’s blood open the letter, the zombies and apparent killer seem to fixate on her.. They also meet another “victim” named Matthew Hull who sticks closely to them in the strange new world.
They call in several allies, including Jaime, Zoe, Antonio, and Nick to help them resolve the problem. During a tussle, Clay is scratched by one of the zombies and his arm gets viciously infected. He becomes feverish, and they fear they will have to amputate the arm, but a supernatural doctor is able to debride that wound.
After several more murders, they realize Hull is the killer. Elena and Jaime slips away to track him down while the others are distracted with Clay's injury. After their allies realize what's going on and catch up, they kill Hull and release the zombies into a proper afterlife.
Two weeks later, Elena gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
Characters[]
The Pack[]
- Elena Michaels - Pack werewolf, Clayton's mate, pregnant with Clayton's child(ren).
- Clayton Danvers - Pack werewolf, foster son of Jeremy Danvers, top fighter in the pack, mate of Elena.
- Jeremy Danvers - Alpha werewolf of the Pack, foster father of Clayton Danvers
- Antonio Sorrentino - Pack werewolf, best friend of Jeremy.
- Nicholas (Nick) Sorrentino - Pack werewolf, best friend of Clayton.
- Katherine Danvers - Daughter of Elena and Clay (Born at the end of the story).
- Logan Danvers - Son of Elena and Clay (Born at the end of the story).
Allies[]
- Zoe Takano - Vampire who helps Elena deal with her zombie problem.
- Jaime Vegas - Necromancer, works in Hollywood as a "fake" necromancer on TV, but is a real necromancer. Has a crush on Jeremy Danvers.
- Anita Barrington - Witch, immortality quester. Killed by Hull.
Foes/Neutral[]
- Xavier Reese - Half-demon with teleportation abilities. Asks Elena to steal the Ripper From Hell letter by giving her information on a rogue mutt. Elena owes him after he saved both her life and her from being assaulted when she was captured by human scientists.
- Randall Tolliver - a supernatural doctor
- Patrick Shanahan - a sorcerer who inherited the From Hell letter from his great-grandfather.
- Matthew Hull
- Rose
- Bowler-Hat Zombie
Mentioned[]
- Savannah Levine - Ward of Paige and Lucas. This is the first summer since they met four years ago that Savannah didn't spend some of the summer at Stonehaven.
- Paige Winterbourne - member of the interracial council
- Lucas Cortez - Paige's husband, looks up to Clay
- Eve Levine - Ghost contact of Jaime's.
- Aaron Darnell - vampire delegate on the Interracial Council
- Karl Marsten - Probationary member of the Pack. Has been attending Pack meetings for the last three years but won't commit to the full responsibilities.
- Benicio Cortez - Jeremy threatens to call him when Shanahan and Tolliver are being difficult.
- Edward Hagen and Natasha, immortality questers. Mentioned.
Continuity[]
- Xavier Reese first appeared and incurred Elena's debt in Stolen.
- Reference to the mutt uprising in Bitten (Book), as well as Logan Jonsen
- Jaime mentions that Eve is impossible to get hold of for several months at a time. These are her six-month shifts and an angel, as negotiated with the fates in Haunted
- Zoe tells Jaime about a reality TV show that wants to contact the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. Jaime must follow up on it, because she joins the show in No Humans Involved
- Karl is spending time with a half-demon reporter, whom he will soon share a novel with in Personal Demon.
- Immortality questers will become much more important in later books.
- Jeremy has access to Benicio Cortez through Lucas Cortez. Elena says Lucas treats Clay like a mentor.
- Mention of a young Clay's interaction with the Avon lady can be read in Savage.
Trivia[]
Publication[]
Broken was first published in 2006 and has been republished numerous times since, including a 2021 Audio CD reissue.
Translated Editions[]
- German: Blut der Wölfin ("Blood of the Wolf")
- French: Rupture ("Rupture")
Alternate Covers[]