Review: Batman: Nightwalker

Title: Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons #2)
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Random House
Source: Purchased
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed as their mansions’ security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city’s most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

Review:

This book was a little slow to get into at the beginning. I kept thinking, where is Batman? The story is called Batman, after all, not Bruce Wayne. But I kept with it, since I have seen such great reviews for this book. I reserved my judgement for the end, and I loved the ending. 

Though Bruce Wayne eventually turns into the iconic superhero Batman, in this story he is just a regular teenager. He makes such stupid mistakes when he falls for Madeleine. At the same time, she is very clever and trapped him many times. But Bruce was blinded by love, so he didn’t notice. 

The ending of the story was so good! I thought I had figured out who the leader of the Nightwalkers was, but I was so shocked when the leader was revealed. I was so wrong, but I was glad because I didn’t want the story to be predictable. 

After reading this book, I will have to go back and read Wonder Woman: Warbringer. I’m curious to see her origin story.