Read December 2023 Recommended for mystery fans ★ ★ ★ ★ I just realized that I frequently start my reviews explaining why I read a book. I suppose it is a habit ingrained in my from being a very early fantasy and science fiction reader, when people were confused or dismissive--if they cared at all--about my choice of literature. But maybe it is also an exploration of the path that brings me to a book, a framing of expectations, as it were, so we can all witness how it worked--or didn't.
Kelley Armstrong is an interesting one; I had long ago enjoyed the early books in her Women of the Otherworld series but grew disenchanted (haha) as the series went on. Apparently Kelley did as well, because she switched it up with a new mystery series set in new-fashioned vanilla reality, Canadian Yukon style. There were seven books in her first series, known as the Rockton series, but what caught my eye is my friends' glowing reviews of this one and their relief that the series was essentially being rebooted. Ah, I thought. A reboot--a perfect time to pick it up. I was curious to know if there was any supernatural angle (there is not) but thought if nothing else, I'd get a good mystery.
It is a great time to pick it up. Not too much backstory, and what there was was adequate enough. Armstrong's language felt a bit more simple than I recalled from Bitten, but that could be me. (Or it could be her high output). I thought at first it may be the character, and it did change slightly when we switched to Casey, the female lead, but the voice was very utilitarian. For people that are living in the woods, I actually felt very limited appreciation for the whole woods thing. Which left me trying to get a feel for what/why Armstrong is doing what she is with her set-up. Wish-fulfillment fantasy? I can't blame her, although the whole premise seems hugely flawed.
Plotting is very good. It feels organically confusing, with a number of red herrings despite a conservation of characters. Despite a relatively small workforce, Armstrong limits herself even farther and everyone named will likely be significant. There are a couple of solid twists which is a hard trick to pull off. A lot of times writers have to rely on the dreaded TSTL character, or an uncharacteristically bad decision, etc. so I appreciated the twists and turns here. There's a steady sense of tension through the story that kept me reading.
Re-readable? Not for me. Great mystery, not particularly interesting story outside of it (as opposed to those who might be more curious about the characters' new lives). Read the next in the series? Definitely.
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