Title: Murder At Haven's Rock
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Book 1
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
*Note:This is a spin-off of the Rockton series; the review for Book 1 of that series can be found here. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Haven's Rock, Yukon. Population: 0
Deep in the Yukon wilderness, a town is being built. A place for people to disappear, a fresh start from a life on the run. Haven's Rock isn't the first town of this kind, something detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, know first-hand. They met in the original town of Rockton. But greed and deception led the couple to financing a new refuge for those in need. This time around, they get to decide which applicants are approved for residency.
There's only one rule in Haven's Rock: stay out of the forest. When two of the town's construction crew members break it and go missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to track them down. When a body is discovered, well-hidden with evidence of foul play, Casey and Eric must find out what happened to the dead woman, and locate those still missing. The longer Casey and Eric don't know what happened, the more danger everyone is in.
"It's the Yukon. It's always going to be weird."
I was so excited to get approved for this ARC. I'm a huge fan of Kelley Arstrong's work and I loved her Rockton series. Although this is a spinoff of the Rockton series, you can read this series without going back. Armstrong does a great job of summing things up and filling in gaps as she goes without it being too overwhelming. That said, I would still strongly encourage you to read the Rockton series because you'll be able to appreciate the character growth. It's a great series and I highly recommend it.
It was great returning to this world and reconnecting with all the characters. Armstrong still finds ways to keep challenging them as individuals and helping them work through their flaws to grow. It's honestly impressive to still be able to do that this many books late and I love it because the series never feels static or stale.
I was, of course, most excited to see Eric and Casey finally calling the shots. Even though the town isn't fully built, it was great being able to see what they could do. The setting was described so vividly that I felt like I was there. Her descriptions of the wild were so immersive. I also love how Armstrong makes the environment a constant challenge to the cases that Casey investigates.
The mystery was really well done as always. The pacing was great and I was glued to every page. The ending left me dying to get my hands on the next book. Leave it to Casey and Eric to pick out a great spot and still find unfriendly neighbors (who I'm eager to learn more about). Overall, I think this was a great way to start off the series and I can't wait to see what's next for these characters!
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