There are Strange Things out in the Wilderness

THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR

Haven's Rock #2

Kelley Armstrong

St. Martins Minotaur

February 20, 2024

I have been a fan of Kelley Armstrong's books for a very long time since I first became aware of her Otherworld series in the early 2000s. Whether it is Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Time-Slip, or whatever Rockton or Haven's Rock could be classified as she consistently delivers unique characters and great stories.

The Haven's Rock Series is a spin-off of the Rockton Series, set in the contemporary Canadian Yukon. Rockton was a well-hidden town, founded initially for people fleeing political persecution. Over the years, it became a refuge for anyone who could pay to get in. Casey Duncan was fleeing her possible prosecution for murder and the revenge of the victim's family. Brought in as a detective reporting to the Rockton Sheriff, Eric Dalton. The pairing became both professional and personal. Casey and Eric are now a married couple. When Rockton fell apart, the two founded Haven's Rock. Haven's Rock is meant as an escape for people fleeing trouble not of their own making, and hopefully, fewer serial killers and psychopaths.

Haven's Rock has accepted a mother and two children whose father was killed in front of them after testifying in a trial. The two boys are the first children in Rockton or Haven's Rock, causing concerns they have never faced before. When the younger boy reports seeing a bear with human eyes near the settlement, no one knows what to think. The boy, Max, is insistent, and everyone is all out to find him when he appears to have been abducted. Plenty of strange people are out in the woods, but why would Max be abducted? Coupled with this dilemma, Casey and Eric have their own issue, which is also about a child.

The Boy Who Cried Bear is another gripping installment in this well-constructed series. While the novel could be read as a stand-alone, I think everyone should start with the first in the series and possibly go back to Rockton. You won't be disappointed!! Thanks to NetGalley.com and Minotaur for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING 4.5 Stars

Rockton's relocation brings new questions

MURDER AT HAVEN'S ROCK

Haven's Rock

Kelley Armstrong

February 21, 2023

Murder at Haven's Rock is a spin-off from the earlier Rockton series after seven books. Set in the Canadian Yukon, Rockton is one of the most unique crime series I have read, and I was sad to see it go, even though that storyline had run its course. Rockton was founded as a refuge for people on the run from abusive relationships and problems not of their own making. People with unpopular political views also made up the shifting population. Over the years, Rockton devolved into a money-making enterprise, allowing some unsavory and murderous characters to take refuge there. Sheriff Eric Dalton, who was born there, and his now-wife, Casey Duncan, are tasked with riding herd on the population. Detective. Casey was one of the latest residents running from her problems. Throughout the series, their relationship matures. Casey, in particular, grew more comfortable in her own skin.

When Rockton met its end, the two had enough resources (along with others) to build a new Rockton called Haven's Rock. The plan was to stay away during the settlement building, which is nearly finished. Eric and Casy are called back because the project's architect has vanished into the forest. As one of the crew says, "shit happens up here." Does it ever!! There is a missing woman, a dead woman, an attacked worker, and a gold miner hiding in the forest. There is also a woman living in a highly camouflaged cottage who claims to be a nature photographer. Haven's Rock is not as secluded or safe as hoped.

Some of Rockton's former residents will be returning but are only mentioned here until the end. April, Casey's physician sister, has to come back when the bodies multiply. The new characters are certainly "colorful" and may have nefarious plans. The bad apples will go, but some others whose motives are not clear ask to remain. I predict another stellar series from Kelley Armstrong that will keep me guessing.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own. 

RATING- 4 Stars

Rockton Comes To An End (or does it?)

 

 THE DEEPEST OF SECRETS

 Rockton # 7

 Kelley Armstrong

 St. Martins Minotaur

 February 15, 2022

Kelley Armstrong is one of those authors who seems to be able to write in any genre and provide a suspenseful, imaginative, and action-packed experience for the reader. Nowhere has her ability been more evident than in her seven-book Rockton series. Rockton is a village in the Canadian Yukon, established to be deliberately off the grid, invisible to even overhead air traffic. The town was founded decades ago as a refuge for people on the run from abuse or victimhood, primarily political persecution. Governed by the shadowy "council," it has slowly devolved into a money-maker. Once for only non-violent people, the council has gradually allowed violent criminals in for vast sums. The changes are no secret to Sherriff Eric Dalton and his Deputy, Casey Duncan. Casey came to Rockton, running from her problems, but Eric was born there. It also is clear that the council is closing the town down. They just aren't saying so.

Secrets are the essential currency in Rockton. The residents promise never to divulge the reasons why they are there. But when the history of another deputy's presence is revealed very publicly, things begin to fall apart. Everyone wonders what other secrets are hiding and trust, never much in evidence, disappears completely. Eric and Casey must find out who revealed it and why. When they do, the person is nearly dead. Rockton has a desperate resident willing to do anything to hide his secrets.

The Deepest of Secrets brings the Rockton series to an end, at least in its present form. Eric and Casey are well-developed characters, as are others who have been front and center in the series. I will be sorry to see them go. One thing I am sure of is that Kelley Armstrong has more exciting stories to tell.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Minotaur for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING- 4 Stars

 

For fans of Louise Penny, a new series set in Quebec

THE BIRDS THAT STAY
A Russell and Leduc Mystery #1
Ann Lambert
Second Story Books
February 19, 2019


This excellent debut novel takes place in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal. Marie Russell is a divorced nature writer and mother of two grown children. She lives quietly in a cottage with no close neighbors. One of her neighbors, however, is Madame Newman, a woman in her eighties living a spartan and reclusive life. The semi-retired handyman, Louis Lachance, is perhaps the closest person to being a friend, but even he knows nothing about her past. When he finds her outside her cottage, strangled and frozen, he is the only one to mourn her. Chief homicide investigator, Roméo Leduc is just days away from his first vacation in two years, but this investigation will put an end to that. Leduc at first thinks that it might be a botched break-in by a local biker gang but quickly realizes there is more to this crime than meets the eye. Finding out just who Madame Newman was is the key. Marie and Leduc cross paths when Marie's mother, who suffers from dementia, identifies the dead woman from a photo in the paper as a Mrs. Kovak, who lived in the same suburban neighborhood that Marie grew up with. Marie is not at all sure that her mother is correct, but does remember the Kovak family, They were refugees from the Hungarian uprising in the 1950s. Her remembrances are spurred in part by the sale and closing of her childhood home and moving her mother into a care facility make her do a little detective work of her own.

The Birds That Stay takes us from post-WWII Hungary to Canada in the 70s and 80s, not all that different to the US of the same era. Many women of the time lived stifled by the mores of the day. Marie's mother and Mrs. Kovak were no different. Mr. and Mrs. Kovak had secrets of a more severe kind and those secrets led to not only her death but others. There are multiple overlapping stories told but all the characters are beautifully realized and memorable. Along the way, Roméo and Marie form the tentative beginnings of a relationship, one that I am looking forward to watching in the future.

I highly recommend The Birds That Stay for its characterization, sense of place and well-plotted mystery. I am already looking forward to the next in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and Second Story Books for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING- 4 Stars