Watcher in the Woods is the next gripping installment of #1 bestselling Kelley Armstrong’s riveting Casey Duncan series. The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Casey Duncan, the town’s only detective on a police force of three, has already faced murder, arson, … already faced murder, arson, and falling in love in the several months that she’s lived there. Yet even she didn’t think it would be possible for an outsider to locate the town and cause trouble in the place she’s come to call home.
When a US Marshal shows up demanding the release of one of the residents, but won’t say who, Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are skeptical. And yet only hours later, the marshal is shot dead and the only possible suspects are the townspeople and Casey’s estranged sister, smuggled into town to help with a medical emergency. It’s up to Casey to figure out who murdered the marshal, and why someone would kill to keep him quiet–before the killer strikes again.
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Rockton is a little known town in the Yukon area of Canada. Casey Duncan is the only female detective in a team of three. She’s only lived there for a few months, but she’s already seen more crime than anywhere else she’s been.
A stranger appears in town claiming he is a US Marshall looking for one of their residents… but won’t give her a name. She and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are highly suspicious of him and his claim, but when he’s shot and killed, they start taking a closer look.
Since most of Rockton’s residents are criminals or victims fleeing or disappearing from society looking for a safe refuge from all their secrets, the number of possible suspects are countless.
This may be closer to personal for Casey, as her sister is also a resident.
Although 4th in this unique story, it is easily read as a stand-alone. As usual, I highly recommend starting at the very beginning. The residents .. and their stories … are well worth reading about. The characters are memorable. This one is a real page turner.
Many thanks to the author / St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this distinctive crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, the opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I really enjoy pretty much everything Kelley Armstrong writes, and this series is no exception. Sometimes Casey does things and I think “Really? Come on Casey, you’re smarter than this.” But it’s not often enough to take away from my basic enjoyment of reading these. I continue to be drawn in by the town of Rockton and its interesting characters. Every book sees more revelations of buried secrets and hidden agendas, and I’m curious where this will eventually end. This book finally revealed some more information around the shadowy “Council”, so shrouded in mystery until now, and we also got to find out a lot more about Casey’s past with her family. I would say 4.5 stars, and if you’ve liked her previous series, especially her Nadia Stafford books, you’ll enjoy this one.
I make it a point not to read lengthy book blurbs. I pick up a word here and there to see if I might want to read a particular book. I also don’t make a habit of starting a series at book four. I felt at a disadvantage when I started reading WATCHER IN THE WOODS, but I have had Kelley Armstrong books on my TBR for a while now so I broke a few of my own rules.
As I was reading, I kept expecting the supernatural on the very next page. It never happened. However, that was not the only thing that kept me turning pages. I am intrigued by this town called Rockton that is home to a revolving population in the already sparsely populated Yukon Territory, in Canada. The overriding theme of this novel is a murder mystery fraught with twists and turns because it happened in Rockton. (I had to cheat a bit here and find a bit of the backstory in order to write this review.
Overall, the writing is pretty solid and the story holds up under scrutiny. I liked it well enough to want to backtrack and read the first three books in the series.
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N.B, since I post all my reviews to as many sites as I can (Goodreads, Amazon, and BookBub being the most common, along with sharing on Facebook), I have to be careful with my NetGalley reviews. Amazon (for obvious reasons) doesn’t want to hear that I got a copy of a book from a source other than Amazon. I felt disadvantaged by this when writing my first paragraph. If I could have just come out and said that I started with book four of this series because I got it from NetGalley, it would have been so much easier.
I love the Rockton stories–all of it works for me: the isolated locale, the quirky characters, the strong heroine and the hero who appreciates these qualities and the “whodunnit” that keeps me guessing up until the very end. This one picks up right where the last book ended and I highly recommend reading them in order to get the full flavor.
Jumping in at book 4 of this series, the characters and world were about as well-developed as you would expect. The only way I could tell it wasn’t first in the series was because of how solid the relationship was between Casey and Eric as well as a few minor references to past events. No major spoilers were given that I was able to pick up on.
This was another time that I had decided to read a couple chapters before bed only to stay up all night reading until the very end. I had the kind of book hangover that you can’t even regret because the book was just so incredibly wonderful. It had been quite awhile since I had read anything by Kelley Armstrong; I had forgotten just how enjoyable her writing is. Now, I have to go back and read the rest of the books in this series.
Strong characters with excellent development throughout blend beautifully with the plot. I still don’t know how I feel about the U.S. Marshall introduced. The dialogue was witty, fun, and interesting. I felt that I got a good idea of how the town was set up as well as how it’s routine with the outside world was established. There was a wonderful cat and mouse game set up followed by a “whodunnit” that kept me on my toes.
All and all, I felt like this was a very solid story. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the chance to read this story and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.
This time we get to meet Alice, Casey’s sister. There have been hints about their troubled relationship in previous books, so I really enjoyed getting to know Alice. The best part of these books is the relationships between Eric and Casey, and the main characters in Rockton. I can’t get enough or Mathias, and, as usual, there are twists and turns until the very end of the book.
Casey leads you through this one on a journey that will have tons of suspense and mystery. Before you know it there is a murder also. The pace is fast at times but actually has its own pace for when and what it needs. The author has a good formula in here. She will also know how to cause you to race at times too. She does know how to handle crime fiction as the contents of this one. As the pieces go in one by one you can not let go until the answers are fed to you.
Fast-paced fourth book in the Rockton series is a great read! Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author, but this was harder than most to put down!
The usual impeccable writing from Kelley Armstrong–evocative but never a word wasted. Casey Duncan is a terrific heroine, smart, strong, and wry. I’m also a big fan of the setting and high concept of this series, a secret town–holding many more secrets–in the Yukon.
Usually I pay better attention to whether or not a book is in a series before I request it, but I like this author so I had to snag a copy. This is book four and, while it took me a little bit to figure out the characters and the town itself, I’m glad I stuck with it. I enjoyed this book and plan to find the others in the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias.
Ooohhh!!! Things in Rockton are getting hotter. I feel like the series up this point has been culminating to some kind of “Come to Jesus” between Rockton and the council. I strongly suspect that the next installment will be the results of that and all the crap that has been going on with the council. The real challenge is waiting a year to find out what happens.
This latest entry in the Rockton series does not disappoint. It picks up a week after the ending of book 3 in the series, and it grabs you from page one right through to the action packed ending. My only complaint is one I have with every one of Kelley Armstrong’s books. I hate it when it is finished. I always want more.
Investigator Casey Duncan and her boyfriend Rockton Sheriff Eric Dalton again find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. This time investigating a Federal Marshall who tracked his criminal to their small, hidden town. Rockton, a safe haven for victims and criminals who have paid to hide out is not unfamiliar with mysterious crimes. What is unfamiliar is that as Casey investigates she narrows it down to a surprising person.
In the previous novel, This Fallen Prey, one of their townspeople and leader of their militia, Kenny was shot in the back. Casey and Dalton reach out to her sister April who despite their lack of closeness does agree to come to Rockton with them for a brief time to operate and help Kenny in his recovery. Watcher in the Woods shifts focus from Casey and Dalton’s relationship to Casey and her sister April. What Casey finds out about her sister explains their lack of closeness in the past and this opportunity gives them a chance to part on better terms. I thought this sub plot revealed a lot . about Casey’s character in the past and showed her emotional growth. She was in a place where she could “see” her sister clearly and was able to understand her better. I really enjoyed their interactions and added an emotional punch to an otherwise kind of unemotional mystery.
The mystery of who killed the Marshall was interesting but kind of lackluster for me. I don’t know if it was because he was only introduced and then killed in the first couple of chapters and I really didn’t care? Or because a lot of the book was an exploratory into a few newer characters, but the pages didn’t fly by as much as they have in the previous three books. Kelly Armstrong writes a great mystery and I didn’t guess who had done it, it just took a long time to get to the conclusion. I’m sure my feelings are in the minority on this one, but it is how I felt.
Watcher in the Woods is one of those books in a series that you need to read because it reveals things about characters that you will probably need to know in a future book. Despite it’s slowness, I really did like the sub plot between Casey and her sister and am looking forward to seeing where that leads in future novels but the mystery just didn’t knock it out of the park for me.
I received a free ARC of this novel for my honest review and it was honest!
Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong is book number 4 in the series, I did not realize this when I first started this book and really it was no big deal, other than now I want to read the first 3! I did not quite grasp what this place was and I think reading the previous books may help with that. All in all I thought this was a very well written book and I appreciate and want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy in return for leaving my review. I will be reading this author in my near future again!!
Done, great book but now I have to wait for the next one…darn it!
Don’t ya just hate when you read a book by an author you love and don’t love it? such was the case with Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong.
She hadn’t seen her sister, Casey, in three years, but now she needs her help. She had always been subservient, seeking her sister’s approval. She didn’t have boyfriends because she killed her last one. And now…Rockton, here she comes.
Casey lives with Eric Dalton, the Rockton sheriff and is a homicide detective herself. If you have to run for help, this is a good duo to have on your list.
The Yukon is a wilderness and a great place to hide out.
There is something a little bit off about Rockton. I am ambivalent about their voting practices, among other things. The town has a dystopian feel to it, it’s secretiveness and it’s isolation, running on it’s own set of rules.
The characters, good and bad, all have their part to play, showing their reasons for being there. Definitely not the guy/girl next door. Everyone knows everyone so who is that guy, the U S Marshal who thinks he can waltz into town and take one of their residents?
Kelley Armstrong is an author very familiar to me. I see her name, I pick up her book. So simple. I’ve read numerous books by her, but this is the first one I have reviewed. And it’s a hard one.
There is a mystery…yes. It’s obvious there will be more books. Did I miss something by reading out of order? The story does seem to be complete. All that being said, Watcher in the Woods fell a little flat for me.
I love Kelly Armstrong’s writing and I did enjoy reading Watcher in the Woods, so I will definitely grab her next book.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong.
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Fabulous!!! The only problem I had with this book is that it had to end. I just adore this series. Casey and Eric are their usual strong characters. They are written so well. Rockton is its usual type of crazy. Ms. Armstrong has taken an unusual premise and ran with it. The series keeps getting stronger and stronger without losing any of the characteristics that I found so fascinating in the first book.
Rockton an isolated community filled with criminals, victims, sociopaths and the law enforcement individuals we have come to love.
Watcher in the Woods is the latest in Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series and I would recommend reading the series in order. Holy moley, this series has a lot going on. Rockton is a refuge or hideaway for people with enough money, isolated in the middle of the Canadian tundra. Casey Duncan and her boyfriend, sheriff Eric Dalton try to bring some sort of law and order to town. Casey sneaks her sister, a doctor, into town to treat a town resident with a spinal injury. A US marshal shows up hinting that someone bad is in town and then said marshal is murdered. Casey and Dalton try to solve the murder in a town of secrets and lies when everyone appears not to be who they pretend to be. The suspense is real, as everyone seems to be capable of murder. The hostiles are out in force and the town council is playing its own games. Danger runs rampant and the pages fly by with each twist and turn in the story line. This book keeps you guessing until the end, a definite whodunit that is unexpected.
This was like stepping into a television series in the mid season but I quickly caught on to who was who and what was going on and totally was captivated and could not put this one down! So many secrets and a killer on the loose and too many suspects. I’m not going to give anything away because I’m afraid if I start describing this one I will just give it all away…I was that captivated! I’m not sure I’m going to go back and pick up the previous ones but I will definitely keep reading if there are more in this series!
Definitely recommend this!
If you have been following my blog for long enough, you know my stance on picking up books mid-series. To be short, I don’t like doing it. So, when I found out that Watcher in the Woods was the 4th book in the Rockton series, I was not happy. I thought to myself “Great, going to be left feeling confused again.” Then I read the book. Watcher in the Woods isn’t a stand-alone novel, you can read it without reading the other books in the series. Which I was very thankful for.
Watcher in the Woods takes place in an area where very few books are set. The Yukon in Canada. I have only read one other book that takes place there. Any guesses about what? Yup, Call of the Wild. I also have watched Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet. So I am familiar (well somewhat) with how big that territory is. Also, how isolated it is. Because of that, I have no problem imagining a hidden town. No problem at all.
The main character of Watcher in the Woods is Casey Duncan. She, along with her boyfriend and one other man, is the town’s police force. I wasn’t sure if I liked Casey at first. I couldn’t connect with her. But, as the book went on, I started to see that Casey was a complex person with some major issues. While I didn’t quite come to like her, I did start to admire her. She had to have some balls of steel to be in that town.
The main plotline of Watcher in the Woods involved the murder of a US Marshal who was at the town without permission. Casey and her boyfriend are put in charge of finding who the killer is. I will say that the plotline was very well written. The author did a fantastic job at keeping who the killer was under wraps until the end of the book. I can count on one hand the number of mystery/thriller books that kept me guessing until the end. Who the killer ended up being was a surprise. As was the reason why that person did what they did.
I wasn’t as thrilled with some of the secondary storylines in the book. There were some that didn’t add anything to the book. With the references to the previous books, I have a feeling that they were a continuation of storylines in those books.
The end of Watcher in the Woods was interesting. Most of the storylines were wrapped up but others were left open. I am very interested in the storyline that was begun towards the end of the book. I am looking forward to seeing where that storyline goes.