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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Second (only the second?!?) in the Casey Duncan psychological thriller series and revolving around a homicide detective in hiding in Ontario, Canada.
My Take
Armstrong makes Rockton attractive in some ways, the peace, the solitude. Then again…living without the Internet? Aiyeeee! In other ways, well, Armstrong sets us up for the fear with the truth of how Rockton is financed, the "truth" behind those criminal histories, and the disgust I feel for some of those criminals!
Mathias fascinates me with his insight and gameplaying while Ty Cypher is intelligent with his own version of gaming, and I'd never turn my back on him. I do love that Casey took him down so easy, lol.
Using first-person point-of-view is a brilliant choice, giving us Casey's interpretations of her new home right along with us.
I haven't figured out the overall series arc, but Armstrong certainly intrigues with all her comments about those "hostiles"! I suspect that arc may turn out to be why the hostiles are affected when they leave.
And it's driving me mad that I have to wait for the next in the series!
The Story
One of Rockton's residents gets cabin fever and flees into the woods with Casey and Deputy Will chasing after him. The woods — and those who inhabit its wilderness — are dangerous, and no one can be allowed to leave town.
Then a blizzard strikes, and Casey and Will are forced to take shelter in a cave where they discover a woman imprisoned in a hole, held captive for over a year.
Then the bodies of two other women turn up.
The Characters
Former homicide detective Casey "Butler" (Duncan in her old life) is fleeing the mobbed-up Leo Saratori after she killed his grandson, Blaine. Blackmoor Down's Bohemian Rhapsody, a.k.a., Storm, is a pedigreed Newfoundland puppy. Her cold, overprotective parents died in a plane crash. Hoist with their own petard, I say. April is her older sister.
Rockton, Ontario, is…
…a hidden town created for those in hiding, fleeing justice, abuse, mistakes, or impossible situations. They are required to stay for two years and may stay for five. The rules are absolute. Little electricity, no cellphones, no Internet. Dalton flies out, alone, for supplies. Technically, the reclusive Val Zapata is the town leader with very rigid views. Phil is one of the owners, a faceless voice over the radio.
Sheriff Eric Dalton, kidnapped by the previous sheriff, Gene Dalton, is in very firm charge and in a relationship with Casey. Jacob, a settler, is Eric's younger brother; their parents were Amy and Steve. Sheriff's Deputy Will Anders, a.k.a., Calvin James (wasn't it "Jones" in City of the Lost, 1?), is a former Army medic and MP on the run for shooting his CO and two others. Nor is he a council spy any longer.
Dr. Mathias, a Frenchman, is the butcher with degrees in psychiatry and medicine; he enjoys freaking out the residents with his bloody apron and propensity for a knife. Isabel Radcliffe, a former psychologist, runs the Roc, a bar and whorehouse, and brews the town beer. Tina makes great jam; Brian is the baker; Diana Berry is Casey's ex-friend, a user and abuser; Petra works part-time at the general store and is a comic book artist the rest of the time; Lang; Jen is a disgusting bully, verbally abusing everyone; Kenny, Paul, and Sam are part of the militia; Shawn Sutherland is a white collar criminal; and, Trent is one of the handymen. The Red Lion is more of a saloon.
Nicole Chavez is the daughter of a cartel accountant for whom Witness Protection didn't work; she disappeared from Rockton over a year ago. Garrett had been her abusive brother. Robyn Salas, had been a ballet dancer whose stalker destroyed her career, and Victoria Locke (she'd run a Ponzi scheme) had also disappeared.
Abbygail Kemp was a resident who had been recovering from a brutal rape. Beth had been the local doctor, a nutjob abusing her position.
The settlers are…
…those who disapproved of the changes from a communal Rockton to a police state while others, well… First Settlement is the first group who left; their manners have devolved some. Edwin is the town elder. The crazed Mary Parsons (Benjamin Sanders, Sr., had been her husband) is Benjamin's mother.
Tyrone "Ty" Cypher is a former hitman who had been the sheriff of Rockton before Eric's "dad". Silas Cox left because he wanted to live wild. Roger is a trapper. Brent is a mildly bipolar bounty hunter who now lives full-time in a cave, hermit-like.
The hostiles are those who lost their humanity and have turned more animalistic.
The Cover and Title
The cover is cold with its flat snowy landscape and black silhouettes of trees with Casey walking into the wilderness. The author's name is at the top and in a stretched-out font in red while the title is in a serif font in white at the bottom.
The title reflects Nicole's experience in A Darkness Absolute, as well as the mindset of the man who took her.
My Take
Armstrong makes Rockton attractive in some ways, the peace, the solitude. Then again…living without the Internet? Aiyeeee! In other ways, well, Armstrong sets us up for the fear with the truth of how Rockton is financed, the "truth" behind those criminal histories, and the disgust I feel for some of those criminals!
No habitual violent offenders need apply. It simply isn't good business.It's a tale of abuse from so many sides with this incredibly mixed group — Armstrong had a brilliant concept with this town. Some characters are sympathetic and some horrifying while others are simply repulsive. It's incestuous and radical: the enforced isolation with such a wide range of characters from the innocent to the extremely guilty, all fleeing a monster of their own situations.
Mathias fascinates me with his insight and gameplaying while Ty Cypher is intelligent with his own version of gaming, and I'd never turn my back on him. I do love that Casey took him down so easy, lol.
Using first-person point-of-view is a brilliant choice, giving us Casey's interpretations of her new home right along with us.
I haven't figured out the overall series arc, but Armstrong certainly intrigues with all her comments about those "hostiles"! I suspect that arc may turn out to be why the hostiles are affected when they leave.
And it's driving me mad that I have to wait for the next in the series!
The Story
One of Rockton's residents gets cabin fever and flees into the woods with Casey and Deputy Will chasing after him. The woods — and those who inhabit its wilderness — are dangerous, and no one can be allowed to leave town.
Then a blizzard strikes, and Casey and Will are forced to take shelter in a cave where they discover a woman imprisoned in a hole, held captive for over a year.
Then the bodies of two other women turn up.
The Characters
Former homicide detective Casey "Butler" (Duncan in her old life) is fleeing the mobbed-up Leo Saratori after she killed his grandson, Blaine. Blackmoor Down's Bohemian Rhapsody, a.k.a., Storm, is a pedigreed Newfoundland puppy. Her cold, overprotective parents died in a plane crash. Hoist with their own petard, I say. April is her older sister.
Rockton, Ontario, is…
…a hidden town created for those in hiding, fleeing justice, abuse, mistakes, or impossible situations. They are required to stay for two years and may stay for five. The rules are absolute. Little electricity, no cellphones, no Internet. Dalton flies out, alone, for supplies. Technically, the reclusive Val Zapata is the town leader with very rigid views. Phil is one of the owners, a faceless voice over the radio.
Sheriff Eric Dalton, kidnapped by the previous sheriff, Gene Dalton, is in very firm charge and in a relationship with Casey. Jacob, a settler, is Eric's younger brother; their parents were Amy and Steve. Sheriff's Deputy Will Anders, a.k.a., Calvin James (wasn't it "Jones" in City of the Lost, 1?), is a former Army medic and MP on the run for shooting his CO and two others. Nor is he a council spy any longer.
Dr. Mathias, a Frenchman, is the butcher with degrees in psychiatry and medicine; he enjoys freaking out the residents with his bloody apron and propensity for a knife. Isabel Radcliffe, a former psychologist, runs the Roc, a bar and whorehouse, and brews the town beer. Tina makes great jam; Brian is the baker; Diana Berry is Casey's ex-friend, a user and abuser; Petra works part-time at the general store and is a comic book artist the rest of the time; Lang; Jen is a disgusting bully, verbally abusing everyone; Kenny, Paul, and Sam are part of the militia; Shawn Sutherland is a white collar criminal; and, Trent is one of the handymen. The Red Lion is more of a saloon.
Nicole Chavez is the daughter of a cartel accountant for whom Witness Protection didn't work; she disappeared from Rockton over a year ago. Garrett had been her abusive brother. Robyn Salas, had been a ballet dancer whose stalker destroyed her career, and Victoria Locke (she'd run a Ponzi scheme) had also disappeared.
Abbygail Kemp was a resident who had been recovering from a brutal rape. Beth had been the local doctor, a nutjob abusing her position.
The settlers are…
…those who disapproved of the changes from a communal Rockton to a police state while others, well… First Settlement is the first group who left; their manners have devolved some. Edwin is the town elder. The crazed Mary Parsons (Benjamin Sanders, Sr., had been her husband) is Benjamin's mother.
Tyrone "Ty" Cypher is a former hitman who had been the sheriff of Rockton before Eric's "dad". Silas Cox left because he wanted to live wild. Roger is a trapper. Brent is a mildly bipolar bounty hunter who now lives full-time in a cave, hermit-like.
The hostiles are those who lost their humanity and have turned more animalistic.
The Cover and Title
The cover is cold with its flat snowy landscape and black silhouettes of trees with Casey walking into the wilderness. The author's name is at the top and in a stretched-out font in red while the title is in a serif font in white at the bottom.
The title reflects Nicole's experience in A Darkness Absolute, as well as the mindset of the man who took her.
arielle17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tnhayes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
crazeedi73's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
yodamom's review against another edition
3.0
The narration was off for me on this one. I had a problem with the immature quality of some of the voices of the characters. I wish I would have read it instead. It was an interesting story with some very off beat entertaining moments but the reading didn't work this time
willrefuge's review against another edition
3.0
3 / 5 ✪
Contains minor spoilers for City of the Lost (Rockton #1)
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/10/24/a-darkness-absolute-by-kelley-armstrong/
Only months past Casey Duncan uprooted her life and moved to the remote Yukon wilderness, come to work in a town that doesn’t exist, come to hide in a refuge where no one will ever find her. As she settles into her job as Rockton’s only detective, Casey hopes to find some peace and quiet that city life never prepared her for. And yet, Rockton always keeps her occupied.
In a town off the grid—with no electricity, transportation, phones, internet, or a doctor; where food and supplies have to be flown in on weekly bush planes or traded for with Settlers; and only a tenuous link to the outside world exists—the community has to band together into something tight-knit. Or if not that, close to it.
But when one of their own is discovered after having been held captive in a cave for over a year, the community splinters. Especially when one of their own is likely the kidnapper.
Someone that Casey must find—before it tears the town apart, or before the kidnapper takes someone else.
A Darkness Absolute is the sequel to City of the Lost, the amazing Rockton debut that absolutely blew my mind. And while this follow-up is good—it certainly doesn’t live up to the thriller that spawned it.
Now, some things the author did better in this installment. She toned down the romance between Casey and Dalton so that it doesn’t feel like something completely separate from the main plot. There were still a few over-the-top scenes that may’ve made me roll my eyes, but they mostly tied in with the story. Also, there were more characters to know and love, while many also reprised their performances from the previous book.
The story itself starts out with a bang. There’s a chase scene, a snow squall that blows up out of nowhere and maroons our heroes, indirectly causing them to stumble across yet another mystery. The glimpses outside of Rockton were all too brief, but refreshing, as the town in winter quickly seemed to feel like a prison.
Unfortunately, this is where things start to head south.
This new mystery is presented: who took Nicole? She never saw her kidnapper, doesn’t know his face or his voice, only that he is white and yes, definitely a man. At first, there’s a solid lead, a couple of clues, a couple more leads, guesses, shots in the dark, more false leads, a sex scene or two, guesses, wrong guesses, and no answers. While the story ultimately sorts itself out, for so much of the text the story is just a quagmire of plots and threads and supposition that everything leads back to one source—while it really doesn’t. It’s just so complicated to the point of being, well… convoluted.
Convoluted.
If I had to pick one word to describe the story, this would be it. Which is disappointing. Especially considering that I believe there IS a good story in here. That’s obvious enough from the City of the Lost. For the sequel, however, it seems to me that the author simply tried one too many things, took one or two twists and turns too many, and ultimately ended up lost themselves. Unraveling what happened here was interesting, although in the end it just made so much of the story seem like a pointless distraction.
TL;DR
A Darkness Absolute has a story that can be interesting and entertaining at times—not to mention a heart-pounding thriller—but is at the very least an improbable, over-ambitious feat that never really comes together. At worst, it’s a convoluted mess that gets in its own way too much to ever make much sense. It’s definitely complex, thrilling, and dark. Really dark. Whatever I have to say about it, I’d still recommend Rockton for the setting, the premise, and the people. I’ll definitely continue the series despite this misstep—one, that I might add, I had no trouble finishing even while I was a little lost and disappointed in the middle. The series continues with This Fallen Prey (Rockton #3), which has been out since 2018.
Contains minor spoilers for City of the Lost (Rockton #1)
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/10/24/a-darkness-absolute-by-kelley-armstrong/
Only months past Casey Duncan uprooted her life and moved to the remote Yukon wilderness, come to work in a town that doesn’t exist, come to hide in a refuge where no one will ever find her. As she settles into her job as Rockton’s only detective, Casey hopes to find some peace and quiet that city life never prepared her for. And yet, Rockton always keeps her occupied.
In a town off the grid—with no electricity, transportation, phones, internet, or a doctor; where food and supplies have to be flown in on weekly bush planes or traded for with Settlers; and only a tenuous link to the outside world exists—the community has to band together into something tight-knit. Or if not that, close to it.
But when one of their own is discovered after having been held captive in a cave for over a year, the community splinters. Especially when one of their own is likely the kidnapper.
Someone that Casey must find—before it tears the town apart, or before the kidnapper takes someone else.
A Darkness Absolute is the sequel to City of the Lost, the amazing Rockton debut that absolutely blew my mind. And while this follow-up is good—it certainly doesn’t live up to the thriller that spawned it.
Now, some things the author did better in this installment. She toned down the romance between Casey and Dalton so that it doesn’t feel like something completely separate from the main plot. There were still a few over-the-top scenes that may’ve made me roll my eyes, but they mostly tied in with the story. Also, there were more characters to know and love, while many also reprised their performances from the previous book.
The story itself starts out with a bang. There’s a chase scene, a snow squall that blows up out of nowhere and maroons our heroes, indirectly causing them to stumble across yet another mystery. The glimpses outside of Rockton were all too brief, but refreshing, as the town in winter quickly seemed to feel like a prison.
Unfortunately, this is where things start to head south.
This new mystery is presented: who took Nicole? She never saw her kidnapper, doesn’t know his face or his voice, only that he is white and yes, definitely a man. At first, there’s a solid lead, a couple of clues, a couple more leads, guesses, shots in the dark, more false leads, a sex scene or two, guesses, wrong guesses, and no answers. While the story ultimately sorts itself out, for so much of the text the story is just a quagmire of plots and threads and supposition that everything leads back to one source—while it really doesn’t. It’s just so complicated to the point of being, well… convoluted.
Convoluted.
If I had to pick one word to describe the story, this would be it. Which is disappointing. Especially considering that I believe there IS a good story in here. That’s obvious enough from the City of the Lost. For the sequel, however, it seems to me that the author simply tried one too many things, took one or two twists and turns too many, and ultimately ended up lost themselves. Unraveling what happened here was interesting, although in the end it just made so much of the story seem like a pointless distraction.
TL;DR
A Darkness Absolute has a story that can be interesting and entertaining at times—not to mention a heart-pounding thriller—but is at the very least an improbable, over-ambitious feat that never really comes together. At worst, it’s a convoluted mess that gets in its own way too much to ever make much sense. It’s definitely complex, thrilling, and dark. Really dark. Whatever I have to say about it, I’d still recommend Rockton for the setting, the premise, and the people. I’ll definitely continue the series despite this misstep—one, that I might add, I had no trouble finishing even while I was a little lost and disappointed in the middle. The series continues with This Fallen Prey (Rockton #3), which has been out since 2018.
marquez's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ignited_redqueen75's review against another edition
5.0
I just breezed through this one, fast paced, a great mystery to solve and more back stories on awesome characters.
In this second book Casey finds herself unraveling a mystery of kidnapping, murder and some more scoop on how this counsel is really running Rockton.
Love, love, love it.
Favorite character in this one, Mathias lol.
In this second book Casey finds herself unraveling a mystery of kidnapping, murder and some more scoop on how this counsel is really running Rockton.
Love, love, love it.
Favorite character in this one, Mathias lol.
megq2u's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
courtneyyloves's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
It was very fast paced compared the first. Less world development and more character building. I liked being back in Rockton following Casey and Eric solve the mystery of finding a malnourished women in a cave. I wonder if there are places like this. Im looking forward to the next book.
Limited Spice
It was very fast paced compared the first. Less world development and more character building. I liked being back in Rockton following Casey and Eric solve the mystery of finding a malnourished women in a cave. I wonder if there are places like this. Im looking forward to the next book.
Limited Spice