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scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Slightly better from the first but the case let it down for me.
I just hope next book the detectives are a little bit smarter and there's an more interesting case which by the sound of it seems slasher-esque so looking forward to that one.
Spoiler
if someone wasn't so taken by her boyfriend and her new puppy maybe it wouldn't take a prostitute to be the one to crack the case open. Like Jen figured it out before the police force which includes a homicide detective could. The council suggest the girl faked a kidnapping before and so therefore she is this time even if it's far obvious she didn't. However none of them think about the other victim-who is a male so considering the guy has been taking females makes zero sense but they don't apply that to him though until Jen points him out and even then Casey doesn't want to take her word for it. And it turns out to be him. Like maybe you should just give Jen the job she wants, she's far better at it then the rest of you incompetent fools.I just hope next book the detectives are a little bit smarter and there's an more interesting case which by the sound of it seems slasher-esque so looking forward to that one.
barmatron's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
sam_riccio's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting
I liked this one more than the first book: we have things properly established and I know who is who, what their roles are in the town.
The story starts mid plot, good start already, and takes off from there in a very complex murder mystery. There is a lot of going back and forth in this one, and I don't know if it's normal to do that in mystery/thriller books so the audience can properly keep up or if it's just Armstrong wanting to establish what's going on at all times.
There was a lot of fluff in this one as well, to balance out the murder I believe, and a good reference to one of her other books towards the end which I thought was clever.
I liked this one more than the first book: we have things properly established and I know who is who, what their roles are in the town.
The story starts mid plot, good start already, and takes off from there in a very complex murder mystery. There is a lot of going back and forth in this one, and I don't know if it's normal to do that in mystery/thriller books so the audience can properly keep up or if it's just Armstrong wanting to establish what's going on at all times.
There was a lot of fluff in this one as well, to balance out the murder I believe, and a good reference to one of her other books towards the end which I thought was clever.
alisonb's review against another edition
4.0
Another great story. The pacing, cast of characters, and dark happenings in this town of people hiding from their past lives is highly entertaining.
katranga's review against another edition
4.0
Like the first in this series, I ate this book UP. Armstrong is definitely adept at keeping the tension taut.
However I do find some of the character interactions annoying, like everybody is always trying to be the smartest and get the upper hand, and if they’re a “smart” character (ex Dalton, Isabela, Mathias etc), then both them and Casey get to win. But if they’re a “dumb” character (ex Jen, Diana etc), Casey is the only one who wins the interaction. Idk if that makes sense, I just found it a bit tiring when every conversation was a sparring match.
Very much looking forward to the rest of the series though, and what else Rockton has in store.
However I do find some of the character interactions annoying, like everybody is always trying to be the smartest and get the upper hand, and if they’re a “smart” character (ex Dalton, Isabela, Mathias etc), then both them and Casey get to win. But if they’re a “dumb” character (ex Jen, Diana etc), Casey is the only one who wins the interaction. Idk if that makes sense, I just found it a bit tiring when every conversation was a sparring match.
Very much looking forward to the rest of the series though, and what else Rockton has in store.
clarissep's review against another edition
4.0
THIS WAS SOOOOO MUCH CREEPIER THAN THE PREVIOUS BOOK. I generally like being in forests but that might change after I finish this series looool. I really enjoy how Armstrong kind of peels away the layers of Rockton and the cast of characters inside. Some definitely deserve to be hung on trees in the woods and left there, but none more deserving than the Council. It’s almost as if they’ve turned the people in Rockton into a live experiment— oh, I’ll drop in a secret serial killer here and see how they’ll deal with it! Without technology or a town doctor or even woking walkie talkies. It’s insane. But the whodunnit is very well crafted, and by that I mean as the story progresses and more clues come to light, you eventually get a full-picture psychological profile of the perp that makes the entire thing… I don’t know if the word should be “realistic” or “convincing”, but to me they’re simply well done. The characters we get close to, the “French Butcher”, is a fascinating character for me. I hope he’ll be a true ally from here on out because I really like his dynamic with Casey.
As previously mentioned, I am enjoying how Casey and Eric are growing together after going through their separate lives pretty much feeling alone. (It’s just funny that they’re having sex in the yard on the snow while a puppy is watching on the side.) Eric is a lot less controlling now and it’s really fun to watch him figure relationship stuff out in his own way. He’s so funnily innocent at times. Casey too has changed a lot. For the first time she’s found a sense of belongingness and a real will to set roots. Also, she has also stopped being a doormat for Diana. I like how she’s pushing back against her instincts to take pity on someone who deserves none of it. I also have to commend her for keeping her cool against Jen, because if it were me… Gawd I don’t know what I would’ve done to Jen. There is literally NOTHING one can like about her. No redeeming qualities at all! I wonder what shit she’ll be spewing on the next books.
PS. The narrator is EXCELLENT.
As previously mentioned, I am enjoying how Casey and Eric are growing together after going through their separate lives pretty much feeling alone. (It’s just funny that they’re having sex in the yard on the snow while a puppy is watching on the side.) Eric is a lot less controlling now and it’s really fun to watch him figure relationship stuff out in his own way. He’s so funnily innocent at times. Casey too has changed a lot. For the first time she’s found a sense of belongingness and a real will to set roots. Also, she has also stopped being a doormat for Diana. I like how she’s pushing back against her instincts to take pity on someone who deserves none of it. I also have to commend her for keeping her cool against Jen, because if it were me… Gawd I don’t know what I would’ve done to Jen. There is literally NOTHING one can like about her. No redeeming qualities at all! I wonder what shit she’ll be spewing on the next books.
PS. The narrator is EXCELLENT.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong is an engrossing mystery with an unusual setting, unique characters and a fantastic storyline. This second novel in the Casey Duncan series can be read as a standalone, but to fully understand some aspects of the story, I highly recommend reading book one, City of the Lost, first.
Four months after arriving in Rockton, an off the grid, isolated town in the Yukon territory, Casey (Duncan) Butler is much more settled into her new life and unexpected relationship with Sheriff Eric Dalton. With her first winter in Rockton upon her, she and Deputy Will Anders are taken off guard by the sudden blizzard that strikes while they are searching for Shawn Sutherland, a resident suffering from cabin fever. Too far from town to risk returning home, Casey and Will hunker down in a cave to wait out the raging storm where they unexpectedly find a woman whom it appears is being held against her will in the cave. The captive is none other than Nicole Chavez, who was declared dead soon after vanishing from Rockton over a year earlier.
Nicole is unable to identify her kidnapper and when Casey, Eric and Will return to the cave to look for evidence, they discover the remains of two other women who went missing from Rockton. The facts of the case indicate the person responsible for the abductions is most likely one of the settlers or hostiles who live in the vast wilderness outside the town's borders. With their investigation complicated by the isolation, their lack of technology and the harsh elements, will Casey and Eric find the murderer before another woman goes missing?
Residing in a town where everyone has a criminal past, trying to find suspect for the kidnappings and murders would seem to an impossible task. But with a relatively high turnover of residents, Casey and Eric find it fairly easy to narrow down their list of potential perpetrators. With only a handful of people to investigate, the process of elimination leaves them with only one logical conclusion: no one in town could have kidnapped all three victims therefore the person responsible HAS to be an outsider. While this means their search for murderer is now a much more daunting task, they know they have to find the killer in order to protect the women who live in Rockton.
As the only member of the small police force with law enforcement experience in the "outside" world, Casey is an expert at gathering, preserving and interpreting evidence. While some of this evidence is not of much use since they have little in way of technology, her expertise coupled with her keen insights and finely honed instincts prove to be her most valuable assets. Casey routinely pieces together the seemingly incongruent clues to come up with plausible scenarios about the circumstances of what happened in the caves but she is also struggling to come up with viable suspects in the case.
Since Eric is a longtime resident of Rockton, he has a few useful contacts outside the town borders he can reach out to for help. His younger brother, Jacob, provides helpful information and while they have a good relationship, it is a little fraught due to their complicated past. Things are occasionally tense between Casey and Jacob because of his embarrassment over a previous incident between. Eric also seeks help from Ty Cypher, who was a previously part of Rockton's law enforcement team but does he have information that will help them during their investigation?
A Darkness Absolute is a fast-paced police procedural with an intriguing storyline and a stellar cast of characters. Kelley Armstrong brings the Yukon wilderness and the harsh weather conditions vibrantly to life. The plot is well-developed and the investigation into the kidnappings is quite fascinating. With unexpected twists and turns, the novel comes to a stunning and action-filled conclusion. This latest installment of the Casey Duncan series will leave fans eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong is an engrossing mystery with an unusual setting, unique characters and a fantastic storyline. This second novel in the Casey Duncan series can be read as a standalone, but to fully understand some aspects of the story, I highly recommend reading book one, City of the Lost, first.
Four months after arriving in Rockton, an off the grid, isolated town in the Yukon territory, Casey (Duncan) Butler is much more settled into her new life and unexpected relationship with Sheriff Eric Dalton. With her first winter in Rockton upon her, she and Deputy Will Anders are taken off guard by the sudden blizzard that strikes while they are searching for Shawn Sutherland, a resident suffering from cabin fever. Too far from town to risk returning home, Casey and Will hunker down in a cave to wait out the raging storm where they unexpectedly find a woman whom it appears is being held against her will in the cave. The captive is none other than Nicole Chavez, who was declared dead soon after vanishing from Rockton over a year earlier.
Nicole is unable to identify her kidnapper and when Casey, Eric and Will return to the cave to look for evidence, they discover the remains of two other women who went missing from Rockton. The facts of the case indicate the person responsible for the abductions is most likely one of the settlers or hostiles who live in the vast wilderness outside the town's borders. With their investigation complicated by the isolation, their lack of technology and the harsh elements, will Casey and Eric find the murderer before another woman goes missing?
Residing in a town where everyone has a criminal past, trying to find suspect for the kidnappings and murders would seem to an impossible task. But with a relatively high turnover of residents, Casey and Eric find it fairly easy to narrow down their list of potential perpetrators. With only a handful of people to investigate, the process of elimination leaves them with only one logical conclusion: no one in town could have kidnapped all three victims therefore the person responsible HAS to be an outsider. While this means their search for murderer is now a much more daunting task, they know they have to find the killer in order to protect the women who live in Rockton.
As the only member of the small police force with law enforcement experience in the "outside" world, Casey is an expert at gathering, preserving and interpreting evidence. While some of this evidence is not of much use since they have little in way of technology, her expertise coupled with her keen insights and finely honed instincts prove to be her most valuable assets. Casey routinely pieces together the seemingly incongruent clues to come up with plausible scenarios about the circumstances of what happened in the caves but she is also struggling to come up with viable suspects in the case.
Since Eric is a longtime resident of Rockton, he has a few useful contacts outside the town borders he can reach out to for help. His younger brother, Jacob, provides helpful information and while they have a good relationship, it is a little fraught due to their complicated past. Things are occasionally tense between Casey and Jacob because of his embarrassment over a previous incident between. Eric also seeks help from Ty Cypher, who was a previously part of Rockton's law enforcement team but does he have information that will help them during their investigation?
A Darkness Absolute is a fast-paced police procedural with an intriguing storyline and a stellar cast of characters. Kelley Armstrong brings the Yukon wilderness and the harsh weather conditions vibrantly to life. The plot is well-developed and the investigation into the kidnappings is quite fascinating. With unexpected twists and turns, the novel comes to a stunning and action-filled conclusion. This latest installment of the Casey Duncan series will leave fans eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
orangesyellows's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Miscarriage, and Infertility