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barefootsierra's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Medical content, Confinement, Racism, Cursing, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol
ignited_redqueen75's review against another edition
5.0
Welcome to Rockton's spinoff, another adventure for Casey and Dalton. Kelley Armstrong does it again with this crime fiction. I reread the entire Rockton series just to get to this one again and of course it was so much fun to read. A new murder to solve and new character's brought in what is not to love. Kelley even dialed back Dalton's constant dropping of the F bombs' although to be honest I didn't mind it as much, sure at times it got cringe and unnecessary but it became part of Dalton's charm. Either way I like it.
I am not so sure about the new character Yolanda, I was a bit on the fence about her. Her demeaner just seemed to be too much for me, either she was secretive or she was bossy or she was mean, like pick one, lol. I think she will grow on me it's only her first intro into the story so not too upset about it.
highly recommend for crime fiction fans as always. :)
I am not so sure about the new character Yolanda, I was a bit on the fence about her. Her demeaner just seemed to be too much for me, either she was secretive or she was bossy or she was mean, like pick one, lol. I think she will grow on me it's only her first intro into the story so not too upset about it.
highly recommend for crime fiction fans as always. :)
tasha131's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Kelley Armstrong brings plenty of suspense and atmosphere, as well as a unique setting, to the first book in the Haven’s Rock series, Murder at Haven’s Rock. This is a spin-off continuation series after the Rockton series ended with book 7, The Deepest of Secrets. Haven’s Rock is a hidden town being built somewhere in the Yukon wilderness of Canada. It’s a place for people to disappear and a sanctuary for those that need a refuge.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton met in the original town of Rockton. However, greed and deception destroyed Rockton and Casey and Eric, with some help, finance a new refuge for those seeking safety. This time they get to approve applicants for residency. One rule for the construction crew is to stay out of the forest. However, when two of them break the rule and end up missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to find them. When they find a dead woman and it looks like murder, they need to investigate it while still searching for those still missing.
Casey and Eric are well-developed characters with plenty of depth and are relatable. Casey has a tendency to share credit, but accept blame when things go wrong. She’s a good listener, empathetic, and understanding. However, she stumbles when she doesn’t feel competent. Eric is a fantastic tracker, and asserts himself when needed. However, he recognizes Casey’s skills as a detective and her crime scene skills and supports her rather than taking over an investigation. He also gets short-tempered with annoying or bothersome people at times. Neither is the people-pleasing type. The secondary and tertiary characters run the gamut from helpful and likeable to obnoxious liars and worse.
Overall, this is well-written and entertaining with a solid mystery and complex characters set in an off-the-grid town that is under construction. An intriguing start quickly accelerates as the plot develops and Casey’s investigation takes off. While this can be read as a stand-alone, readers will gain a better understanding of the key characters and their backgrounds if they read the Rockton series first. Isolation, murder, trust, secrets, greed, work-life balance, lies, concealment, and respect are all threads that are explored during the novel. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Fans of Kelley Armstrong and the Rockton series will likely thoroughly enjoy this novel.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 21, 2023.
------------------
My 4.52 rounded to 5 stares review is coming soon.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton met in the original town of Rockton. However, greed and deception destroyed Rockton and Casey and Eric, with some help, finance a new refuge for those seeking safety. This time they get to approve applicants for residency. One rule for the construction crew is to stay out of the forest. However, when two of them break the rule and end up missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to find them. When they find a dead woman and it looks like murder, they need to investigate it while still searching for those still missing.
Casey and Eric are well-developed characters with plenty of depth and are relatable. Casey has a tendency to share credit, but accept blame when things go wrong. She’s a good listener, empathetic, and understanding. However, she stumbles when she doesn’t feel competent. Eric is a fantastic tracker, and asserts himself when needed. However, he recognizes Casey’s skills as a detective and her crime scene skills and supports her rather than taking over an investigation. He also gets short-tempered with annoying or bothersome people at times. Neither is the people-pleasing type. The secondary and tertiary characters run the gamut from helpful and likeable to obnoxious liars and worse.
Overall, this is well-written and entertaining with a solid mystery and complex characters set in an off-the-grid town that is under construction. An intriguing start quickly accelerates as the plot develops and Casey’s investigation takes off. While this can be read as a stand-alone, readers will gain a better understanding of the key characters and their backgrounds if they read the Rockton series first. Isolation, murder, trust, secrets, greed, work-life balance, lies, concealment, and respect are all threads that are explored during the novel. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Fans of Kelley Armstrong and the Rockton series will likely thoroughly enjoy this novel.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 21, 2023.
------------------
My 4.52 rounded to 5 stares review is coming soon.
lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Kelley Armstrong brings plenty of suspense and atmosphere, as well as a unique setting, to the first book in the Haven’s Rock series, Murder at Haven’s Rock. This is a spin-off continuation series after the Rockton series ended with book 7, The Deepest of Secrets. Haven’s Rock is a hidden town being built somewhere in the Yukon wilderness of Canada. It’s a place for people to disappear and a sanctuary for those that need a refuge.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton met in the original town of Rockton. However, greed and deception destroyed Rockton and Casey and Eric, with some help, finance a new refuge for those seeking safety. This time they get to approve applicants for residency. One rule for the construction crew is to stay out of the forest. However, when two of them break the rule and end up missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to find them. When they find a dead woman and it looks like murder, they need to investigate it while still searching for those still missing.
Casey and Eric are well-developed characters with plenty of depth and are relatable. Casey has a tendency to share credit, but accept blame when things go wrong. She’s a good listener, empathetic, and understanding. However, she stumbles when she doesn’t feel competent. Eric is a fantastic tracker, and asserts himself when needed. However, he recognizes Casey’s skills as a detective and her crime scene skills and supports her rather than taking over an investigation. He also gets short-tempered with annoying or bothersome people at times. Neither is the people-pleasing type. The secondary and tertiary characters run the gamut from helpful and likeable to obnoxious liars and worse.
Overall, this is well-written and entertaining with a solid mystery and complex characters set in an off-the-grid town that is under construction. An intriguing start quickly accelerates as the plot develops and Casey’s investigation takes off. While this can be read as a stand-alone, readers will gain a better understanding of the key characters and their backgrounds if they read the Rockton series first. Isolation, murder, trust, secrets, greed, work-life balance, lies, concealment, and respect are all threads that are explored during the novel. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Fans of Kelley Armstrong and the Rockton series will likely thoroughly enjoy this novel.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 21, 2023.
------------------
My 4.52 rounded to 5 stares review is coming soon.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton met in the original town of Rockton. However, greed and deception destroyed Rockton and Casey and Eric, with some help, finance a new refuge for those seeking safety. This time they get to approve applicants for residency. One rule for the construction crew is to stay out of the forest. However, when two of them break the rule and end up missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to find them. When they find a dead woman and it looks like murder, they need to investigate it while still searching for those still missing.
Casey and Eric are well-developed characters with plenty of depth and are relatable. Casey has a tendency to share credit, but accept blame when things go wrong. She’s a good listener, empathetic, and understanding. However, she stumbles when she doesn’t feel competent. Eric is a fantastic tracker, and asserts himself when needed. However, he recognizes Casey’s skills as a detective and her crime scene skills and supports her rather than taking over an investigation. He also gets short-tempered with annoying or bothersome people at times. Neither is the people-pleasing type. The secondary and tertiary characters run the gamut from helpful and likeable to obnoxious liars and worse.
Overall, this is well-written and entertaining with a solid mystery and complex characters set in an off-the-grid town that is under construction. An intriguing start quickly accelerates as the plot develops and Casey’s investigation takes off. While this can be read as a stand-alone, readers will gain a better understanding of the key characters and their backgrounds if they read the Rockton series first. Isolation, murder, trust, secrets, greed, work-life balance, lies, concealment, and respect are all threads that are explored during the novel. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Fans of Kelley Armstrong and the Rockton series will likely thoroughly enjoy this novel.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 21, 2023.
------------------
My 4.52 rounded to 5 stares review is coming soon.
goldies_mom's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
tbrplaylist's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
darwinista's review
5.0
I was delighted to read this first installment of the reboot of Armstrong's Rockton series. In this new book, the world-building involves actually building a new world, or at least a new town in the Yukon. Like Rockton, this new town is designed to provide a temporary refuge for people in danger, and the protagonists of the previous novels, who managed the previous town and protected its residents (often from the other residents), plan to continue in those roles.
What I loved about this book:
- like always, Armstrong gives us a satisfying mystery to solve
- the main characters, Casey Butler and Eric Dalton, are hard-working, competent people with integrity. If I am ever lost in the Yukon, I seriously hope they find me before a bear does.
- the descriptions of the wilderness are realistic but also captivating
- the action sequences are just superb
- at the same time, I'm a wimp when faced with non-stop suspense, so I am very grateful that in between the tense scenes, Casey and Eric make time for rest, recuperation, and reassessment, etc.
- the supporting cast is quirky and multi-faceted
I can't gauge whether this book would stand alone for new readers, even though Armstrong expertly and unobtrusively provided enough backstory to remind me of key previous details. Honestly, though, the seven books of the Rockton series are outstanding, too, so you should also read them. Even writing about them here makes me want to go back and reread all of them.
What I loved about this book:
- like always, Armstrong gives us a satisfying mystery to solve
- the main characters, Casey Butler and Eric Dalton, are hard-working, competent people with integrity. If I am ever lost in the Yukon, I seriously hope they find me before a bear does.
- the descriptions of the wilderness are realistic but also captivating
- the action sequences are just superb
- at the same time, I'm a wimp when faced with non-stop suspense, so I am very grateful that in between the tense scenes, Casey and Eric make time for rest, recuperation, and reassessment, etc.
- the supporting cast is quirky and multi-faceted
I can't gauge whether this book would stand alone for new readers, even though Armstrong expertly and unobtrusively provided enough backstory to remind me of key previous details. Honestly, though, the seven books of the Rockton series are outstanding, too, so you should also read them. Even writing about them here makes me want to go back and reread all of them.
paint_stained_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
bean_bean's review
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0