A review by mirificmoxie
A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong

3.0

3 Stars

*A fast-paced but less engaging installment in this series *



I’ve enjoyed the Rockton series so far. Sure, they lean a bit towards romantic suspense rather than grittier mysteries. But they are fast-paced with engaging plots and likeable characters. It’s well written enough for me to forgive it for being written in present tense.

But I have to admit that A Stranger in Town was my least favorite in the series thus far and the first to leave me feeling lukewarm. The first five books each brought something new while still building upon previous books. But this one felt a little repetitive with a trying to hard to one-up itself vibe. There was less of a mystery element to the story and more focus on the overarching conspiracy plot. My investment in the series was due more to the foundation of the previous books than to anything new brought by A Stranger in Town. This was the first time that I started hoping that this series has a predetermined end in mind so that it doesn’t turn into one of those series that drags on and on while steadily dropping in quality until you either bitterly abandon it or desperately hope the author puts it out of its misery.

Despite my lukewarm feelings for this installment, it still wasn’t a bad book. I easily read through it in two days because it was still interesting, pacy, and easy to read. And admittedly, I am invested enough in the characters that I’m going to keep reading the series to find out what happens next. Hopefully, this one was just a bump on the road and the next installment is better.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars