Hi everyone, I hope you’re all having a great Wednesday! Today I’m going to be reviewing the first four books in Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series!

I love that these books are set in Yukon! I’ve never been, but even though Armstrong makes it out to be scary, I’d still be down to visit! 🇨🇦

City of The Lost by: Kelley Armstrong: Casey Duncan is a smart young detective who has spent the past decade of her life trying to get her best friend, Diana, out of trouble with her abusive ex. In order to save her once again they leave for this town that takes people whose lives have been threatened. Things start to take sudden turns when there happens to be a killer in this small town and Casey is on the case. Armstrong’s writing is magnificent. From start to finish she keeps the mystery alive, throwing in curveballs every once in a while. She leaves the reader wondering who the killer is and thinking it’s pretty much every character at one point. Her characters are all so flawed and that’s what makes them interesting and somewhat relatable; some of the flaws feel a little forced because every one of her characters has a major flaw that’s supposed to make them unlikeable. Not every character needed to be defined by these major flaws. The plot was very enticing and exciting. The romance at first felt more distracting than anything else but it grew to be good for the story. This was definitely a fast paced and trilling read.

A Darkness Absolute by: Kelley Armstrong: When caught in a snow storm Casey and her partner Eric take shelter in a cave, only to find something they didn’t expect: Nicole Chavez, a girl they thought ran away over a year ago. Turns out she was kidnaped and has never seen her captors face. Now Casey and Eric have to solve yet another mystery, a mystery that could be leading into their town instead of out of it. Casey and Eric are back at it again and it’s really good to see these characters grow as their relationship for one another grows. The reader can see the shift and it’s really well written; it also helps that Armstrong made them good, strong, likeable characters. The plot was definitely more thrilling than the first book. The fact that the killer is so close yet seems so far, in the dark woods, means that Armstrong can really write some thrilling and frightening stuff. It seems obvious that there will be more to come with the way things ended in this book and that’s exciting because these books are written so well, fast-paced and gripping, letting the reader sink right in.

This Fallen Prey by: Kelley Armstrong: The town of Rockton is a place for people to seek refuge, but when a killer has been placed upon their small town, pretending to seek shelter, the town is no longer a safe place. Casey and her partner Eric are on the case set out to find the killer and their accomplice. This was another fantastic, high thrilling novel from Kelley Armstrong. The plot was great, although by the end it felt like she was beating it over her reader’s heads that there are bad things in the forest and that someone they know is out there. Aside from that, this novel was fast paced and incredibly gripping; the reader completely lost themselves in the story. Her characters are developing more and more; the more we learn about them the more there is to love about them. The fact that Armstrong teased new characters at the end who have strong emotional ties to already well established characters just makes the reader want to dive right into the next novel. This was a great addition to the Rockton series, even though it wasn’t the ending the reader wanted exactly, it still gave the reader something to look forward to.

Watcher in the Woods by: Kelley Armstrong: When a US Marshall finds his way into the small town of Rockton, a town no one is supposed to know about, this raises some suspicions as to why he’s shown up. It’s led to believe that he followed one of the town members and is on a mission to bring them back to where they came from, but which town member it is and what they’re hiding becomes a huge mystery for detective Casey Duncan to solve. This novel was suspenseful from the moment it started and kept going until the very end. Armstrong is really good at her craft and she knows how to write a good suspense novel; she doesn’t leave every chapter as a cliff hanger, but she eases her readers into the next one by omitting information so the reader feels compelled and, almost forced, to keep reading. Some chapters are just chilling the way they end, and that alone, makes the reader so invested and interested in continuing. This novel was so easy to drop back into, and it was like the reader never left. All the characters felt like old friends and the growth they go through was good to see, and really enjoyable. The addition to new characters was also a thrilling ride because it definitely changed the dynamic of the novel, and it was done so well because it enhanced the story and helped characters grow. This was engaging, thrilling and an overall bone chilling addition to the series.