4 Stars
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Date of publication: February 5th, 2019
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Series: Rockton
City of the Lost—Book 1
A Darkness Absolute—Book 2
This Fallen Prey—Book 3
Watcher in the Woods—Book 4
Where you can find Watcher in the Woods: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Goodreads synopsis:
In #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s latest thriller, the town of Rockton–and her fans–are in for another hair-raising adventure.
The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Casey Duncan, the town’s only detective on a police force of three, has already faced murder, arson and falling in love in less than the year that she’s lived there. Yet even she didn’t think it would be possible for an outsider to find and cause trouble in the town she’s come to call home.
When a US Marshal shows up in town demanding the release of one of the residents, Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Dalton, are skeptical. And yet only hours later, the marshal is shot dead and the only visible suspects are the townspeople and her estranged sister, in town for just the weekend. It’s up to Casey to figure out who murdered the marshal, and why they would kill to keep him quiet.
My review:
If you have been following my blog for long enough, you know my stance on picking up books mid-series. To be short, I don’t like doing it. So, when I found out that Watcher in the Woods was the 4th book in the Rockton series, I was not happy. I thought to myself “Great, going to be left feeling confused again.” Then I read the book. Watcher in the Woods isn’t a stand-alone novel, you can read it without reading the other books in the series. Which I was very thankful for.
Watcher in the Woods takes place in an area where very few books are set. The Yukon in Canada. I have only read one other book that takes place there. Any guesses about what? Yup, Call of the Wild. I also have watched Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet. So I am familiar (well somewhat) with how big that territory is. Also, how isolated it is. Because of that, I have no problem imagining a hidden town. No problem at all.
The main character of Watcher in the Woods is Casey Duncan. She, along with her boyfriend and one other man, is the town’s police force. I wasn’t sure if I liked Casey at first. I couldn’t connect with her. But, as the book went on, I started to see that Casey was a complex person with some major issues. While I didn’t quite come to like her, I did start to admire her. She had to have some balls of steel to be in that town.
The main plotline of Watcher in the Woods involved the murder of a US Marshal who was at the town without permission. Casey and her boyfriend are put in charge of finding who the killer is. I will say that the plotline was very well written. The author did a fantastic job at keeping who the killer was under wraps until the end of the book. I can count on one hand the number of mystery/thriller books that kept me guessing until the end. Who the killer ended up being was a surprise. As was the reason why that person did what they did.
I wasn’t as thrilled with some of the secondary storylines in the book. There were some that didn’t add anything to the book. With the references to the previous books, I have a feeling that they were a continuation of storylines in those books.
The end of Watcher in the Woods was interesting. Most of the storylines were wrapped up but others were left open. I am very interested in the storyline that was begun towards the end of the book. I am looking forward to seeing where that storyline goes.
I would give Watcher in the Woods an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is violence (sometimes graphic). There is language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.
I would reread Watcher in the Woods. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.
I would like to thank the publishers, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Watcher in the Woods.
All opinions stated in Watcher in the Woods are mine.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
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