
Diana has heard of a domestic violence support town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want; she's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding - in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives. (Summary and pic from goodreads.com)
My Review: I am surprised how much I liked this book. I didn’t
expect it to be as compelling or interesting as it was. I’ve read a lot of
crime novels, and I’ve read a lot of crime novels recently, actually. I
expected this one to fit squarely in the middle of all the others, somewhat
unremarkable but a decent crime story. I have traditionally liked Armstrong’s
writing; I’ve read at least one series that she’s written as well as another
book here and there, and some I liked more than others. But like I said, this
one surprised me.
There are a few things that stood out in this book that
made me really like it. First of all, I enjoyed the writing. I always think
Armstrong does a good job of writing a very conversational book that is easy to
read and understand. When I read her books, I’m not expecting literary genius,
I’m just expecting to enjoy it and know what’s going on and not have to think
about every sentence. I want to just enjoy the book. She certainly accomplished
that in this book. Secondly, I usually like her characters. The main female
character is not completely dissimilar to others I’ve read of hers, but that’s
okay. I like that they’re intelligent and snarky and sarcastic. I connect with
that. I like cool female leads and this is certainly one of those. Her other characters
are usually great as well, and this book definitely had some fun and
interesting characters.
I think the strength of this book, though, was the
storyline. I thought it was fascinating. I don’t know about you, but I’m a
sucker for reading about weird hidden communities where strange stuff goes on
and they operate by their own rules. My love of cultures really shows here, and
I thought the community and the situation was fascinating. Put it in a remote,
rugged place with hostiles and unpredictable people and you’ve got a great mix
of stuff going on. I really enjoyed it, like I said.
I read this book in about a day and a half. I usually
don’t read books like this in that short of time. This one had me captivated.
There was a lot going on and the storyline was interesting. There is a romance,
as with all things Armstrong, and there is plenty of drama, so be prepared for
that. I’m definitely looking forward to the second installment in the series.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For the sensitive
reader: This book is has some seriously bad language (one of the characters
uses the “F” word in almost every sentence. And sometimes that’s the only word
in the sentence). There is violence and also some sex scenes. I’ve reviewed
Armstrong before and feel that sometimes her sex scenes are gratuitous, and I
think that in this case, she was elevating some of the language and violence
and sex scenes to try to keep up with others in the genre. It’s not Scandinavian
author quality, but it is definitely not “Murder She Wrote.”
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