Helpful Score: 2
I really liked the concept, but I had trouble with the details. Had to put aside a number of logical questions about how it would work. Many times in the plot I stopped, thinking "wait that makes no sense". Liked how Armstrong developed Casey and the other characters, but Casey's ongoing blather about Dalton got annoying. In the end I felt the actions of the villains were overly convoluted; too many variables involved. The story is obviously set up for multiple sequels and as I write this I think there are at least 4 more. If I weren't already reading so many other series with bad-ass female protagonists I might try the next, because I liked the city in the wilds, but I'll stop with this one.
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book in a new thriller/mystery series by Armstrong called the Casey Duncan series. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very engaging read with a wonderfully delicious dark and mysterious mystery. I loved the setting and the characters and really enjoyed how the plot unfolded. There is also a little romance in here to balance out the gruesomeness.
Every character in this book has issues...big ones. This made for an incredibly intriguing cast of characters that were unpredictable and engaging.
The setting was amazing. You have all these characters hiding from past people and crimes in an isolated town in the middle of nowhere. The town is fairly primitive and requires the full cooperation of the people living there to survive. Surrounding this town is the harsh Canadian wilderness and...other things. I loved this remote setting and loved the survivalist element this brought to the story.
The plot constantly kept me guessing and trying to figure out "who done it" was a challenge. I loved some of the twists at the end of the story; just amazing.
The main mystery was wrapped up nicely but there are many storylines I hope are fleshed out more in future books. There is a sweet romance that develops between two of the characters as well and that really helped balance out some of the more gruesome scenes in this book.
Overall this was an amazing thriller/mystery set in a intriguing location with engaging characters. I am not a huge thriller/mystery fan but I ended up loving this book. I would recommend to fans of Armstrong's writing and to those who love mysteries stories that have an element of survivalism to them.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very engaging read with a wonderfully delicious dark and mysterious mystery. I loved the setting and the characters and really enjoyed how the plot unfolded. There is also a little romance in here to balance out the gruesomeness.
Every character in this book has issues...big ones. This made for an incredibly intriguing cast of characters that were unpredictable and engaging.
The setting was amazing. You have all these characters hiding from past people and crimes in an isolated town in the middle of nowhere. The town is fairly primitive and requires the full cooperation of the people living there to survive. Surrounding this town is the harsh Canadian wilderness and...other things. I loved this remote setting and loved the survivalist element this brought to the story.
The plot constantly kept me guessing and trying to figure out "who done it" was a challenge. I loved some of the twists at the end of the story; just amazing.
The main mystery was wrapped up nicely but there are many storylines I hope are fleshed out more in future books. There is a sweet romance that develops between two of the characters as well and that really helped balance out some of the more gruesome scenes in this book.
Overall this was an amazing thriller/mystery set in a intriguing location with engaging characters. I am not a huge thriller/mystery fan but I ended up loving this book. I would recommend to fans of Armstrong's writing and to those who love mysteries stories that have an element of survivalism to them.
