Review: Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

Watcher in the Woods (Rockton #4) by Kelley Armstrong
Publication Date: February 5th 2019 by Minotaur Books
Pages: 368
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

About the book:

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 Thoughts:

If you haven’t read the previous books being that this is the 4^th installment there are bound to be spoilers here. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, you are definitely missing out! This series is riveting, suspenseful, and full of twists and turns! I always want to set aside a chunk of time so I can read each book straight through!

Watcher in the Woods picks up right after the events of This Fallen Prey.  Eric and Casey are desperately looking for a doctor to come up and treat and assess Kenny, determine if there’s any permanent damage from the shooting.  The counsel, of course is being less than helpful so Eric and Casey decide to take matters into their own hands and enlist Casey’s sister for help, sneaking her in before the counsel knows.  Casey and her sister, April have never been quite in sync growing up and the death of their parents didn’t help, so there’s a tension between them.  Being together in Rockton forces Casey to look at their relationship, slowly realizing things may not have been as they seemed. April is brusque and different.  I’m enjoying her character and eager for future developments.

With all this going a on a man claiming to be a US Marshall shows up to claim one of the Rockton residents.  Casey and Eric wisely question the situation and from there things get dicey!

There are a few characters here that I continually love to hate, like Roy! That guy is a prick at best.  I’m glad Casey basically kicked his ass in the last book. Unfortunately, he is more than a nuisance in this installment.

Jen as usual is annoying, and I’m not sure why Casey puts up with her or keeps her on as part of the militia. She’s more trouble than she’s worth, IMO. Could be a case of keeping the problem child close and occupied to avoid issues?

Interesting developments with Petra. We get answers after that shocking turn of events from the last book. 

Phil doesn’t seem quite as bad as Val, the last representative of the mysterious, far away Rockton counsel. The jury is still out on him, though. I’m still stunned by Val’s actions in the last one!

We meet Sebastian, a new and interesting addition to the mix. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

The Rockton series just keeps rocking, (lol!) and I LOVED this installment!  As usual there were lots of twists and turns, and non-stop action.  But the thing I love most about this series is the characters!  Of course, Casey and Eric are my favorite, and I love how they reason out whatever mystery or conflict they face; smartly analyzing the situation and motivations of all involved. And they continue to present a strong, united front.  Their romance continues to shine, and I’m glad none of the drama of this story comes from their relationship.

5 Suns