MURDER AT HAVEN'S ROCK

5 stars out of 5

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but with just 10% or so left to go in this book, I quite literally stood at the stove stirring pasta sauce with one hand and the other holding my Kindle (never mind what that did to my eyes). Yeah, if that's not a good indication that I really didn't want to put this one down, I don't know what is.

I'm always excited about the prospect of getting in at the beginning of a new series, although to be fair, this is an offshoot of the author's "Rockton" series (seven books, I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong). Those books centered on a town in the wilds of Canada that was created as a harbor for people who, well, need to get off the grid for one reason or another and Casey Duncan, a homicide detective with a secret of her own. Apparently, something happened there that meant starting over - and Casey and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are helping to finance and oversee the building of a new town deep in the Alaskan forest called Haven's Rock that will serve the same function as Rockton. 

In case you're wondering, I've not read any of the Rockton novels, and at no time did I feel disadvantaged as a result; this one stands very well on its own (with an ending, not surprisingly, that provides fodder for the next book, which I certainly plan to read). As the story begins here, Casey, Eric and their smart-as-a-whip dog are on their way to visit Haven's Rock at the invitation of Yolanda, the project general contractor. Somehow, Yolanda explains, the project architect and engineer, Penny and Bruno, respectively, have gone missing. Everyone working on the project has been warned many times over to not wander off into the surrounding wilds (if for no other reason, because the area is known to be populated with critters who aren't exactly people-friendly. Early on, their worst fears are confirmed as the body of a young woman turns up - and it's clear she's a murder victim.

As the investigation progresses, readers get to know (and, at least in my case) love Casey and Eric. Clearly, they're not your run-of-the-mill folks - after all, they're the ones who will be overseeing what most would consider to be a group of societal misfits, and they'd probably put themselves in that category as well. That's underscored by the fact that except for each other (plus Casey's sister April, a neurosurgeon who's on the autism spectrum, and their former deputy, Will Anders), they don't trust a single soul at the construction site. The action heats up as secrets are unearthed - along with another body or two - and it doesn't stop till the whole thing is resolved (coincidentally, that's about the same time I stopped holding my breath).

All told, it's a well-written, entertaining adventure and I'm looking forward to the next one. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Wonderful!

Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong (Minotaur Books, February 2023); 352 pp.