I did not realize this was part of a series when I first got it, which made me DNF unfortunately. Hopefully I can go back and start from book 1!

First let me say this is harder to read without reading the others in the series first. It can be done but you will not understand some critical aspects of certain important things.

In this installment we delve into criminal activity that goes on in a quaint and quiet city not known to many. Casey Duncan, the towns only detective, has learned a lot in her time in Rockton. The police force of only 3 is rocked by a death of a US Marshall who can unexpectedly to get a resident released from their custody. Who would have shot and killed the Marshall and what would the motive be? They soon figure out it must be one of the residents in their little town but who? The storyline is great as is the characters but I just cannot give it 5 stars based on the fact that there were many parts that left me confused due to not having read the previous novels.


3 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't realize that this book was the 4th in a series. So I couldn't read this one without having read the other three books. DNF.

A great addition to the Rockton world! It wasn’t as good as the previous books in my opinion, but it was still enjoyable and interesting. I never expect the ending until it’s happening, and that’s one thing I like about these books. They keep me guessing!

Watcher in the Woods was pure chaos and I loved it. After the events of This Fallen Prey, Watcher in the Woods provides a semblance of peace for about 2 minutes before everything goes to hell again.

I really enjoyed getting to know April better and see the relationship between Casey and April develop through the book. The fact that Kelley Armstrong provides diversity in her books in so many different ways continue to impress me (even though it should be the norm!). April being on the spectrum tracks with Casey's previous stories about her and I loved seeing how April attempting to compensate for some of these traits allowed her to build relationships with Kenny and Casey.

As always, I adore Dalton and Casey and love how supportive and comfortable they are with each other. Their relationship is #goals for me and I just grin like a fool when they're together. Also, it makes me so happy seeing Storm grow up - she's so cute (their doggo in case you didn't know)!

With the vast cast of characters, it's also great seeing more of who's in town and the type of people who've been admitted. We got a lot of Diana and Petra in the first few books, but we're learning more about Kenny, Matthias, and Jen, which has been interesting and has also led to more questions about Rockton and its mysterious council, as well as how they vet and admit residents.

Armstrong has such a gift for writing and Watcher in the Woods is another hit - suspects around every corner, suspense, and mystery hitting just right that I never know whodunnit until the end.

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads: 4.14/5

eARC gifted through NetGalley via Minotaur Books and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series.  But the book would work well as a standalone.  Though I think having the background and history of the previous books would help.  Though I’m not a fan of romance novels, this one has enough twists and turns to keep your attention.  The characters are well developed so you can begin to see relationships developing between them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Double Day Canada for my advanced review copy.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Rockton is a super secret town that allows second chances to both criminals and victims who want to live under the radar and explore second chances. Casey Duncan has lived in the Yukon town for a year and has fallen into the role of the only detective of a staff of four.

In book 4, Casey and the Sheriff leave town to find doctor to address injuries occurring in book 3. They are unfortunately followed by a US Marshall who enters the town but refuses to reveal who he is seeking. Before long, the Marshall is murdered and it's a race to find out who and why this has happened.

Lot of drama and tense moments. I love the premise of the books and although you could read this novel as a stand a lone, I recommend that you start with book 1..

3.5 Stars for me. I haven't read the first three books in this series, and from the beginning I felt like I was stepping into the middle of a story already in progress. Ms. Armstrong did a good job giving information that I missed from previous books (although - warning - if you haven't read the first three, it's pretty spoiler-y), but I still felt a little off-kilter while reading, like I just wasn't totally caught up - particularly with the politics and the behind-the-scenes workings of the secret town itself.

I enjoyed the setting and meeting all of the mysterious characters who live in Rockton. However, there are so many potentially unsavory characters that almost anyone in town could have committed the murder, leaving a lot of suspects for Casey to investigate. My favorite part of the story was the relationship between Casey and her sister April, and watching how that evolved over the course of the investigation.

Overall, an interesting mystery and characters. I would just recommend starting from book one instead of dropping in here.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

A fine book but it’s hard to be invested in it when you haven’t read the previous books in the series as there is so much backstory mentioned throughout. I did like the exploration of Casey and April’s relationship though.

A special resort, one for those in witness protection, or other such special situations, Rockton is in the middle of *nowhere* and supposed to be secure. This is a place to get your life back together, to rebuild, regroup, and stay alive. So who leaked? How did anyone find out about this safe haven?

Working well as a standalone, but I do want more! Casey was great, very dynamic. I would like to read more books in this series.

Thanks to Net Galley for my copy of this book. This review is my own, left of my own volition. A positive review wasn't required,

I didn't realize that this was part of a series, so I was just plodding along, never got invested. Good writing but you need to read the series vin order.
3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I did not realize that this was the fourth novel in a series when I picked it up. The Watcher in the Woods is a creepy, dark, and twisted mystery. I'm interested to start the series from the beginning as the story was good as is but I would probably get more out of it if I understood the characters more. Still an overall good mystery. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

**For more reviews visit me at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Casey is back in the next installment of what is hands down favorite mystery series, and just one of my favorite series in general. Watcher In the Woods picks up right after the events of the last book, basically just a day later and the characters were left reeling and trying to catch up. Keep in mind that this is a series that grows and gets more complicated book by book and you can't (or at least shouldn't) just jump in wherever. Make sure to start at the beginning so that way all the relationship dynamics and subtleties of the world/town are unraveled appropriately.

I will keep this review short and to the point. This series is fantastic, full of tension and danger as well as multiple mysteries that are never apparent, always something to keep the reader guessing. I love the characters, especially Casey and Dalton (I ship them so much, and no this is not a romance story but it does have it's sweet moments). The series has everything I would want from a mystery and I am always on the edge of my seat when reading, not able to put the book down until I reach the end- and then I am desperate for more, and this one was no exception. I did like how this book had a new complication of April, Casey's older sister, and I look forward to seeing more from her to come.

I highly recommend this series for anyone who wants a different kind of mystery with a compelling cast and lots of high intensity danger in the great outdoors.

Rockton is a small town in the Yukon. It is a place where a few chosen people are living. It is far from the rest of the world. You have to be invited to live here. The residents have very different backgrounds. Someone has invaded their small community.
Casey and Dalton are the security here and they have to find out who and how they were found.
This is a captivating story and a unique premise.

"Watcher in the Woods" is a bit of a let down. I like Kelley Armstrong's books, generally, but this one was a rather forgettable addition. I found myself rather disinterested in what was happening.

❝ "Feeling it's not a bad thing, Casey. It just sucks that we have to. It really, really sucks." ❞

Trouble finds its way to Rockton when a man claiming to be a marshal looking for a criminal arrives in town.

In the last book, Casey and Eric also had to deal with outsiders, but they were brought in with the council's blessing. This is the first time in the series that someone has stumbled onto Rockton without being brought in according to the council's protocol (well… one of two, but more about that later). It was a great twist from the usual trouble Casey and Eric face. I love that Armstrong can keep bringing fresh twists to her series.

Aside from this intruder, we also see another new face brought into Rockton. When I read the first novel in the series I was so unhappy with how Casey's sister, April, had reacted and I was a bit let down that their relationship wasn't explored further. In this book, we finally get that! I love that this angle was addressed as well as how April's character was developed.

❝ There will always be a part of Dalton who is that boy taken from his parents. The boy who lost his family and came to Rockton, to a world where he loses everyone. ❞

April was a hard person to like in the beginning. She was far too serious and oblivious to others' feelings. Most of the time it felt like she thought she was better than others. We learn more about her later on which helps put everything in context. What I liked was that it didn't end there. I liked the honest effort April put into correcting her behavior, and I like that she and Casey started repairing the relationship.

I also enjoyed that we were able to know more about the hostiles in this book and that some of the mystery around them was unraveled. There are still some questions, but I'm glad we get to know more about Petra, the council, in the hostiles.

Hopefully, we get to see the hostiles play a bigger part in another book soon because I think that would be something interesting and new.

As for the plot and pacing, I think compared to other books in the series this one felt slower, but it was still very good. I would've liked the crime-solving and angle to be a bit smoother; it was a little like the last book where I felt like we got most of the answers towards the end and not enough earlier. Still, overall it was still good.

Watcher in the Woods may not have been as smooth as previous books in the series but I still thoroughly enjoyed continuing the series and I look forward to solving Rockton's next crime!

I didn't realize that this was part of a series, so I was just plodding along at first. I got the general idea of what was happening, but it never really pulled me in. Beginning at the beginning with #1 may have been a better choice for me to grow with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the #ARC. A good addition to the Rockton series with Casey following up on issues from the last book as a stranger shows up claiming to be a U.S. Marshall there for one of Rockton's residents & causing all kinds of new troubles for Casey & Dalton. Some interesting new characters to meet including Casey's estranged doctor sister, smuggled in to help. Looking forward to #5

Another great book in this series I love Casey and dalton and it was interesting to see her relationship with her sister evolve