This is the first book I've read in this series but I'm definitely going to go back to the start of the series and see where it all began. And yes, it would have helped to have read them in order as there are references to prior events, but enough information was given to bring me up to speed and it didn't affect my ability to follow or enjoy this episode.

Casey Duncan is a Detective, the only Detective, in the tiny town of Rockton in the Yukon. Rockton is a secret town, isolated and totally off the grid, where people pay to go to hide from their lives for a few years before starting a new life. Some of them are hiding from abusers or people who mean them harm and some of them may be criminals running from collapsed businesses and schemes or even people who've done prison time but need to vanish after their release to become anonymous. How Casey ended up in Rockton is the subject of earlier books but she has chosen to stay and be the town's only Detective. Part of the attraction for her is the town Sherriff, Eric Dalton, the man she loves and lives with and together they make a great team.

When Kenny, one of the residents of Rockton gets shot and the bullet lodges near his spine, Casey and Eric make a risky trip to Vancouver to try to enlist Casey's sister April, a neuroscientist and surgeon, and convince her to come to Rockton to operate on Kenny. Not long after they return with April they detect a stranger in the woods watching the town who declares himself to be a US Marshall with a warrant for one of the town residents. Refusing to tell them who, he unfortunately gets himself killed before they can find out. Now they not only have to hunt down the Marshall's killer and find out who he was looking for but also find out how he knew about Rockton and how to find it.

I enjoyed the setting of this book very much - the ruggedness and beauty of the Yukon. The characters are all flawed or fragile in some way, although many have hardened shells, so it makes them an interesting bunch to watch interacting. Casey and Eric are very much on their own solving the town's problems and many of their solutions are inventive and pragmatic rather than standard practice so it makes for an interesting read. There are red herrings and false leads as Casey and Eric try to find the culprit and prevent further deaths in this gritty thriller.

After the cliffhanger of the last book, I couldn't wait to pick up this, and Watcher in the Woods didn't disappoint. Though I was hoping for some other mystery, since how This Fallen Prey ended, the main plot was still engaging. A Marshall somehow finds the hidden town of Rockton, a sanctuary for criminals and victims alike, and demands one of the townspeople, who he says is a violent criminal. Before Casey, our main character, could verify his words or find out who he came for, the Marshall ends up dead, and cue the investigating.

The mystery has a lot of twists, it kept me guessing until the end. This book has it all: a very nice mix of romance, fast-paced action, murder and humor, which makes up a very entertaining read. We get two new characters, who are a nice addition to the town (and both of them got to be my two new favorites, hoping to see more of them in the next book!)

Apart from the main mystery, we get to see Casey deal with her sister, a part of her past, and her own misjudgments, which is a nice addition of some character development. Also, we get to see a bit of the inside works and behind the scenes of Rockton, which was always my favorite aspect of the series, the "mythology" of this town just keeps getting better and better with each book!

All in all, the Watcher in the Woods is a thrilling read.

This was an enjoyable book. The book can be understood and enjoyed if you have not read the prior books in the series (as I have not), but there are numerous references to past events/past history and so it likely makes for a better reading experience if you have read the earlier books. The series focuses on the "town" of Rockton, hidden in the Yukon, where people go or are sent to escape their problems; some are criminals, some are victims. The existence of Rockton is a closely held secret. There is a Council, whose members are located elsewhere, who determine who is allowed to come to Rockton (money is a major factor) and arranges for the necessary supplies to be provided. The only person in Rockton who knows the reason for each resident's presence in Rockton (or at the least the backstory the Council has provided) is the sheriff, Eric Dalton. Assisting him in maintaining law and order is Casey, former police detective with her own interesting backstory and current girlfriend of the sheriff.

The book starts out with Casey trying to convince her estranged sister, April, who is a neurosurgeon, to help her with a friend/resident who has been shot in the back (as medical care in Rockton is limited), which requires sneaking April into Rockton. However, things do not go exactly as planned, especially when a stranger shows up claiming to be a US Marshal looking for a violent criminal, whose identity the marshal will not supply, and then the marshal is killed by someone in the town. While the overarching plot of the book is the search to determine who the marshal was after and who killed the marshal, there are numerous subplots involving various residents, issues with the Council, and the relationship between sisters Casey and April. The plot and subplots are interesting and there are numerous twists and turns. The characters are creative, diverse and well-developed and the author has created strong dynamics among a number of the characters, demonstrating the friction among various segments of the population. The author continues themes that appear to be from the prior books, as well as introduces new elements/themes that could foreseeably be aspects of a future book in the series. The book is well worth reading.

I was provided a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is book 4 in the Casey Duncan series, but the first I have read in it, but I will be soon catching up on books 1-3! Casey and Eric seem to be an odd pairing at first, and then as the book evolves, you realize that not only are they perfect for each other, but they are perfect for the town itself! Rockton is it's own mystery, and as the story unfolds, so does the story of the town. But it's story may be about to be exposed to the outside world in a way the residents don't want it to be. or has it already been exposed to the wrong person? There are so many secrets and long hidden coverups, that Eric and Casey have to uncover to get to the truth,that it seems like they'll never get to the end of a very tangled web!

Good luck with not staying up all night to finish this book, because once you start it, you can NOT put it down! Casey is a coffee loving sarcastic character that we'd all love to have as a bestie. If your favorite series has come to an end and you're looking for something to sink your teeth into, the Rockton series is defintely one that will keep you busy for a bit! Don't miss this new series!

Very grateful this is first in a series! I was scared, and intrigued, and definitely enjoyed each character. Casey and Eric make an interesting team, we'll see what the future installments bring.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy of Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong in exchange for an honest review. I love thrillers and Kelley Armstrong did not disappoint with this taut mystery (4th in a series- but you do not have to read the other three) with police detective Casey Duncan and her boyfriend/Sheriff, Eric Dalton in a very remote, unknown town in the Yukon, Rockton investigating the murder of a US Marshall who slips in to apprehend a dangerous suspect. What I loved was Armstrong’s worldbuilding of Rockton; its beliefs, its inhabitants, and those in control (yes there are layers of control). Both Eric and Casey were strong, very likable characters who honestly protect and serve despite constant rules and roadblocks. The plot with all its twists & turns and the many suspects made this book a gripping, wild read. I could not put this book down and am definitely going back to read the other three books in this awesome series. This is a riveting, mesmerizing psychological thriller and will keep mystery lovers turning the pages; highly recommended!

The town of Rockton, hidden in the remote Yukon, is the location for a realistic conflict among the inhabitants, those who live in the nearby woods, and the distant council that make the rules and decisions for the town. The protagonist is Casey, a women who accompanied her best friend in running to this hidden place. The book is excellent at revealing the emotions and psychology of the inhabitants as they deal with issues resulting from the appearance and slaying of an outsider who claimed to be a US Marshall. Several of the characters are dealing with mental issues which are described and handled very well. The characters are very real and it is easy for the reader to feel their pain. Reading and thinking about this book kept me up for several nights.

I love this mystery series from Kelley Armstrong. The background is a very small town hidden in the Yukon where people go to hide from abusive spouses or to avoid being punished for crimes.

Casey is the detective in town and has to deal with stir crazy townsfolk, a shadowy board that runs the town from afar, and her hot sheriff boyfriend, among many other things.

This is the fourth book and takes place in the immediate aftermath of book 3. No spoilers here, but Casey’s sister has come to town and may have brought some trouble with her.

Highly recommend this series. It’s good mystery stock with a wonderful protagonist with an adorable puppy and a healthy relationship that is a pleasure to read.

****/*****

Rockton is a remote “village” if you will, deep in the heart of the Yukon surrounded by wilderness. It’s residents are there for a reason, to hide from the outside world. They don’t want to be found. There are no cell phones here or current technology. Some are criminals, some are victims. They have only one detective on a police force of three. Casey Duncan. She is in a relationship with the sheriff, Eric Dalton. The city “council” makes the rules, Casey and Eric try to enforce them. An interloper shows up, he claims to be a Marshall seeking to take one of the inhabitants away so he/or she, (he won’t say) can be brought to justice. A little action begins here. Is he really who he says he is?

The initial description of this novel intrigued me but I quickly got disenchanted. First by the Sheriff’s foul potty-mouth. It seems like he can’t utter a whole sentence without an f-bomb. That is really annoying.

I had trouble keeping engaged. I found that Casey’s relationship with her sister April, the doctor, was more interesting, yet the character development was lacking for me. I couldn’t find myself caring about any of the characters well enough to get me vested in this, and frankly did not find it fast paced. I found it difficult to continue. So, that said, I cannot recommend anyone start here. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy, but it was not my cup of tea. 2.5 stars from this reader.

My thanks to NetGalley/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and provide an unbiased review.

Rockton is strange little town. It's in the middle of nowhere, is lacking many services taken for granted, and has a mix of victims and criminals. It's a good place to hide people. There's a council that is pretty dysfunctional, has a sheriff and a detective, and uses locals as a militia. There are evil people and predatory animals around, so you need protection. Despite all that, someone is murdered...

Minotaur Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 5th.

The dead man is a US Marshall. He wouldn't say who he was after and there's no end of suspects. With several killers in the batch of residents it could have been anyone. It could even be someone who didn't kill before but doesn't want to be taken back.

The residents don't say much, claim they didn't see anything, and council just wants it solved and ended. There are hostiles hiding in the woods, Casey has a run in with a mama bear, and there are trouble makers in town. They're having a tough time figuring out who the killer is...

This story is almost dystopian even though the end of the world as we know it hasn't come. It just seems that way in Rockton.

This was an interesting mystery that took some good investigation to solve. I enjoyed the romance between the sheriff and the detective. They make a good team.

It was nice to make a new visit to Rockton. This book follows THIS FALLEN PREY closely in time. Casey has suggested bringing her sister April to Rockton to operate on Kenny who has a bullet in his back from the activities of the previous book. April and Casey have never gotten along. She's six years older than Casey and followed her parents' wishes and went into medicine. She is now a surgeon and researcher. Casey has always felt that April sided with her parents in looking down on her. She could never connect with her sister no matter how hard she tried to catch her attention.

After some initial reluctance, April agrees to come to Rockton for a weekend. Since Eric and Casey didn't get the Council's permission, they need to sneak her in and out of town. Unfortunately, this time someone followed them back home. A man named Mark Garcia who introduces himself as a US Marshal says that he has come to take one of the residents back to the US. He won't tell them which resident or even give them any hints. Naturally, this irritates Eric and Casey who are two-thirds of the law for Rockton. They are equally alarmed that he has even found Rockton since it is supposed to be a major secret.

Before they can figure out who Garcia has come for, someone shoots and kills him. Now Casey and Eric need to find a murderer in a town where everyone has secrets and even Eric, who is supposed to be given the truth about the residents, is being kept in the dark. What he has been told is not necessarily true. The Council seems to be deliberately deceiving Eric and selling this sanctuary to the highest bidder without consideration of the danger they might be bringing with them.

As Casey interviews residents and checks alibis, she is also learning more about her sister. She is surprised when one of the residents who was a psychologist before she came to Rockton to run a bar and brothel suggest that April is probably somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. However, that explains a lot about her sister and her relationship with her sister.

Many of the town residents are unique and colorful individuals from barkeeper to the butcher who was a psychiatrist specializing in psychopaths and sociopaths to the constant whiner to the racist bully who almost got a lynch mob together in the previous book. Casey and Eric think that they have sussed out all of the Council spies but they aren't completely sure.

This was a well-plotted mystery in a great setting. I really like Casey and like her relationship with Eric who is also a wonderful character. Fans of the series will devour this one and be eager for more from Rockton.

I am always excited for a new Rockton novel. This one did not disappoint. The action picks up immediately after the end of the last novel making the series run seamlessly. We get to find out a bit more about Casey, Rockton and its residents, which is a rich source material that author Kelley Armstrong knows how to utilize. Learning about Casey’s family was interesting although, in one of the very few issues with these books, it seems unbelievable that her parents would have behaved a certain way being “scientists” and considering themselves “overachieving medical geniuses”. Either way, Kelley Armstrong can do no wrong in my opinion. A must read!!

This book is fabulous. Kelley Armstrong is one of the best writers out there right now. Casey Duncan is a great character. If it can happen it is going to happen to Casey! Awesome book

If you have been following my blog for long enough, you know my stance on picking up books mid-series. To be short, I don’t like doing it. So, when I found out that Watcher in the Woods was the 4th book in the Rockton series, I was not happy. I thought to myself “Great, going to be left feeling confused again.” Then I read the book. Watcher in the Woods isn’t a stand-alone novel, you can read it without reading the other books in the series. Which I was very thankful for.

Watcher in the Woods takes place in an area where very few books are set. The Yukon in Canada. I have only read one other book that takes place there. Any guesses about what? Yup, Call of the Wild. I also have watched Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet. So I am familiar (well somewhat) with how big that territory is. Also, how isolated it is. Because of that, I have no problem imagining a hidden town. No problem at all.

The main character of Watcher in the Woods is Casey Duncan. She, along with her boyfriend and one other man, is the town’s police force. I wasn’t sure if I liked Casey at first. I couldn’t connect with her. But, as the book went on, I started to see that Casey was a complex person with some major issues. While I didn’t quite come to like her, I did start to admire her. She had to have some balls of steel to be in that town.

The main plotline of Watcher in the Woods involved the murder of a US Marshal who was at the town without permission. Casey and her boyfriend are put in charge of finding who the killer is. I will say that the plotline was very well written. The author did a fantastic job at keeping who the killer was under wraps until the end of the book. I can count on one hand the number of mystery/thriller books that kept me guessing until the end. Who the killer ended up being was a surprise. As was the reason why that person did what they did.

I wasn’t as thrilled with some of the secondary storylines in the book. There were some that didn’t add anything to the book. With the references to the previous books, I have a feeling that they were a continuation of storylines in those books.

The end of Watcher in the Woods was interesting. Most of the storylines were wrapped up but others were left open. I am very interested in the storyline that was begun towards the end of the book. I am looking forward to seeing where that storyline goes.

I'm a big fan of remote location stories. Watcher in the Woods is an excellent example of how an isolated environment can add some interesting twists to an already interesting plot.

Since this was my first exposure to the Casey Duncan series, it took me a little while to get up to speed on the purpose of Rockton and the various characters but Armstrong did a fantastic job of casually weaving in just enough backstory without having to slow the pace with a long data dump. A valuable skill I genuinely appreciate as a reader and wish more authors would develop.

Casey Duncan is an impressive lead character with skills, intelligence, common sense and a high level of self-awareness. Her ability to manage the quirky personalities and highly unusual circumstances throughout the story was absolutely fascinating.

My only minor complaint was that the pacing seemed almost too crazy. Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Dalton basically went almost non-stop for days while trying to figure out the mystery. Her exhaustion was a factor in the story but it seemed like a preventable hindrance that someone of her intelligence would've avoided.

Overall, I would highly recommend Watcher in the Woods. I intend to go back and start the series from the beginning.

This story had an interesting premise although at times not quite believable. It was fillled with a good fast paced plot and twists and turns overall an ok mystery
Thanks for allowing me to read and review this book

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.

I didn’t really dig this book, and I’ll admit part of it may be that I don’t have the background information from the previous 3 books.

I didn’t feel much excitement and almost felt distanced from the characters.
I’m struggling to review this book.
I wouldn’t recommend it, especially without reading the first three.

Read 12/25/18
Netgalley
Rating :5
Book 4 in series'm
My review
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
I've read books by Kelley Armstrong before and while I enjoyed them I was sure if I want to go on with the series but after reading this one even tthough its book 4 I now what to go and pick up the first 3 books to read , and I'm now wounding why I've never heard of this series before ,it has everything I like in series , the characters, the suspension , the action , need I say more , with that said I would love to say thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review it in change for my honest opinion as well as helping mme find a series of her I want to go on with.

WATCHER IN THE WOODS is an interesting sort of suspense story. The setting is an isolated village in the wilds of western Canada where persons who have been found guilty of a crime may go and may live there in isolated freedom rather than go to prison. There are of course, plenty of law enforcement to ensure that residents comply with the rules . The story surrounds a killing that occurs when someone from outside comes seeking to take a resident back to civilization supposedy for legal punishment.

While I so admit i found this book had alot of suspense and an unusual stoeyline, this reviewer found the story a bit difficult to follow and not particularly realistic. . Perhaps, other readers will find it more entertaining. It is well written and presented.