Enjoyable story of select families in witness protection. Hidden away in a new encampment for their safety, but sometimes even that may not be totally safe. Best selling author Kelly Armstrong has written another wonderful story. 10 year old Max spots a bear…with human eyes??? Now Max is missing and Detective Casey and her husband, Dalton must solve the mystery.

Do you like reading long series? This is my 9th Casey Duncan book - while it’s the second in the Haven’s Rock series, it’s a spin-off from the Rockton books. What I love about staying with a long series is the comfort of catching up with characters that feel like old friends. Instead of spending the first few chapters trying to orient yourself to a new location and all new characters, you can just slip back in and see how everyone’s doing!

That said - this wasn’t my favorite in the series. I felt the actual case was just so-so but I loved catching up on Casey and Dalton and seeing the changes in their relationship. I also want to mention these books are excellent on audio! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

Let me start by saying I am a HUGE Kelley Armstrong fan. This series has my entire office in a chokehold we have a bookclub basically going. So I'm not going into this unbiased.

With the first children entering Haven's Rock immediately things go awry. Casey and Eric's dynamic is great, the plot while predictable as a broad scope always leaves me guessing on the whodunit train right until the end. We are roughly 9 books in this series and where I normally fatigue out with longer series Kelley's storytelling always has me coming back.


As per usual Kelley has left me wanting more and I will absolutely be adding this to my physical collection once released.

“The only reason people like that let you live is if you have something they want. If you saw something, they want you dead. The dead don’t talk.”

A young boy, while trekking through the woods, sees what he initially thinks is a bear. He soon realizes that is actually seems to be a man 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 a bear suit.

This is a solid murder mystery focused on a remote town deep in the Yukon Territory designed to be invisible and protect those that don’t wish to be found. When I started this book I didn’t realize it is book 2 in the Haven’s Rock series. Although fine as a stand alone I did have some questions initially that I feel may have been answered if I had read the first book (Murder At Haven’s Rock). It definitely felt like I was missing something.

Detective Casey Duncan is such a bad ass and I loved her character! I loved her dynamic with her husband Eric Dalton, who never tries to extinguish her fire. My favorite type of man!

The audiobook was done well and I enjoyed listening to it.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me preface my review of this novel by saying I received an advance copy from the publisher with the express purpose of providing my honest opinion. Despite not having read any other books in this series or about these particular characters, the ample backstory provided got me engrossed immediately.

Set in a small town nestled in the Yukon, the community comprises individuals seeking to vanish and escape their past lives. Among them is a mother and her two children. When ten-year-old Max is kidnapped, Casey, the town's detective, and her husband Eric, the sheriff, are tasked with tracking down the kidnapper.

Without revealing crucial plot points, the story captivated me from the outset. The concept of a town populated by people fleeing their pasts due to unfortunate circumstances is a refreshing and unique setting. I particularly appreciated that the main protagonists, while "the good guys," are deeply flawed and carry their own traumas, steering clear of typical white knight tropes. The diverse cast left me eager to learn more about their individual stories and histories.

The plot kept me guessing, with enough red herrings to throw me off the trail until the very end. I eagerly anticipate the next book in this series—I'm completely hooked!

The Boy Who Cried Bear is the second book in the Haven's Rock series, which is in itself a continuation/sequel to the Rockton series. While this series can be read on it's own, you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't read Rockton first, as it's amazing.

Our protagonist is Detective Casey Duncan, and she and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton are in charge of a hidden town deep within the wilds of the Yukon, called Haven's Rock. This town acts as sanctuary for people who desperately need a new start, and a safe place to hide. The Yukon isn't a safe place to wander on your own, so between keeping the residents safe from outside conditions and from their own bad decisions, Casey and Eric have their hands full. One day a ten-year-old says he saw a bear with human eyes while on a supervised hike, and it causes some concern. Then a dead body turns up - what's going on?

Every book in this series and the Rockton series are absolute page turners. It's plot driven but the characters have depth and complexity that keeps you coming back. You have to care about the characters and their relationships if you're going to keep coming back, and Armstrong has done a bang up job of delivering people that we want to know more about. It's a unique setting and a solid mystery with twists that keep you guessing. And we get a conclusion to the main story thread while setting up more questions and mystery that will keep you coming back to the series to find out what's going on in the bigger picture.

This is absolutely a 4.5 star book for me, and I can not wait to see what happens next in Haven's Rock.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first and am looking forward to reading more. A strong series with characters I like.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

From her Otherworld novels, to Nadia Stanford, to Cainsville, to Rockton, plus many, many others, Kelley Amstrong’s name on a book as its author pretty much guarantees a great read. I was disappointed when the Rockton series came to an end, but she has continued with the best characters in Haven’s Rock. The Boy Who Cried Bear was excellent and I couldn’t put it down, though it left just enough of a cliff hanger to make me wait anxiously for the next novel in this series.

Up front- this will be most appreciated (and welcomed) by those who have been following along in the saga of first Rockton and now Haven's Rock, the community deep in the Yukon that's meant as a safe place for a small number of those fleeing trouble. Casey and her husband Dalton have worked hard to build the Haven's Rock and they've made same policy changes- they now accept couples and, in one case, a family. Max is 10, a smart and clever kid, who sees a bear- or is it- while he's on a careful hike in the woods. Gunnar sees it too. And the miners who live close (4 miles is close in the Yukon) have information about a wild man. So what's going on? Casey and Dalton are investigating (along with their loyal dog) when Max disappears- setting off a hunt that uncovers- well, no spoilers. I love the characters in this series (I'm a big fan of April) and each time a small back story (this time it's Gunnar) is revealed. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm a big fan and this is a terrific addition. Casey and Dalton have big (big) change ahead so I'm especially eager for the next installment.

For me, this book was a 3.5 star. I'm rounding up to 4, because I do think part of that rating is the very personal 'I missed this was book 2' and a little bit 'I'm not particularly in the mood for series books at this time'.
I enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's writing, and found this story to be compulsively readable. The occasional third person POV with Max and the primary POV of Casey being in first person does take some time to get used to, but I adjusted a lot faster than I'd expected.

I did enjoy the mystery and the snippets about the purpose of Haven's Rock. I thought Gunnar deserved a lot better than the shite Dana put him through, frankly. Gunnar was one of my favorite side characters, admittedly, so I am certainly biased.

There are, of course, because this is a series, unanswered questions. I do kind of want to know the secrets behind the miners, but I don't think I want to know badly enough to continue this series myself. I do think that the odds of retention are a lot better if you start with the first book, and if you - unlike the version of me writing this review - are in the mood for series reading to begin with.

As a note, because I know it can be a turnoff for some readers, this book does feature the early days of a surprise pregnancy.

Thank you to netgalley and St. Martins Press/ Minotaurs books for a copy of this arc

I really enjoyed this continuation of the haven rock series. It had me guessing at every turn and every time my guess was wrong! The new character that have been added into the story are great. But there are some point when characters are speaking it just dosent seem real like most people wouldn't speak like that in a conversation and seems a little forced. That throws me off a bit when reading. Other then that it was a good continuation of the series and it leaves you wondering what's going to happen in the next book!

4.5 rounded to 4

This is the second book in a spin off series called Haven's Rock. You will at the very least need to read the first book in this series Murder at Haven's Rock in order to understand what Haven's rock is about. However, if you have time I highly reccomend the series that this one is a spin off from, the Rockton series, first book is City of the Lost. Even just reading the first book in that series will set you up with a bit more understanding for this one.

Detective Casey Duncan and Sheriff Eric Dalton already feel comfortable in their new town, hidden in the Yukon Forest but even they are still learning the new forest around them and the new residents in town are even more unprepared in the forest coming from "down south" which is why people are not allowed to wander in the forest alone. While on a planned hike, the youngest member of the town Max (10 years old) is started to see a bear chasing them, but this is no ordinary Bear, Max swears that it was running on two legs and had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, and they set off to find the bear, but while they are gone Max disappears into the forest. Some say he has run off, some say he was taken. it is up to Casey and Eric to find him, but strange occurrences are happening all around them, in town and in the forest and they are not sure what they are up against.
What I really enjoy about Armstrong's writing is that she does not rely on dead body after dead body in order to keep readers attention, instead she relies on old fashion detective work, tracking and creatine a tense atmosphere to keep it.

In this book, we have a missing child which is the main focus for Casey and Dalton and it is about uncovering clues hidden within the forest and from the residents in town in order to piece together what happened and where Max could have gone and if someone had him. Are there additional interesting side plots where things will be taken further in additional books, absolutely but I found that they were done in a way that intertwined well with this story that it did not become confusing. It personally just made me want to read further in the series to see where Armstrong will take things.

As Haven's Rock is a new place for those who need a place to hide for a few year, it has new rules compared to Rockton. This is really seen with having kids and couples in town instead of just allowing singles to enter. This has created a new dynamic that Casey and Dalton must deal with, as well couples fight, children are curious and Casey and Dalton are still getting a feel for the place. Their authority get questioned a lot more here as well. I personally love the new dynamic and it adds something new from the previous series. And wow, the bomb that gets dropped in this book is just amazing.

I enjoy that Casey and Dalton spent a lot of time in the forest and that the forest is a big unknown here as Dalton did not grow up here and it is not as predictable of a place as it was in their previous home. I think that this unknown forest gives the book additional suspense as they look for Max, as they don’t know the woods like they did before. Their hands are more tied here and they must rely more on Storm and Dalton's tracking skills to try and find him. You can tell on more than one occasion that they are frustrated with their progress and you have to even wonder how much easier their job might have been if they were still in Rockton

One of my favorite additions to this book/setting is their mysterious neighbours, Casey and Dalton know that they cannot trust them, but cannot quite figure out what they are doing way out in the Yukon. There was a lot more interaction with them as well in this book and I can't wait to see that subplot unfold even further in future books. I feel like there is more to come to head with them sooner rather than later

I like Alice’s character growth. even though we don’t see a lot of her in this book, the scene with Kenny is super sweet.

Another solid book by Armstrong. I am a big fan of Dalton and Casey so anytime they are in a book you know i'm going to pick it up. I highly recommend this series, and reading it in order, to fully appreciate the characters, setting and storylines that Armstrong has set up.

Enjoy!!!!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur books, and Net Galley for an Arc of this book.

This book is exactly what I needed to take me back to the feelings I got when I read the OG Rockton series. The mystery of what lies in the woods outside of the "safety" of Haven's Rock. We question motives of the new inhabitants of the town, as well as Detective Casey and Sherrif Eric's choices with allowing children into the town. How will all of the new developments and residents affect the town and the safety it represents? Are the new neighbors a danger to the town's existence? Will this be the end of Haven's Rock?

Always happy to spend time with Casey and Dalton, and this was a solid Yukon wilderness thriller, as we've come to expect. I'm enjoying seeing how Haven's Rock is developing, with its new residents and new (yet similar) problems. Are there dead bodies? Of course, it's Casey. But I feel we're left with a sense of hopefulness that we never really had with Rockton, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

4.5 stars

I liked the second installment so much more in than the first one in this Rockton spin-off series. Having some new characters--especially the younger ones--and more of the old characters back in the mix really helped. The pacing was great and kept me turning pages. The mystery kept me guessing, and I'm intrigued by the larger mystery regarding the mining settlement that this built on from book one.
As always, I appreciate Casey and Eric's supportive relationship and that romantic angst doesn't figure into the plot. They're partners who lead a community and solve crimes together. I also appreciate how the author allows for differences in temperament and points of view. Just because someone is harder to like, doesn't mean that person is an enemy. I do think sometimes she's trying a little too hard to convey how liberal-minded her characters are by their terminology and conversations. Occasionally, this feels forced rather than natural. That's my only quibble this time around, and it's minor compared to all I liked. I absolutely recommend this series to folks who didn't get enough of Eric and Casey with Rockton, and I think for people who start with this instead of the original series, there's enough recap they won't be confused. Eventually, they will probably want to circle back to Rockton.

I have been provided with a review copy of The Boy Who Cried Bear from NetGalley for an impartial review. This book was just so easy to get lost in. I completely got lost in the story and I just loved getting to see these new characters come together. I just absolutely love this story and I just didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

This is such a good series! As much as I loved the mystery and thrills, I also love the continuing story of the residents and those in charge. Haven’s Rock is a community out in the wilderness which was established for those who need to get out of the general population, sort of like witness protection. This story deals with a kidnapping, monsters in the forest and a brave and resilient 10 year old boy called Max. I can’t wait for the next installment.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors, so I jumped at the chance to read this book.

This is another solid book in the Havens Rock series (offshoot if Rockton Series). I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It starts with a young boy seeing something in the woods that looks half man half bear. Casey and Eric must work hard to solve the mystery and run their new settlement, which true to its name is a Haven for those that the law couldn’t protect.

Armstrong has exceptionally talented in both character and world building which is apparent in this book.

Kept me entertained from start to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR by Kelley Armstrong is the second book in a series, but it reads perfectly as a standalone. Haven Rock, deep in the Yukon territory, is a small town where people from the witness protection program have safely resettled.

Max, the main character, is still adjusting to life in the Yukon; but one day, the boy sees what he thinks to be a bear while hiking in the forest with a group. But something is off—the eyes seem to be human. An alarm is raised, and the community gathers to begin a search for the bear. Having been bold enough to approach residents, the animal is certain to be a threat to the inhabitants. But working on the other side of the mountain are miners who have been pushing for more land from the Haven Rock residents. Bad blood is brewing.
The story is a fast-moving nailbiter and certainly not the book to carry with you on a camping trip.

Havens Rock is progressing with a few new residents in the last few month. Two young boys and their mother are some of the new ones. The youngest boy, Max, loves going for hikes in the forest with the adult guides and learning. He tells one of the adults, Gunner, that he saw a bear across the way. Gunner sees it, but not the human eyes that Max says he saw. Casey, Eric and Anders go into the forest searching for the bear and find nothing. Then the race is on to find Max who went into the forest alone and disappeared. During the search for Max one of the miners from the neighboring settlement is found dead and more evidence is found of more than one attacker. Can Casey and Eric find Max alive and figure out the secrets the mining boss is hiding?