Escaping to Rockton continues to provide Casey Duncan opportunities to use her superior skills of detection in A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong. Faced with finding a Rockton resident who has left town and doing so in a sudden blizzard, Casey and Rockton deputy Will stumble upon a kidnapped woman who has been missing for over a year. Casey, Will and Sheriff Dalton have to consider if the kidnapper was/is a resident, or from one of the groups who live outside Rockton. When two more bodies are uncovered, that throws their investigation into a timeline that has them questioning possibilities.
Armstrong excels in action-filled stories. She offers up enough plausible theories that anything and anyone is suspect. Add a blizzard where the killer(s) can be anywhere and just a few feet away, and the atmosphere is set from the first chapter. Don't go in the woods alone, and don't trust anyone.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Kelley Armstrong and NetGalley for this ARC.

A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong

397 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 7, 2017

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Casey moved with her friend Diana to Rockton, a secret town in Canada. They have no connection to the outside world. There is no cell phone or internet service. Every resident has a purpose. Since Casey was a homicide detective before her relocation, they happily accept her into the community. It is a good thing since there is a murderer in their midst. Since everyone has assumed names and careers, no one really knows who anyone is.

This is the second book in the Casey Duncan series. The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. The book reminds me of a twisted version of the television Eureka. It is a town that is cut off from the rest of the world with flawed individuals. If you like mysteries especially in freezing snowy conditions, you will enjoy reading this book.

This is my third reread of A Darkness Absolute and even knowing the basic plot line, I still find myself enjoying the world of Rockton and its cast of complicated, flawed and frequently amazing characters. Armstrong’s writing is merely the cherry on top. I appreciate the occasional quirkiness in her writing style, but also how well she articulated some of her characters deeper insights. These were two that I was particularly struck by during this reading:

“For the first time in my life , I see a future, and seeing a future means I’m in no big rush to cancel it.” (Ch. 68, Loc 5533 Kindle)

“To understand another person—to accept them and want them to accept themselves, without changing who they are—is a rare thing to find. You are both very lucky.” (Ch 70, Loc 5733 Kindle)

As someone who has experienced both, I found these to be profound , demonstrating a depth of character development that I find particularly compelling in a novel. I may come to a novel for the intriguing story but I stay and return for the insights woven into the narrative and the intellectual stimulation provided. For that, I recommend The City of the Lost as well as A Darkness Absolute.

[I received a free ARC of this novel courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I'll be honest. I accidentally read this book before reading City of the Lost.  It wasn't intentional. Kelley Armstrong has had some solo books come out of the years and I assumed this was one of them.  However, I was so drawn in by this story, that it wasn't truly until I was halfway through that I realized there was a book before this one.  In my opinion, this story could almost work as a standalone, if a few of the references were introduced as memories or past events in a bit more clarity (i.e. Jacob assaulting Casey).  Regardless, I did read the first book after this one, so I wanted to review based on my initial thoughts and my summative thoughts.

This novel had a darker approach to it, both in mood and setting.  The cold winter setting leads to less of the interactive moments that colored the first novel.  Also, while the first novel left me wanting to go explore caves or rock climb, this one left me envisioning why I should never do such things (aka I will die!).  In contrast, I find that I liked Casey better in this novel.  Perhaps this is due to more character development and the interpersonal relationships already being established with fellow members of Rockton.

I also enjoyed that the main murder plot was focused on a single suspect (even though it is theorized at one point that it could be multiple people).  The amount of characters involved in the previous novel's crime was a bit confusing and tangled for my personal taste.  However, the idea of being held hostage in a dark cave for over a year is beyond creepy.

Overall, I love how the author continues to develop the entire town and its inhabitants.  The reader gets more insight to some of the initial behaviors/reactions of townspeople from the first novel, while still uncovering more secrets about those who have been snuck in by the committee.  This is a solid murder/kidnapping plot and I enjoyed not truly understanding who was responsible until a few chapters before Casey begins to put the pieces together.  I'm already started on book 3 and it's my intention to finish all of the books in this series by the end of next week. That's how much I enjoyed this book!

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers.
Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that...before another victim goes missing.

There are a few things that make an excellent thriller: plot, characters, setting and resolution. This book scored very high on the first three, but I felt a little let down by the last one.

On the plus side: the setting. What a stark, unforgiving location to set a murder mystery. A small town, in the middle of nowhere (or, at least, somewhere near the middle) where people go to escape the pasts, their troubles, their woes. There are rules to abide by, set by a committee which has everyone's best interests at heart...don't they? I felt the isolation, sensed the hopelessness of the people who moved there...a great setting for sure.
The characters are well-developed for the second book in the series. Casey and Will are near fully fleshed-out characters who you have no choice but to cheer on, despite some of the mountains they must climb to solve the case. Also, the secondary characters have a life of their own, now that they have been established in the first book. No unnecessary going over of the minor details certainly helped with the pacing of the story.
Finally, the plot itself - very cleverly done. The woman who had been held captive in the cave for 12 months opened a whole lew of investigations, connecting her with a series of deaths of women whose bodies were discovered after disappearing some years ago. Not quite cold cases, but old enough to offer challenges to Casey, Will and Sheriff Eric.

On the downside, the finale was a bit too dramatic for me. After a very quiet - but tense - section of the book, the ending sort of crept up and left me a little unsatisfied. Maybe cos it felt like there was more to be had from this series, there wasn't any real resolution to a few minor strands of the story.
Also, the "romance" between Eric and Casey was a bit "fluffy" for the dark nature of the mystery. I don't know if it was a deliberate attempt to keep part of the story light, but it just didn't seem to fit in with the overall tone of the novel.

Would I recommend this? Certainly...but make sure you read City of the Lost first. That gives a bit of a heads-up for what transpires in this book.


Paul
ARH

Kelley Armstrong usually always deliveries a great this book was not exception. Armstrong doesn't give me heavy reading books aren't bogged down with useless information. The characters the setting and mystery are always completely woven together like a beautiful quilt.

Kelley Armstrong's A Darkness Absolute opens with Detective Casey Duncan (City of the Lost) pursuing a resident in her adopted town of Rockton, a hideaway for people who don't want to be found. The runner has fled, in a blizzard, into the forbidden surrounding woods. Taking shelter until the storm blows over, Casey and sheriff's deputy Will Anders discover a woman who's been held prisoner in a cave for more than a year. Rescuing her, however, is just the beginning of a complex mystery.

The woman can identify her captor only by body type--he always wore a mask in her presence. To Casey's relief, both Dalton--Rockton's sheriff and Casey's lover--and Will are eliminated as suspects. But the perpetrator could be almost every other man in the vicinity, not just Rockton residents but also the people called hostiles who live in the woods. Then Casey and her colleagues find evidence indicating the woman wasn't the first abductee, only the first to survive. And Casey starts noticing signs of someone stalking her. Can she solve the case before becoming the next victim?

Armstrong sustains a paranoid atmosphere throughout, with Casey rarely certain about whom to trust, including the victim. Many of Rockton's residents have violent pasts, and the hostiles are even more disturbing. The town remains a claustrophobic setting that's merciless when Mother Nature unleashes her power, striking with blinding snow and absolute darkness. But Casey is tough, too, and thriller fans will be eager for another trip to Rockton.

Oh how I loved this book. I really enjoyed her first book and meeting the characters but I felt this book really expanded on that plus the plot was so good.
Casey and Anders are out looking for a man who has runaway from Rockton. When a blizzard hits and they take cover in a cave they discover a woman in a pit.
After taking her back to town to recover for her 1+ years in this pit, they discover she isn't the first woman. Who is doing this? Is it someone from Rockton? A settler? A hostile?

I can't wait to read more of this series.

Posted on : July 6, 2017.
Blog: The Life & Times of a Book Addict.

A Darkness Absolute, the second book in the Casey Duncan series, begins with Casey and Anders searching for one of the town residents who apparently got a little stir crazy and ran off in the woods. The woods is a dangerous place on a normal day, but now with a storm threatening to hit, it’s even more dangerous. Not long into their search, Will and Casey have to take shelter in a nearby cave and it’s there that they discover a woman still alive in a hole in the ground.

From there it’s a matter of rescuing the victim (Nicole) and trekking back through the woods to Rockton to get help. Unfortunately Nicole may not be the only victim and Casey, Will, and Eric, will have to use all of their resources if they want to catch the person doing this. Is it Hostiles or Settlers? Or worse could it be one of Rockton’s very own behind it?

The mystery aspect of this book was very interesting. Even though I was able to guess who the culprit was, It wasn’t until I was more than half way in. That didn’t ruin anything for me though. I was still able to enjoy following the characters while they put the pieces together and discovered who the bad guy/gal was and the reason behind it all.

A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong was a very entertaining story. Ever since I discovered Kelley Armstrong's writing a couple of years ago, I kind of fell in love with it. Her writing style and the characters that she creates are always interesting and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to finding out what the next mystery, This Fallen Prey reveals when it releases on February 6, 2018.


RATING: 4 out of 5

Casey Butler continues her life in Rockton, a remote, inaccessible village in Canada., populated by former criminals and folks on the run from their past lives. Casey, herself, killed her former boyfriend and is on the run from his father's mob connections. Now, as a deputy in Rockton, the former homicide detective works with her boss, Eric Dalton, to keep law and order. Casey and the other deputy, Will Anders, find a woman who has been missing from Rockton for over a year. She has been held captive by a madman. Casey and Will also find the bodies of two previous victims of the same madman, so it becomes obvious he has been operating for quite some time. But no one remains in Rockton for more than five years, so how could a madman still be operating? Casey and Eric's relationship continues to unfold; he buys her a Newfoundland puppy, even though pets are discouraged in Rockton. The setting is the star of this show, great writing about winter in northern Canada. Good plotting as well; it took me a while to figure out the bad guy.

I liked this mystery- was a quick read. Solid series that will appeal to a lot of readers.

Casey and Will are on the hunt for a missing towns person when they take shelter from a snow storm in a cave. Casey hears a voice calling and stumbles upon a girl held captive in a hole in the ground. The girl happens to be a Rockton town member who went missing a year ago, presumed dead. But in actuality, she was kidnapped and kept prisoner. Casey needs to figure out who did this and stop him, before someone else gets taken.

This is book 2 in a series, set about 4 months after the actions of the last book. I highly recommend that you read book 1, City of the Lost, to get all the complicated back story of the town and the people. The mystery element is a new story, so that can be enjoyed alone, but you would really miss out on the building of the world. You can read my review of book 1 here . Yet again, this is another awesome suspense filled mystery from one of my favorite authors. Every time I pick up one of her books, regardless of the genre (because she writes Teen, Urban Fantasy and Mystery), I know I will enjoy what I read. That being said, I sometimes wonder if my expectations are too high when I start one of her books, but I have yet to be let down.

So, I am incredibly intrigued by Tyrone Cypher. For all intensive purposes, he is a "bad guy", but I thought he was a great character, and I wanted Casey and Dalton to have more encounters with him. He is wily, abrasive, and a button pusher, but intuitive and interesting. I kept hoping for a few more conversations or sightings with him in it, but I guess I will have to wait for the next book to hope he pops us.

Yes this was a tension filled mystery, with multiple likely suspects and danger around every turn (be it from a murderer, a hostile- cause you know, they are hostile, or the environment). But the best part of the story, and the most dominant part, was the character study of all the characters, be it the main characters or even just a brief side mention of a side character. This story focused on what motivates people, what is someone really capable of and what will someone do when backed into a corner. Casey is a great detective, but that is in large part due to her insightful and through study of people. Watching her "handle" people depending in different ways was like seeing a psychologist at work. Everyone is so multifaceted, I have no idea what to think about Mathias or Diana- both are very complicated people who think they are doing good deeds, but are they really? The ending- enough said.

No this is not a romance, but the best part of the story was the relationship between Casey and Dalton. I absolutely love them together, their dynamic is so great. Mathias described it perfectly- they both accepted the other as is, no complaints or attempts to change the other. And the puppy! Dalton is so freaking sweet to Casey. I love the fact that they could communicate honestly about their relationship, their doubts and fears and what will come. I personally have doubts as to what will happen to them though after Casey's time is up... but I guess that is a concern for the future, if they can even survive five years...

I loved this book and think it was a solid sequel to a great mystery series. I can't wait to see what will happen next.

I received this title in return for my honest review.
For more reviews visit my blog at http://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

I really should stop reading creepy crime novels at bedtime if I ever want to get some sleep. Consider police detective Casey Duncan at the beginning of Kelley Armstrong's decidedly chilly A Darkness Absolute (St. Martin's, digital galley). Chasing a fugitive from the off-the-grid community of Rockton in the Canadian wilderness, Casey and a deputy are stranded in a cave by a fierce blizzard. Strange noises lead them to a dark pit, where a missing Rockton woman has been held captive for more than a year. Nicki can tell them little about the mystery man who kidnapped her, but there's no doubt he's still a threat when the bones of other missing women turn up deep in the cave system. Casey's investigation with prickly sheriff Eric Dalton is hindered by the unusual nature of Rockton, a safe haven for people with secrets. Casey's was revealed in Armstrong's 2016 City of the Lost, so you might want to read it first to avoid spoilers. Besides, it's another atmospheric page-turner.

from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever

The second Casey Duncan book. Casey and Will stumble upon a woman who has been kept captive in a cave when they are looking for a resident who left town without permission. Is the culprit from Rockton?

I loved this book and highly recommend it and the series. It inspired me to seek out the first book and see if there were others. I hope that there will be. Excellent read!

<strong>WrensReads Review</strong>

<strong>RELEASE DATE: February 07, 2017</strong>

THIS BOOK WAS SO INCREDIBLE!

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Casey is comfortable. She has her sheriff-boyfriend Eric, her deputy-friend Andres, Isabel and other people that make her feel at home in the secret-settlement of Rockton.

Diana is still apart of the town, but they are cordial enough to each other that things aren't <em>too</em> awkward.

It's the middle of winter, and Casey and Andres have to track out into a snow storm to find a run away named Shawn Sutherland. It's the second time he has run, but it is their responsibility to bring him back before he dies of frostbite.

It gets to be really late, and so they bunker down in a cave. They realize they are not alone and go to find that a long-lost settler, Nicole, is there. She had been presumed dead about a year ago, so it is shocking for all involved.

What's more shocking is that she was kidnapped and brought there to use and be played with. They are fast to leave with her and bring her back to Rockton to get her back on her feet and healthy and safe; they are also fast to begin the hunt of bringing this mad-man to justice.

Casey then finds two more bodies in the same cave system as the one they found Nicole in. They have another murder in Rockton.

Or is it a settler? Someone not living in Rockton but living in the forest. It couldn't be a hostile, someone who is more animal than human, could it?

This book is very fast paced and thrilling. Not only do we go on this hunt with Casey, but we also go along with her relationship with Eric. They run into a lot of bumps but they are sturdy. They are both not really experienced with this deep of a relationship so it is kind of cute.

The setting is wonderful. You have a town in the middle of a forest that no one knows about. Some of the people that make up the town are hiding from something deadly, and some are deadly people that paid their way in. All of that is secret though. You pick a new name and everything. You don't know who is to trust and who to stay away from.

I absolutely love this series. As a fan of Kelley Armstrong, I as so excited that I got an ARC. Her writing is phenomenal and something that will grab your attention and not let go.

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Kelley Armstrong is truly a master of all genres. Although this novel didn't get its claws into me quite as deeply as Casey's first adventure, "City of the Lost", I still found myself eagerly trying to solve the mystery right along with my new favourite detective. Intricately woven and extraordinarily chilling, "A Darkness Absolute" is a treat for mystery and thriller lovers alike.

When Casey gets stuck in a snow storm after chasing a reluctant resident of Rockton, the last thing she expects to find when taking shelter is a woman stuck in a hole. But there is more to the case than just a kidnapping, the woman had been kept by her kidnapper for over a year…and she isn’t the man’s first victim. But could the man be a Rockton resident? Or one of the settlers or hostiles that surround it?

Kelley Armstrong has managed to once again pull me in to one of her series, I really enjoyed the first book in the Casey Duncan series, but a true test of a series is how well it is followed up in subsequent books. And once again Armstrong managed to deliver. Her thriller, set in Rockton a village full of secrets in a remote and cold wilderness gives you a read which keeps you on the edge of your seat.

What I really like about this series is Armstrong’s writing, much like her main character and indeed the setting of the book, it’s intelligent but with no thrills and gets straight to the point without any meandering. Armstrong’s storytelling style gives us a transparent window into her story without any embellishments, I know this style isn’t to everyone’s taste but for me it added to the atmosphere.

Casey lives in a dangerous place where both the terrain and the wildlife – including the residents of Rockton – could kill her without remorse and yet in A Darkness Absolute we see how well it suits her. I really enjoyed reading the investigation in this book, it always leaves you a little on edge, as you have no idea who could have done it and the more you get to know some of the characters the more you realise she could be speaking to the killer. This leaves you feeling a little off-kilter and just when you think you know for sure whodunit, something else happens, or you learn something new.

But, this also has a little bit of romance in it between Casey and Eric, the Sheriff of Rockton, and we see this progress through the second book as their relationship moves forward. They even get a puppy! Adorable. I love watching them together and I can’t wait to see what the future holds, I have a feeling it isn’t going to be smooth sailing.

If you like a creepy thriller with a dash of romance then this is the series that you need to start. Or if you are new to thrillers and want to give this a go, then you should also give the Casey Duncan series a try, it isn’t bogged down with police procedure but instead gets right down to the investigation and speculation on some interesting characters and suspects. In fact, everyone should give this series a try, it’s a fantastic read that kept me glued to the page right till the very last word.

If you suspend belief you can have fun with this plot line. I enjoyed the book.

Yukon territory, a vast frontier, the perfect place to hide a village, a place where people who are in danger in the outside world can escape. This is where Casey and her friend Diana, an abused wife, were allowed to come, their lives in danger, a place where they could be safe. But is anyplace absolutely safe? Run by a committee on the outside, a committee that is supposed to weed out those who are violent or a threat, but do they?

Second in this intriguing series, a place out of time, no cell phones, not investigative tools other than those that can be seen, no formal lab, yet crimes must be detected, solved. When a young woman, thought dead, is found held prisoner in a cave, Casey and Eric must investigate, attempt to find the person who is capable of this kind of maliciousness. There are settlements, those whom after the five years allowed, did not want to leave and set off on their own, formed their own settlements. Then there are the hostiles, little more than animals and of course there are the actual animals, jaguars, etc. A dangerous place, why everyone in the town is encouraged to not wander outside of it, unless accompanied.

The characters and their back stories, why they are here are slowly being revealed in each consecutive book. Interesting to say the least, but the best part of this series, what Armstrong does masterfully is the pacing, it is fast throughout, not a page where I was bored, wanting to prod the story on, there is literally no down time. Good stuff with this series.

ARC from Netgalley.