Review: City of the Lost

City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of the fourth book in this series and was so enthralled I went back to read the first three.

This is a fabulous concept. A secret town, hidden in the Yukon, which acts as both a refuge for those fleeing potential death (eg spousal abuse or revenge killings) and for those fleeing the law. The life is hard with few amenities and inhabitants must stay for five years.

Casey Duncan is a cop, when she was 18 years old she killed her boyfriend and made it look like a revenge killing by rival drug dealers. Now her history is back to haunt her so she and her BFF Diana, who is fleeing her abusive ex-husband, make plans to flee to this mythical Rockton.

However, as might be expected in a small isolated town populated by victims and criminals, there have been a series of suspicious deaths/ murders and the local police chief (of a team of two) is in over his head - Casey as a fully-fledged police detective is an ideal new inhabitant to help him solve the mystery.

Imagine a small isolated community, surrounded by forest, in a territory with less than half a million people, no way in or out unless escorted by the police chief. No internet, no TV, so far north that there is permafrost, chemical toilets, a basic economy of credits. Everyone gets a fresh start when they come to Rockton so the inhabitants have no idea whether people are fleeing persecution or justice. A town where men significantly outnumber women, where booze is rationed and there is a police-sanctioned brothel. A missing young woman, grisly murders, half-feral people gone native living in the woods, no back-up. The perfect set up for a thriller.

I gave up reading thrillers/ romantic suspense a few years ago because the murders were becoming ever more disturbing and most of the heroines fell into the TSTL bucket. But Kelley Armstrong write brilliant heroines, Nadia Stafford is one of my all-time favourites, and although I was slow to come to the party I am now all in.

As always, Kelley Armstrong writes strong, clever heroines and flawed but lovable heroes. Her plots are dense, yet believable and with a town full of criminals everyone is a suspect and the red herrings flow thick and fast.

Loved it!

View all my reviews