Kelley Armstrong does it again! Her Rockton novels had me hooked from the go and this fifth installment does not disappoint. The situations are believable given what might happen in remote isolation. I love the natural evolution and progression of the characters, discussing and experiencing issues and emotions commensurate with their situations. The introduction of new characters feels organic and the discovery of old character’s “secrets” still manages to surprise.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received an eArc of this thriller through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings.  Though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes. So occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were. This be the fifth book of a series.  If ye haven’t read the other four, then ye might want to skip this post and go get caught up.  While I try to post no spoilers, if ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

alone in the wild (Kelley Armstrong)

Title: alone in the wild

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Macmillian/Minotaur Books – Established in 1999, Minotaur is a premier publisher in the bestselling category of crime fiction.

Publication Date: TODAY!!! (hardcover/e-book)

ISBN: 978-1250254283

Source:  NetGalley

I love Kelley Armstrong!  I discovered her through her young adult book, sea of shadows, and she became me most read author of 2016. I have really been enjoying this series and I didn't even read the blurb before I requested this.

This novel continues the adventures of Rockton's detective, Casey Duncan.  For those who be adventurous and are readin' this post having not read the previous books, Rockton is an off-the-grid town in the Yukon.  People pay a council to spend time in this town to hide from their pasts.  Some flee domestic abuse.  Some flee other more unsavory problems.  Suffice to say, the town is not an idyllic wonderland.

I loved that, unlike in the previous books, all the important action in this mystery takes place in the forest and the communities outside of Rockton.  Rockton has been weirdly well-behaved and is focused on the preparation for December's holidays.  Casey is supposed to be enjoying a mini vacation but that goes out the window when she hears a baby cry while out in the middle of the woods.  Aye, a baby.  But with that baby is a dead body that clearly shows signs of murder.  Casey be determined to find the babies relatives.  She just has to figure out who they are first.

This case involves visiting the other settlements in the forest who don't like outsiders.  I really enjoyed getting insight into how the other Yukon groups choose to live.  Also some questions about hostiles are answered which of course lead to bigger questions for Casey to eventually solve.  Ye get more answers (and questions) about Dalton's past too.  I can't wait to see where those plot lines go in future books.

The first three books were more self-contained.  Books four and five hint at a larger picture and have had interwoven threads.  The nice part is that each book's problems are solved even while the ramifications of Rockton's existence are getting more tricky.  I did miss not having much time with Rockton residents but got a ton of fun in exchange.  I read this book in one sitting and time flew by.  If ye haven't visited Rockton yet, ye should!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye kindly St. Martin's Press!

Normally I post the blurb here but I am not because of spoilers!

To visit the author’s website and blog go to:

Kelley Armstrong - Author

To buy the novel visit:

watcher in the woods - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

sea of shadows- book 1 (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Fantasy)

empires of the night -book 2 (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Fantasy)

forest of ruin - book 3 (Captain's Log - Young Adult Fantasy)

the masked truth (Captain’s Log – Young Adult Thriller)

missing (On the Horizon - Young Adult Thriller eArc)

rough justice - book 5.5 (On the Horizon - Fantasy eArc)

city of the lost - book 1 (Off the Charts – Thriller/Crime)

a darkness absolute - book 2 (Off the Charts and on the Horizon – Thriller/Crime Arc)

this fallen prey - book 3 (Off the Charts and on the Horizon – Thriller/Crime eArc)

watcher in the woods - book four (Off the Charts - Thriller/Crime)

What a great series this is. Really enjoy how the characters of Casey and Eric continue to develop with each book. Look forward to the next book.

Another great read by Kelley Armstrong! As usual, Armstrong grabbed my interest and I really was interested in the setting of the story. I feel like with each book her growth and development of characters continues to improve. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Really interesting book about a part of the world few of us ever see - the Yukon. But a strange community exists there, a community of people who have fled ordinary society for a variety of reasons, most of them criminal. Eric Dalton is the police chief there and his girlfriend Casey (who is in Rockton for reasons of her own) helps him keep the peace. But when they find a baby lying with a dead woman, Dalton and Casey must search outside of Rockton to discover who the baby belongs to, and why she was left in the woods. This was a fascinating read filled with unique characters and ways of life. My only objection was that the town of Rockton and its heritage are not well-explained. Since this was the first book in the series that I read, this made things confusing. but it certainly whet my appetite for the first four books in the series!

Kelly Armstrong has written another great story about the town of Rockton. The setting is present day deep in the Alaskan wilderness. I've followed this series from the first book "City of the Lost" and each book is better than the previous one. There's murder and intrigue and enough surprises that kept me interested from the first page to the last. Each book can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading them in order for maximum enjoyment.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Minotaur Books. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#AloneInTheWild #NetGalley

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Thank you to Minotaur Books, Edelweiss, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong.
First off, if you haven't read the Casey Duncan novels before you really should read them in order. It will make your understanding of what goes on in this one much easier. In that being stated this is the fifth novel in the Rockton series. Casey Duncan has found a murdered woman in the woods clutching a baby. In the rules that go along with Rockton this cause a conflict with the "no one under 18" rule. The storytelling of Ms. Armstrong is once again superb and spot on. She has a way of directing the reader so easily that you don't realize it until you go to finish the book. I think this plot is one of my favorite because of the emotional level of having to unravel the investigation all while the emotional burden tied to the infant is at play in the plot.

Looking once again to create all the fun and intrigue of the past four books in this series, I was very happy to receive an advanced copy of this book. Once again, I was not disappointed as I followed the adventures of Casey and Dalton, as they root out evil from a faraway place called Rockton. It was to be another exciting ride into the wilds of the Yukon and one in which many of the strange but somehow alluring characters reappear.

How could one hear a baby's cry in the woods of the inhospitable Yukon? As Casey and Dalton were away for a bit of a vacation from the frantic pace of Rockton and its many nefarious residents, Casey hears something. It couldn't be a baby, it must be an animal. However, upon tracking the sound Casey not only finds a baby, but also a dead woman covering the infant as a last attempt to keep it safe.

The mystery begins as both Casey and Dalton wonder where this child came from, who are the parents, and how could anyone leave an infant to such a fate? As they search and delve into this event, more about the outer settlements from Rockton are revealed and we begin to understand the way of life in the frozen wild is indeed very different from the world we know.

Once again, Kelley Armstrong has written an intriguing story that keeps the momentum going in this series. Her characters, many of which were definitely odious in their past lives, are seen in a light that, while not always complimentary, makes them people that we come to know and perhaps even like. She reveals more and more of her main characters's personalities, and the love story between Casey and Dalton adds a bit of spice to the tale.

If you have read the other four books, you definitely need to set time aside for this one, as you will not be disappointed. It is a riveting gripping tale that grabs you from the onset to the very last page. If you are looking for a terrific captivating series then this series is definitely recommended.

Thank you to Kelley Armstrong, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this absorbing tale. This book is due out February 4, 2020
My review and an interview with the author about this series can be seen here: http://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpress.com/

Kelley Armstrong has done it again, with another compulsively readable Rockton mystery. In this installment, we spend most of our time outside of Rockton, meeting new characters. However, some old favorites do pop up from time to time.The mystery kept me guessing, and I couldn’t put it down. I was also incredibly happy with the inclusion of a lesbian character. While I love her books, Kelley Armstrong’s novels tend to only have straight characters. If there have been other gay minor characters in any of her books, I’ve forgotten about them. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

*ARC provided by Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Alone in the Wild.

I've been a fan of the Rockton series since the first novel so I was excited when my request was approved.

In the next installment of the series, Casey and her partner in all the ways that count, Eric, find themselves the newest caretakers of an infant girl, discovered on the body of a deceased woman.

Now, it is up to Casey to find the killer, return the infant to her rightful parents and deal with these new feelings the infant has sparked within her in terms of her future with Eric and the possibility of a family with him.

You know an author is good when she has written a series you look forward to reading and Alone in the Wild is no exception.

It was easy to become immersed in Casey and Eric's lives once again, to witness their loving relationship and professional partnership, to catch up with all he familiar recurring characters of Rockton, even Jennifer.

Rockton is kind of like the Rockies version of Deadwood; and not surprisingly, the awesome Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant would fit seamlessly in Rockton.

Ms. Armstrong has developed strong, relatable characters in Casey and Eric, and its great to read about an honest and strong relationship in which the man regards his partner as an equal, not just in life but in work. Eric values Casey's opinion, respects her intelligence and bravery and never belittles her.

As usual, there is a great sense of place as Casey and Eric traverse the Rockies and the wilderness, encountering old foes and new, potential allies and old friends, gathering evidence and information as to who harmed an innocent woman and endangered a baby.

Casey must wrestle with the feelings the baby has brought out between her and Eric and what it might mean for their future; at the same time, Eric must deal with his own emotions pertaining to his own earlier abandonment and what his parents did.

There are new characters, good and bad, and the usual suspects, and it was great to read about them all and see how the characters (and their lives) have developed since we last read about them.

Alone in the Wild is a well written, engaging and suspenseful story with likable and unlikable characters (yes, I mean Jennifer) set among the isolated wilderness of the Rockies.

Casey and Eric are two of my favorite characters and I recommend anyone who is interested in reading this to start from the beginning to enjoy the character development and setting.

I was very lucky to reveive 2 arcs of this one from netgalley and one from the author herself. I am blown away at Mrs. Armstrong's ability to keep me on edge until the very end and being left breathless for more. Rockton is my favorite series on hers by far. This was the best book yet. I absolutely loved this book so much. Casey and Dalton have grown so much as people and as a couple. Delton finally faces the very tough situation of both sets of parents while they finally discuss the kid situation. Best one yet.

Alone in the wild
This is my favourite Kelley Armstrong series and what I love is that each book gets better. I really loved the fast paced mystery in this one.

There isn’t a second that I’m not glad to be back in Rockton, the town, the characters, Casey and Will banter. I loved that this book extended our view and took us into the wildness and started answering some of the questions from book 1

Casey and Dalton are one of my favourite book couple and each story just keeps adding more and more layers. Each character is well developed and become more and more complex with each story. Somehow Kelley has made me like characters I never thought I would.

This book was so good that as soon as I finished it I opened it to start again!

Thank you to netgalley and St. Martins press for this amazing opportunity to read this one!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the Advanced copy of Kelley Armstrong's Alone in the wild! I am a huge fan of the Rockton series and each book surpasses the one before. This one starts off with Casey, Dalton and Storm relaxing on a camping trip when Casey stumbles on a crying baby buried in the snow with a corpse. The mystery of who the woman and child is and what happened keeps you guessing until the end! While this is definitely Casey's story all the way I am extremely happy to see a favorite character come back for a cameo, Cypher! The story takes place more outside Rockton, we get more information on the settlements and people. I do recommend reading the series in order to really appreciate the characters.

Casey Duncan is a homicide detective in the town of Rockton, a hidden place in the Yukon that takes in people on the run. Years earlier she killed her former boyfriend - not that she went to meet him intending to kill him, and not that he didn’t deserve it, but it happened, and it haunts her. It also made her “eligible” for life in this town, especially because the sheriff there, Eric Dalton, needed a detective. Rockton only has around 200 residents, but they are people, as Casey understands, who have “either done bad shit or have got serious baggage.”

Since the series began, Casey and Eric have entered into a close personal relationship, as well as being partners on the job. Casey has now been in Rockton sixteen months.

This “episode” focuses on other settlements in the area besides Rockton. Over the years, residents from Rockton have relocated into the wilderness for various reasons. Most are what Rockton people call “settlers,” but some are known as “hostiles” or “wild people.” Those in the latter group are primitive and dangerous, and there are a number of theories about how they got that way. Casey and Eric finally learn the answers in this book.

While on a weekend camping getaway, they accidentally discovered a murdered woman holding a still-alive baby. The woman showed signs of being a “settler” who had at one time been a “hostile.” Hostiles have filed teeth, primitive tattoos, ritual scarring, body paint, and tattered clothing. This woman had some of those traits but now looked like a settler. She also was clearly not the mother, and Casey and Eric were determined to find out why she was killed and who committed the crime. Moreover, they wanted to locate the baby’s parents and if possible, return the infant to them. What they didn’t count on was getting attached to the child. Nor did they anticipate the danger the killer still posed.

Evaluation: As always, Armstrong had me guessing until the denouement, which followed a tense run-up with everyone in danger, and with almost everyone under suspicion. It’s not my favorite series by Armstrong, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the book. She is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoy all of her work.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I absolutely love Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series. Alone in the Dark is number 5 and I WANT MORE!!!!

The plot continues from the last book and the characters are ones I have come to love (and hate). The suspense and mystery is always intense and there is never a slow period. Dalton and Casey are adorable and fun and the secondary characters are becoming more and more intriguing.

Alone in the Wild is a great addition to the Rockton series. I love this series and can't get enough of Casey and Dalton and the other residents of this "odd" town located in the Yukon and totally off the grid, although much of this book takes place in the forest outside of the town. Casey and Dalton are on a camping trip and Casey discovers a dead body and a baby. Each book gives us more insight into the Casey and Dalton characters, as they work to solve the murder. I highly recommend starting with the first of the series to truly appreciate this series. I can't wait for the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an unbiased review.

Casey, Eric, and the town of Rockton never disappoint. Started it in the morning and didn’t put it down till I was done.

I really do enjoy this series. This series keeps getting better. I really like the direction it is going in. The Canadian North is vast and empty..Rockton is easy to imagine. Great characters! Start at the beginning. Highly recommend.

This is the 5th book in the Rockton series. I tried out this series because I enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. It is very different- in content and characters- but I have really enjoyed it. The premise of a refuge for people becoming corporate (in a way) is interesting. The dynamics between the characters really paint the picture of life in this village. Casey and Dalton are one of my favorite book couples. They are true partners and work really well together. That's refreshing when so many suspense/thriller type books usually have such alpha characters.

After five books in the series, I think I can see how the story might wrap up. I will just have to see what happens in the next one!

I had the opportunity to read an early copy of this book through NetGalley.

“Alone in the Wild ” is the 5th installment in the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong. Since I read the first in this series, I have gobbled up the subsequent books, and this one was no exception. This novel follows a simple plot, as our main characters, Sheriff Eric Dalton and his wife, Detective Casey Duncan follow the trail of a woman Casey finds dead in the woods, holding an infant, who’s still alive. Unlike the other books in this series, much of Alone in the Wild takes place outside of Rockton, and delves a little deeper into the relationships between the Rockton residents and the “outsiders”. For readers new to the series, there’s enough of the back story explained so the story can stand alone without having to read the other books, although I strongly recommend readers do so, as this series is really very, very good. I hope there are more stories to tell and more books to follow in this series, as the characters are extremely likable, the whole Rockton story is engrossing and different, and each book offers a different plot. This is a great series by an author I’ve come to love, and I can’t wait to enter Rockton again.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.