Book Review: City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong

City of the Lost
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Casey Duncan (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 3, 2016)

Description: Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows that someday this crime will catch up to her. Casey's best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana's husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it's time for the two of them to disappear again.

Diana has heard of a town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, and living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want: She's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding―in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives.

An edgy, gripping crime novel from bestselling urban fantasy writer Kelley Armstrong, City of the Lost boldly announces a major new player in the crime fiction world.

My Thoughts: I thought that this book was an amazing start to a new series. Casey Duncan is a police detective who has a secret. She killed a man when she was 19. After her boyfriend left her to be assaulted, she spent months in the hospital nearly losing her life and losing her first chance at the career she wanted. When she got out of the hospital, she confronted him and impulsively killed him. She managed to cover up the crime but has been living with the guilt ever since.

Casey's best friend is Diana who is dealing with an abusive spouse. Diana keeps saying she is going to keep him out of her life but always lets him back in. Diana hears about a town where people can go and be safe from their abusers and asks Casey to go with her. When it looks like Casey's past is going to catch up with her, she agrees.

This town is hidden deep in the Yukon Territory and is in need of a detective. The sheriff - Eric Dalton - doesn't want Casey to be admitted to the secret town but offers her a six-month trial. When Casey arrives, she finds that the murders are just some of the secrets that are being kept in the town. Everyone is fleeing some sort of troubled past but not everyone is there to find refuge.

I loved Casey who is definitely a woman marching to the beat of her own drummer. I also liked her growing relationship with both Eric and the town itself. This one was a real page-turner for me and kept me up very late reading so that I could find out who committed the murders.

Fans of romantic suspense and mysteries should enjoy this story very much.

Favorite Quote:

Twelve years of waiting for the worst means I don't just look a gift horse in the mouth—I want DNA samples and X-rays, and even with those, I'll convince myself there's a bomb hidden in its Trojan gut.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.