ARC Review: Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong

Alone in the Wild
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Casey Duncan (Book 5)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 4, 2020)

Description: In #1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong's latest thriller, the hidden town of Rockton is about to face a challenge none of them saw coming: a baby.

Every season in Rockton seems to bring a new challenge. At least that's what Detective Casey Duncan has felt since she decided to call this place home. Between all the secretive residents, the sometimes-hostile settlers outside, and the surrounding wilderness, there's always something to worry about.

While on a much needed camping vacation with her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, Casey hears a baby crying in the woods. The sound leads them to a tragic scene: a woman buried under the snow, murdered, a baby still alive in her arms.

A town that doesn’t let anyone in under the age of eighteen, Rockton must take care of its youngest resident yet while solving another murder and finding out where the baby came from - and whether she's better off where she is.

My Thoughts: Casey Duncan and her boyfriend Sheriff Eric Dalton are on a camping vacation when Casey hears a baby crying. This leads to a dead body of a woman who had apparently once been a hostile. She's cradling a tiny baby. Casey and Eric become busy, first, trying to take care of the baby when the youngest person in Rockton is eighteen, second, trying to find out who killed the woman who was sheltering the baby, and, third, trying to find the baby's parents and decide is she should be returned to them.

This whole baby issue brings up issues Casey and Eric both have been burying. Casey had never considered the possibility of having a child both because of her job and because of injuries she suffered when she was younger. Eric had also never thought of a child but he's as concerned with taking a child from parents because they can probably give it a better life. After all, the Dalton's did take him from his settler parents which has caused all sorts of conflicts in his life.

As Casey and Eric investigate the crime, we get a chance to see into two of the settler encampments and also see the traders who are still another group. Casey has long wanted to know more about the hostiles who threaten the town of Rockton and she also gains some information about them during this investigation.

The story was filled with action and well-developed characters. I love the setting of these stories since it is a landscape that is completely foreign to me and one I know I couldn't survive. I love that we are getting to know Casey and Eric better in each new entry in this series.

Favorite Quote:

"Pretty sure my baggage is as heavy as yours."

"Yeah, but what's in your baggage has been sorted and arranged, and you open it up for a look now and then. Mine's stuffed in a suitcase full to bursting, held by triple locks, and I don't even peek inside. You shouldn't feel like I'd go ballistic if you even jangle the lock. Especially when I'm throwing yours open, riffling through it, tossing shit everywhere so I can see what you've got in there."

I laugh softly. "That is an awesome analogy."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.