ARC Review: The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong

The Boy Who Cried Bear
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: A Haven's Rock Novel (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 20, 2024)

Description: In The Boy Who Cried Bear, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong keeps readers on the edge of their seats while detective Casey Duncan tries to locate the threat before it’s too late. . .

Haven’s Rock is a well-hidden town surrounded by forest. And it’s supposed to be, being that it’s a refuge for those who need to disappear. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton already feel at home in their new town, which reminds them of where they first met in Rockton. And while they know how to navigate the woods and its various dangers, other residents don’t. Which is why people aren't allowed to wander off alone.

When Max, the town’s youngest resident―taught to track animals by Eric―fears a bear is stalking a hiking party, alarms are raised. Even stranger, the ten-year-old swears the bear had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, so they’re taking it seriously. But odd occurrences are happening all around them, and when a dead body turns up, they’re not sure what they’re up against.

My Thoughts: The second book in the Haven's Rock series has two focuses. 

Haven's Rock provides shelter for families, couples, and individuals who need to disappear for a while because of some threat to them. The first family there consists of a mother and her two young sons. Carson and Max are the first children who have been in the program. Max is the youngest and is adjusting pretty well to the isolation and all the nature surrounding the new town. He's learning about the wilderness from Eric. 

When Max spots something odd on a hike, Eric and Casey first think it is a grizzly who has come too near the town and who might be sick. They don't find it when they go out searching. Then Max sees it again and is grabbed by someone when he goes out to look for it. Eric and Casey go out looking for him, but neither they nor their trained dog can find him. 

His disappearance causes some fractures to show up in the town with suspicions and rumors indicating the mother might have had something to do with the disappearance. Casey works on investigating in town while Eric conducts the search out of town. 

Their search has them running into the secretive mining operation going on nearby. The leader asks them to look for a missing miner while searching for the boy. They soon find the miner's body with more than 30 stab wounds on the back and indications that he has crossed tracks with Max. Questions arise about his motive for being near the boy but his death indicates that, if he was the kidnapper, he wasn't working alone. 

All the while this is going on, Casey is dealing with a possible pregnancy. She was told, after physical trauma she suffered earlier in her life, that she couldn't have children or couldn't carry a child to term. However, avoidance kept her from finding out which was true. Until Eric, she had no intention of having a child with anyone. Now, she finds herself pregnant and doesn't know what to do. She and Eric are partners as well as a married couple which means whatever happens they are in it together. She doesn't know how she feels about this untimely and unexpected pregnancy and is worried about Eric's reactions. 

This was an engaging story. I liked the parts told from Max's point of view. I like seeing how the community is building in the new Haven's Rock settlement. I thought the mystery was least successful part of the story. Casey and Eric find answers, but they don't feel satisfied with them. The whole issue of the secretive mining company is left for solving in a later story which gave this one a slightly unfinished quality. 

Favorite Quote:

"Whether we dream together or separately, we'll still dream. We can't help it. And if things go wrong, then we'll grieve for what can't be. But that's..." I look at him. "That's the chance we take with everything, isn't it? It's the chance we took when we got together. It's the chance we took when we built this town. We start to craft a dream for the future, knowing if something goes wrong, it'll hurt so damn much, but..."

I shrug. "What's the alternative? To not dream? If our relationship didn't work out, would I have regretted meeting you? Never. If Haven's Rock fails, will I regret building it: Never. We don't get to decide whether this: -- I put my hands to my stomach -- "is real. It is real, whether it lasts or not. So I say we let it be real for as long as it lasts."

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