Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors, with the prompt: Pick your ten favorite authors and your favorite book written by each one of them.
For me, the challenge is narrowing the list down to just one title per author — because if I love an author, there’s a good chance that I love MANY of their books. So, I’ll be highlighting one terrific book for each author on my list — not necessarily my one and only favorite, but one that I think is particularly great!
1. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon: As I tend to do, I’m starting my list with a book from the Outlander world. If forced to pick an actual favorite, I’d probably have to go with the first Outlander book, since it’s our introduction to these amazing characters and their lives. But, to change things up, I’m highlighting this novella, which perhaps isn’t as well known. It provides an emotional backstory for events in a key character’s life, and fans of the book series absolutely should read this one!
2. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer: I’ve loved every single book I’ve read by Meg Shaffer. The Lost Story was my first, and I was blown away! (review)
3. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King: There are so many Stephen King books I could include! I’m picking The Eyes of the Dragon because it has such a unique feel — a fantasy tale, but with plenty of King twists. I’ve returned to this book several times already, and have enjoyed it each time. (review)
4. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer: Of all the Heyer books I’ve read and loved, this is the one that really made me laugh. It’s delightful. (review)
5. Sunshine by Robin McKinley: McKinley’s version of a vampire story is unique and wonderfully written. I’m due for a reread! (review)
6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: I loved the mix of the story-within-a-story and the contemporary romance aspects. (review)
7. The Women by Kristin Hannah: Any of her recent historical novels could have been my pick for this list. The Women was especially powerful and stayed with me long after I finished reading it. (review)
8. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See: Again, an author with so many books that I loved. This one in particular introduced me to a culture and community that I’d never encountered before, and I found it fascinating. (review)
9. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong: I picked this book because it’s the first book in the Rockton series, which quickly became one of my all-time favorite series. But there are so many others I could just as easily have picked, including first books from the Stitch in Time and A Rip Through Time series, as well as her stand-alone horror and romance books. (review)
10. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan: I’ve loved everything this author has written… and her first novel was especially memorable. (review)
Have you read books by any of these authors? Do we have any favorites in common?
If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link!
Title: An Ordinary Sort of Evil Series: A Rip Through Time, #5 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: May 19, 2026 Length: 320 pages Genre: Historical fiction/mystery Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Victorian Scotland in the latest in the genre-blending Rip Through Time series.
Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She’s built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.
Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there’s been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray’s presence. The ghost is Lady Adler’s former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she’s dead or alive. But unsure if there’s been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling–and more dangerous–than it first seems.
An Ordinary Sort of Evil, book #5 in the excellent A Rip Through Time series, delivers the twisty mystery and terrific character moments that we’ve come to expect over the course of these books.
A quick explanation of the story so far: Mallory Mitchell, a Canadian homicide detective from the 21st century, stumbles through a time anomaly while visiting family in Edinburgh and finds her consciousness now inhabiting the body of a 20-year-old housemaid in Victorian Scotland. This housemaid words for Dr. Duncan Gray, an undertaker and scientist who assists the Edinburgh police with unusual cases, which is probably the best of all possible situations for Mallory to have landed in.
As the series progresses, Mallory adapts to her new life, and after sharing the truth about herself with Duncan and a few other close connections, she’s able to apply her detective skills in this new, strange world. Five books into the series, Mallory is established as Duncan’s assistant, although with her modern-day detective and forensic skills, she takes the lead for their investigations. Meanwhile, Mallory and Duncan’s professional closeness and personal friendship seems to be developing into something more, and yet Victorian standards related to class, race, and gender threaten to put an end to any deeper relationship before it can even start.
As An Ordinary Sort of Evil opens, Mallory and Duncan are summoned to a wealthy patron’s home in the middle of the night — not to investigate a murder, but because a ghost summoned during a seance has asked for Duncan by name. Or so the medium says: She claims that a maid working in the patron’s household has contacted her, and wants Duncan to investigate her murder. The problem is, the maid was last seen alive and well, and was believed to have left for new opportunities. Mallory and Duncan scoff at the spiritualism fad, but when a body turns up, they’re immersed once more in an investigation, trying to determine if this is in fact the missing maid, what happened to her, and how someone at the seance could have known of her death.
It’s an ordinary sort of evil. The kind people do every day, and never think twice. It’s just how you get ahead in life.
Once again, Kelley Armstrong skillfully blends an intriguing, unpredictable murder mystery with Mallory’s fish-out-of-water existence in a time not her own, while also keeping the character development moving forward and building upon everything that’s happened so far in the series. That’s a tough order to fill, but this author makes it work, and then some.
One of the delights of these books is seeing Mallory’s adjustment to life in Victorian times. For propriety’s sake, she must pose as Duncan’s subordinate and defer to him — publicly, at least — on matters in which she’s the expert. Behind closed doors, however, she lets loose and allows her outspoken nature to break free, which makes for all sorts of entertainment as we readers get to enjoy her anachronistic sass and snark.
I raise a slow middle finger.
“Too bad I do not know what that means,” he says. “I am certain, though, that it expresses your agreement with my point.”
The mystery in An Ordinary Sort of Evil is highly entertaining and not at all straightforward. I often thought I had a sense of how things might unfold; each time, I was wrong. Following Mallory and Duncan’s investigation is pure delight — I loved seeing how the clues and false leads and various suspects and their actions all come together by the end.
As for the characters and their relationships, things do progress in ways that will make readers of this series very happy, but there’s plenty of room for even more developments… and that’s all I’ll say about that!
A Rip Through Time continues to entertain and offer thrills and mysteries to puzzle through, and I can’t wait for more. Highly recommended — but do start at the beginning of the series! You won’t want to miss a thing.
Next up: A newly announced novella, to be release later this year. I absolutely plan to read it — I’ll need a Mallory fix while waiting for the next book in the series.
Brawlers & Burglars Release date: December 1, 2026
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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is a freebie, which means we all come up with our own topics. I’ve done freebie posts focusing on backlist books a few times (here are my lists from 2025 and 2024), and thought I’d come back with some new and updated picks.
Below are backlist books from favorite authors, all of which I’d like to make time for. I’ve read these authors’ more recent books, and now want to go back to earlier books and see what I might have missed!
TJ Klune: Murmuration was originally pubished in 2016, and is being reissued in November 2026. How could I possibly resist? I love this new cover.
Kelley Armstrong: After finishing her Rockton and Haven’s Rock series, I’m curious about her supernatural series, Women of the Otherworld, starting with Bitten.
Jenny Colgan: I have a handful of her early books to read — and while some that I’ve tried feel pretty dated, I’m still up for trying Amanda’s Wedding, and possibly others as well.
Colleen Oakley: I’ve enjoyed several of her books… and this earlier one is sitting on my bookshelf.
Sally Hepworth: The Secrets of Midwives is the only one of her books that I haven’t read yet, and I think I need to fix that.
Ariel Lawhon: I’ve now read two of her more recent books with my book group. I Was Anastasia sounds like something I’d find appealing.
Rachel Koller Croft: I loved her disco vampire book, We Love the Nightlife, and definitely need to read this earlier release as well.
Jennifer Weiner: Every time I read a book by this author, I’m eager to read even more. Mrs. Everything was released in 2019 and I’ve been meaning to read it ever since.
Katherine Center: I believe I have only two of her early books yet to read. The Lost Husband is the one I’m most likely to pick up.
Julia Quinn: I gobbled up the Bridgertons series, so why not read the prequel series too?
Have you read any of my backlist picks? Any you especially recommend?
If you wrote a freebie post this week, what topic did you choose? Please share your link!
Title: A Deadly Inheritance Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Tundra Books Publication date: March 24, 2026 Length: 424 pages Genre: Young adult fiction Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
After discovering she’s an heiress to a billion-dollar corporation, seventeen-year-old Liliana finds herself at a new boarding school where she must navigate secret societies and a deadly competition. Not to mention two handsome boys.
In the wake of her mother’s death, Liliana Chamberlain’s estranged (and very wealthy) grandparents swoop in. Or their lawyer does. Her grandparents aren’t ready to meet her, but they want her to have the life her mother walked away from, starting with Westdale Academy, the elite boarding school her mother attended. It should be a Cinderella dream come true, but Lili has serious misgivings. Yet she doesn’t have a choice, being under eighteen and dead broke.
Westdale Academy is a school of secrets as well as intriguing classmates, including Hollywood golden boy Theo Dubois and the mysterious Maddox Moreno. As she gets to know them all, Lili realizes there’s more to the school than elite-level networking. Something deadly.
For the new girl at school, investigating the deaths of past students — including Maddox’s own sister — is a very dangerous game. Do those deaths have something to do with why her mother fled Westdale at the cost of her inheritance?
When a fun night out turns bloody, Theo is the prime suspect, and Liliana must race against time to connect the past with the present and discover the truth behind her inheritance.
While YA thrillers are not my typical jam, I had no hesitation when it came to picking up this newest book by author Kelley Armstrong. A Deadly Inheritance provides the twisty, complicated plot and fascinating characters that are hallmarks of her writing, and delivers a thrilling drama with enough devious clues to make a reader’s head spin.
In A Deadly Inheritance, 17-year-old Liliana is desperately selling everything not nailed down in her shabby apartment in order to keep paying the rent and keep up appearances. Orphaned after her mother’s death, Liliana just has to fake it a few more months until she turns 18 and can avoid the foster system. A gifted student, she already has a free ride to college waiting for her, if she can only make it through to her high school graduation and legal adulthood.
All that seems to come crashing down when Child Protective Services comes knocking at her door — but the CPS representative is stymied by the appearance of a lawyer who claims to speak on Liliana’s behalf. In short order, a huge secret is revealed: Liliana is actually the granddaughter of the Chamberlains of Chamberlain Enterprises, and heiress to a fortune in the billions. In the blink of an eye, Liliana is whisked away from her former life and enrolled at Westdale Academy, a boarding school for the children of the ultra rich and powerful, where having the right allies and connections is the most sought-after prize.
At Westdale, Liliana is wooed by the members of the Lilith Society, whose members are the school’s top female students. She’s also drawn to two very different boys: Theo, the golden-child son of Hollywood power players, and Maddox, an emotionally complex young man descended from a tech fortune, whose family’s past contains its own share of trauma.
Liliana settles into her new environment and begins to form deep connections, but there’s immediate danger as well. Someone tries breaking into her room. a fellow student tries to push her down the basement stairs, and at an off-campus event, she’s attacked and wounded. Why is someone trying to hurt Liliana, and is this connected to mysterious events from Westdale’s secretive history?
A Deadly Inheritance is an absolute page-turner, as the clues come fast and furious, with new suspects and theories around every corner. Something very bad is going on… but the answers will keep you guessing right up until the final chapter. I know I had plenty of theories… and most of them turned out to be dead wrong!
I really enjoyed Liliana as a lead character. As someone raised with no knowledge of her mother’s true past, she has no idea that she comes from money, and therefore has none of the snobbishness or entitlement so often seen in stories about privileged teens. Liliana’s entry into the world of Westdale is shown through her eyes, so we get to experience both her wonder and confusion at the wealth around her and the casual acceptance of a world of instant, constant luxury.
There’s a romantic subplot that is not what you’d expect, and I ended up really enjoying it. I can’t say I’ve come across this particular approach in YA fiction before… and that’s about all I’ll say about it, but trust me, it’s very well-written, innovative, and fun to see unfolding.
The mystery/thriller aspects are very well constructed. There are just enough clues to keep a reader guessing, but never enough to be obvious. When the answers do come, they require full concentration — the plot is clever and intricate and full of sharp little details to throw us off course.
I did have a few minor quibbles — just certain details about Liliana’s earlier life and how her new status as an heiress unfolded that felt glossed over and fully explained. In an adult novel, these elements probably would have felt more substantial, and the lack of detail might have been less easily overlooked. Here, with a YA vibe, the missing details can be more readily pushed aside in favor of the focus on Liliana’s experiences and feelings. It works!
I’ve read quite a bit of Kelley’s Armstrong recent novels for adults, including the outstanding Rockton and Haven’s Rock series, several terrific stand-alone horror novels, and even a couple of rom-coms. A Deadly Inheritance is my first experience with her young adult writing. I’m happy to confirm that it was just as good as I’d expected!
While marketed as YA fiction, A Deadly Inheritance makes a great read for adults too. I really enjoyed this thriller, and highly recommend it.
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: First Sign of Danger Series: Haven’s Rock, #4 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 17, 2026 Length: 337 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong continues the atmospheric Haven’s Rock series as Casey Duncan investigates a threat to their off-the-grid Yukon town.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven’s Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven’s Rock, they realize they’re in danger of being exposed.
When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they’re no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven’s Rock. Only by tracing the hikers’ movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven’s Rock–and their safe, secure new existence–are at risk.
After seven Rockton books, a bridging novella, and three Haven’s Rock books, Kelley Armstrong delivers yet another terrific installment in what’s become one of my very favorite fictional worlds.
Set in a remote Yukon village that’s completely off the grid, the Haven’s Rock series focuses on husband and wife team Eric and Casey as they manage their little town, keep its residents safe, and solve the murders that seem to crop up every time they turn around. In First Sign of Danger, book #4, about six months have past since the events of the previous book, Cold As Hell. Which means that Eric and Casey’s baby girl is now six months old — and it’s endlessly entertaining to see this crime-busting duo juggling baby care with dealing with dead bodies, among other job-related duties.
Haven’s Rock provides shelter for those needing to disappear for a while, a refuge for those fleeing a variety of threats in their real lives. In exchange, residents give up their phones, the internet, and all contact with the outside world, and must live by the very strict rules that keep the town and its resident hidden. While the location of the town was chosen for its isolation, a shady mining camp set up shop just a few miles away soon after Haven’s Rock opened its doors, much to Casey and Eric’s dismay. And now, in First Sign of Danger, these unpleasant neighbors might be causing even more havoc than usual.
As First Sign of Danger begins, Casey and Eric stumble across a pair of hikers needing assistance. This is alarming — their area is so remote that odds are very low that anyone from the outside world would just happen to approach their town. And what if the hikers go back home and mention that they’ve run into a couple (with a baby!) out in the woods? This seemingly random encounter could mean exposure for Haven’s Rock, putting everyone there at risk.
The situation becomes even worse when one of the hikers is found dead, clearly murdered. Suspicions are immediately raised — were they truly random hikers? Are they spies connected to the mining camp? Or could they possibly be connected to Haven’s Rock itself, perhaps in pursuit of someone Casey and Eric have sworn to protect?
As with the rest of the books in the series, there are no easy answers. As Casey and Eric chase clues, the twists and turns and red herrings pile up. The mystery is complex and confusing — in all the best ways! — and the overall plot ties back with earlier events in the series, bringing together a complicated web of conspiracies and bad guys and manipulations.
Meanwhile, we get to go along for the ride as Casey and Eric do what they do best, while also handling parenthood and interacting with the broad cast of characters, who at this point feel as familiar as long-time neighbors. The author has created a unique community through these books, and simply seeing the main characters going about their days — even without murder and mayhem — is oodles of fun.
I appreciated the fact that we get through this book without horrific threats to Casey herself, other than the usual line-of-duty danger she faces due to her job. After the extreme danger of the last book, it’s something of a relief to not have her personally targeted. That’s not to imply that there aren’t high stakes here. The murder mystery is terrific, and the always-present threat presented by certain outside forces comes to a head in startling ways.
First Sign of Danger is a an excellent installment in the series. It seems to wrap up a major overarching storyline, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes next.
Sadly, the book wraps up with these heartbreaking lines:
Watch for Casey and Eric’s final Haven’s Rock adventure, coming in February 2027.
Noooooo!!! Don’t say it’s the end! If this means that Casey and Eric get to have a murder-free life from that point on and live happily ever after, I guess they really deserve it. But still, I’ll be heartbroken when it’s all over.
It’s obvious that I adore the world of the Rockton and Haven’s Rock series, and wish it could continue forever. Meanwhile, I’m happy (and not surprised) to share that First Sign of Danger is a terrific read. Once again, let me encourage anyone who hasn’t tried this series yet to pick up the very first Rockton book, City of the Lost… and be prepared to be hooked!
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Title: Cold as Hell Series: Haven’s Rock, #3 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 18, 2025 Length: 341 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
SPOILERS AHOY: Even the synopsis for this book is spoilery, so if you prefer to know nothing in advance, skip the details below!
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Haven’s Rock in Cold as Hell as Casey Butler hunts down a dangerous killer during a deadly blizzard.
Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary town hidden deep in the Yukon for those who need to disappear from the regular world. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are starting a family now that they’ve settled into their life here. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including her worried husband, stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven’s Rock.
When one of the town’s residents is drugged and wanders too close to the edge of town, she’s dragged into the woods kicking and screaming. She’s saved in the nick of time, but the women of the town are alarmed. Casey and Eric investigate the assault just as a snowstorm hits Haven’s Rock, covering the forest. It’s there they find a frozen body, naked in the snow. With mixed accounts of the woman’s last movements, the two begin to question who they can trust—and who they can’t—in their seemingly safe haven.
Is it enough for me to review Cold as Hell by saying THIS IS ANOTHER EXCELLENT HAVEN’S ROCK STORY and just leave it at that?
No?
Okay, then… As I’ve said repeatedly, I’m a big fan of pretty much everything I’ve read by Kelley Armstrong, fell head over heels for her Rockton series, and am now tearing my way through the Rockton spin-off series, Haven’s Rock. This 3rd Haven’s Rock book is just as terrific as all the rest, and its particularly high stakes had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
As I do whenever I discuss these books, I’ll provide a summary of the premise in a tiny little nutshell:
Husband/wife, sheriff/detective team Eric and Casey now have their first set of residents in their secret little town of Haven’s Rock, a remote place deep in the Yukon wilderness, where people needing safety and anonymity can hide away for a few years. There are rules, of course — no cell phones, no contact with the outside world, do your share of work, and stay out of the forest! That last piece can be hardest to enforce. For newcomers, the dangers of being outside town limits aren’t necessarily as obvious as they should be, which is why Eric and Casey have their hands full keeping people safe.
In Cold as Hell, several months have past since the events of the previous book, The Boy Who Cried Bear. It’s March, still a very cold time in the Yukon wilderness, but there are signs that spring may be poking its head out in the coming months. The town is functioning well, with some more recent arrivals bringing the total population up to about seventy, including staff, individual residents, and a small number of couples and families.
I’ll add ONE MORE SPOILER ALERT at this point. While I won’t give away secrets related to the central mystery plot of Cold as Hell, the status of some of the main characters will be a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t gotten to this point in the series yet. You have been warned! Ready?
OK, the big development here is that Casey is about eight months pregnant. It hasn’t been easy — due to the attack she survived in her teens, doctors have never been sure that she’d be able to get pregnant, and if she did, whether she could carry a pregnancy to term. She’s had a couple of scares, but at this point, she’s approaching what would be considered a safe delivery date. While Casey’s physician sister April is now a resident of the town and available to provide care if needed, the plan is for Casey and Eric to fly to White Horse — where the region’s major medical center is located — well in advance of her due date.
Casey and Eric should know by now that their plans never seem to go exactly as intended. When one town resident is roofied and then rescued from an attempted kidnapping and assault, tracking down the perpetrator is the most urgent priority. And when this crime is followed by another resident going missing during a blizzard, only to be found frozen to death outside the town limits, a full-scale murder investigation is required. With Casey under strict orders to limit physical exertion, there’s only so much she can take on, and she finds herself frustrated by not being able to fulfill her responsibilities as town detective, even though she’s well aware that her and her baby’s well-being have to come first.
The murder in Cold as Hell is particularly horrific, as are the details we later learn about other crimes the perpetrator may have committed. Meanwhile, Casey’s investigation is fascinating. As she herself acknowledges, this is essentially a locked-room mystery: Given the town’s isolation as well as the recent blizzard, the only real answer is that the murderer is someone living within Haven’s Rock — possibly a close friend or ally. With fingers pointing in both expected and unexpected directions, and the very strong possibility that the killer could strike again, Casey and Eric have to work around the clock to solve the case, while making sure that she doesn’t overdo anything and put herself at risk.
The mystery is incredibly well structured and plotted, with the myriad twists and turns that are hallmarks of this series. Nothing is obvious, and when the answers finally come, they’re all most too much to take in… not that the plot isn’t believable, just that the resolution isn’t one I ever saw coming.
I did have a bit of a quibble with a plot decision, which — I get it! — may feel necessary in terms of ratcheting up the stakes and the excitement, but which left me totally appalled at the characters’ decision-making. FURTHER SPOILER ALERT: Just when I was thinking to myself that this would be the rare book in the series where Casey herself wasn’t in direct physical danger because of her investigation… she’s back in danger! Casey and Eric had already left town to get her situated nearer to medical care… and then they go back to Haven’s Rock when a scary new fact comes to light about the case! Again, I do get that for drama’s sake, you really can’t beat having the pregnant lady rushing (or waddling) back into danger… but Eric could have gone without her! Is it really believable that she’d rush out into the wilderness to chase further clues and hide the fact that she’s going into labor so as not to interrupt the tracking? Noooooo…. but I loved the book anyway.
OK, wrapping this all up. Cold as Hell blew me away! I was completely absorbed by the crime/thriller aspects, and just as drawn in by Casey and Eric’s personal story. Plus, it’s always good spending time in Haven’s Rock, even if it’s just to see how everyone is staying busy these days (although daily life in Haven’s Rock is never ordinary or without fresh surprises). Kelley Armstrong has built a well-developed little world in this series, and each book provides fresh insight into what the experience of actually living there might feel like.
Book #4, First Sign of Danger, is being released this week! I plan to dive in ASAP… but then I’ll be caught up, and I’m feeling torn about that. On the one hand, I’ve loved every moment of exploring the world of the Rockton and Haven’s Rock books… but on the other hand, I know I’ll hate the moment when I realize that there are no further books in the series for me to read — presumably, until another new installment gets released next year.
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: The Boy Who Cried Bear Series: Haven’s Rock, #2 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 20, 2024 Length: 339 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
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.
I think I’ve made it clear by now just how much I love Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series and its spin-off, Haven’s Rock. I’m happy to say (no big surprise!) that the 2nd Haven’s Rock novel is just as strong and engaging as the previous books. Take a terrific premise and setting, mix in a twisty, high-stakes crime to solve… and you get a book like The Boy Who Cried Bear, which kept me hooked from start to finish.
In a nutshell: Husband/wife, sheriff/detective team Eric and Casey now have their first set of residents in their secret little town of Haven’s Rock, a remote place deep in the Yukon wilderness, where people needing safety and anonymity can hide away for a few years. There are rules, of course — no cell phones, no contact with the outside world, do your share of work, and stay out of the forest! That last piece can be hardest to enforce. For newcomers, the dangers of being outside town limits aren’t necessarily as obvious as they should be, which is why Eric and Casey have their hands full keeping people safe.
Among the town’s new batch of residents are a widowed mother and her two sons. After witnessing a crime and providing testimony, the family entered a witness protection program, only to be tracked down and attacked in retaliation, leaving the father dead and the survivors traumatized. At Haven’s Rock, they hope to find both refuge and a place to start healing. But when 10-year-old Max disappears after venturing into the forest, Haven’s Rock goes on full alert. It’s up to Casey and Eric to track the missing boy, and to figure out whether the potential kidnapper is an outside threat or someone sheltering within their little town.
Once again, it’s fantastic to see Casey and Eric in action. Their investigations are always a thrill. Here, the crime itself is up for debate: Has the outside world caught up with the family, threatening not just them but also the very existence of Haven’s Rock? Is there a madman out in the forest, potentially stalking town residents? Or does the threat have something to do with the heavily armed mining camp located several miles from Haven’s Rock, with which Casey and Eric have established an uneasy truce?
Meanwhile, a new development in Casey and Eric’s relationship leaves them reeling and with plenty of questions about what their future might hold. No spoilers from me… but I will say that they’ve never been stronger as a couple, and their honesty and commitment continue to be powerful and inspiring.
The mystery itself takes plenty of twists and turns throughout the book, with misleading clues, people acting badly even if not directly linked to the crime, and questionable characters providing information that’s not entirely reliable. The ending is very interesting — the crime is solved, but not every last bit of the puzzle has an answer, setting up what’s likely to be an ongoing source of tension and danger within the world of the Haven’s Rock series.
Obviously, I love this series, and recommend it highly! I’d suggest starting right at the beginning of the Rockton series, and going on from there. While the mysteries are always excellent, my favorite elements are those related to Casey and Eric’s relationship and the various close friends and associates who make up the communities of Rockton and Haven’s Rock. The character development over the course of these series is excellent, and is a big factor in how very compelling these books are.
I’ll be diving into the 3rd book in the series, Cold As Hell, just as soon as I can… and after that, I’ll be ready for the upcoming new release, First Sign of Danger. Here’s hoping Kelley Armstrong continues writing many, many more books in this series!
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Title: Murder at Haven’s Rock Series: Haven’s Rock, #1 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 21, 2023 Length: 340 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton Novels had one of the most unique towns in crime fiction. Murder at Haven’s Rock is a spinoff, a fresh start… with a few new dangers that threaten everything before it even begins.
Haven’s Rock, Yukon. Population: 0
Deep in the Yukon wilderness, a town is being built. A place for people to disappear, a fresh start from a life on the run. Haven’s Rock isn’t the first town of this kind, something detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, know first hand. They met in the original town of Rockton. But greed and deception led the couple to financing a new refuge for those in need. This time around, they get to decide which applicants are approved for residency.
There’s only one rule in Haven’s Rock: stay out of the forest. When two of the town’s construction crew members break it and go missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to track them down. When a body is discovered, well hidden with evidence of foul play, Casey and Eric must find out what happened to the dead woman, and locate the still missing man. The woman stumbled upon something she wasn’t supposed to see, and the longer Casey and Eric don’t know what happened, the more danger everyone is in.
What do you do when you reach the end of a terrific series? If you’re author Kelley Armstrong, you spin off into a new (equally terrific) series! The Rockton series wrapped up in 2022 after seven strong novels, and was then followed by a novella (Dead Letter Days) that serves as a bridge between Rockton and Haven’s Rock.
And here we are, with a new town and new series to explore! The Haven’s Rock series starts with a bang (or kind of a crash and a thud, if we’re being literal) with the first book, Murder at Haven’s Rock.
A quick “history” lesson to set the stage: Rockton was a secret town hidden in the Yukon wilderness, a place where those needing sanctuary could live off the grid for a couple of years. Rockton’s day-to- day needs were overseen by Sheriff Eric Dalton and his partner/lover/wife Detective Casey Butler. The town functioned, but not always smoothly, while the powerful, remote council that controlled the town’s funds made shady decisions about who to allow in, leaving the town to deal with fallout from a variety of criminals and generally bad eggs who also found shelter in Rockton.
The Rockton series ends with the dismantling of the town. Eric, Casey, and a small group of close allies move forward with establishing a new, better version of Rockton: Haven’s Rock, where the town will be built to their specification, and where they’ll have better control over ensuring that only those who truly need refuge are allowed in.
As Murder at Haven’s Rock opens, the new town is still in the final stages of construction, with move-in dates quickly approaching. Eric and Casey make their first visit to Haven’s Rock when the construction project manager requests help. Two of her crew — the head architect and engineer — have gone missing. Venturing into the forest is forbidden, but it appears that that’s where they both went… and then disappeared. Eric and Casey are delighted to get a first look at their new town — although they would have preferred that it not come with missing persons, dead bodies, and potentially multiple crimes to solve.
The mysteries in Murder at Haven’s Rock are doozies. First, it’s not clear that crimes have even occurred, and even if they have, under whose jurisdiction they’d fall. Once Eric and Casey start investigating, they find dead ends and conflicting trails, possible motives, and unwelcome surprises in the shape of outsiders in what they’d believed to be an unpopulated area.
The crime and mystery aspects of this story are superb, with twists and confusion around every corner. The who’s-who of suspects and victims and interpersonal connections is complicated, and the author does an amazing job of keeping it all manageable, even when it seems like there are almost too many options at play. There’s a really satisfying and convincing resolution, even while the ending of the story introduces what’s sure to be a major source of danger and conflict as the series moves forward.
Meanwhile, we get an excellent introduction to the new town of Haven’s Rock. It’s really fun to go alongside Eric and Casey as they explore their new home, especially when their key people start to arrive as well.
Murder at Haven’s Rock is a terrific kick-off to this new series, and I’m delighted to be digging in. As of this moment, two more book are available, with another set for release in February 2026. And even though I have a ton of other reading commitments, I can’t help but admit that I won’t be able to hold off for very long before picking up book #2, The Boy Who Cried Bear.
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026.
I have a huge list of upcoming new releases that I’m planning to read. Between ARCs and preorders for books by favorite authors, I’m in no danger of running out of reading options!
As always, it’s difficult to narrow down the list to just ten. Here are some of the books I’m really looking forward to, with release dates between now and the end of June. (I could probably add another ten… but I’ll save those for another day!)
Listed in order of release date:
Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean (2/3/2026)
The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow (3/5/2026)
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (4/7/2026)
The Name Game by Beth O’Leary (4/7/2026)
We Burn So Bright by TJ Klune (4/28/2026)
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune (5/5/2026)
The Shippers by Katherine Center (5/19/2026)
An Ordinary Sort of Evil (A Rip Through Time, #5) by Kelley Armstrong (5/19/2026)
Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan (5/26/2026)
Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer (6/9/2026)
Which upcoming new releases are you most excited for? Do we have any in common?
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List.
I’m not sure how it’s winter already — I’m still not done with my fall TBR list! I ended up reading 7 of my 10 fall TBR books; of the three remaining, there are two I’m still fairly committed to reading (eventually), and one I’m not feeling especially drawn to at the moment. For my winter TBR post, I’m featuring an entirely new batch of books… but I’ll probably try to squeeze in those other two fall books down the road too!
Onward to the winter list…
I’ll have a slew of new releases and ARCs to read from about February onward, but before then, I’m going to try to focus on books I’ve been meaning to get to for a while… with maybe one or two new releases mixed in as well. I’ll save the rest of my upcoming new releases for January’s “most anticipated” TTT topic, and meanwhile…
Here are a batch of books I’m really looking forward to reading this winter:
Murder at Haven’s Rock (Haven’s Rock, #1) by Kelley Armstrong: After finishing the Rockton series, I’m dying to start this spin-off!
Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children, #11) by Seanan McGuire: Reading the newest book in this terrific series has become a favorite January tradition.
Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra: On a light note, a retelling of Anne of Green Gables sounds delightful.
The Names by Florence Knapp: One of several 2025 releases that I just didn’t get manage to get to.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean: I’ve heard good things!
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: The word-of-mouth on this book is really drawing me to it.
This Is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer: A book that keeps popping up on my “recommended for you” lists.
The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden: Sounds like an intense, immersive read.
Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein: I grabbed a copy on a whim thanks to a Kindle price drop, and still haven’t started it.
The Guest in Room 120 by Sara Ackerman: I’ve only read a couple of this author’s books, but I’ve been wanting to read more.
What books will be keeping you warm this winter? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!
Bookshelf Fantasies 