Book Review: First Sign of Danger (Haven’s Rock, #4) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

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!

Interested in the worlds of Rockton and Haven’s Rock? Check out my reviews of these previous books:
City of the Lost (Rockton, #1)
A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2)
This Fallen Prey (Rockton, #3)
Watcher in the Woods (Rockton, #4)
Alone in the Wild (Rockton, #5)
A Stranger in Town (Rockton, #6)
The Deepest of Secrets (Rockton, #7)
Dead Letter Days (Rockton, #7.5)
Murder at Haven’s Rock (Haven’s Rock, #1)
The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock, #2)
Cold As Hell (Haven’s Rock, #3)

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.

18Feb2026

Book Review: Cold as Hell (Haven’s Rock, #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

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.

5Feb2026

Book Review: The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock, #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

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!

23Jan2026

Book Review: Murder at Haven’s Rock (Haven’s Rock, #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

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.

16Jan2026

Book Review: The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Ivy Tree
Author: Mary Stewart
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 1961
Length: 391 pages
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Mary Grey had come from Canada to the land of her forebears: Northumberland. As she savored the ordered, spare beauty of England’s northern fells, the silence was shattered by the shout of a single name: “Annabel!” And there stood one of the angriest, most threatening young men Mary had ever seen. His name was Connor Winslow, and Mary quickly discovered that he thought she was his cousin—a girl supposedly dead these past eight years. Alive, she would be heiress to an inheritance Connor was determined to have for himself. This remarkably atmospheric novel is one of bestselling-author Mary Stewart’s richest, most tantalizing, and most surprising efforts, proving her a rare master of the genre.

A slightly different synopsis for another edition of the book:

An English June in the Roman Wall countryside; the ruin of a beautiful old house standing cheek-by-jowl with the solid, sunlit prosperity of the manor farm – a lovely place, and a rich inheritance for one of the two remaining Winslow heirs. There had been a third, but Annabel Winslow had died four years ago – so when a young woman calling herself Annabel Winslow comes ‘home’ to Whitescar, Con Winslow and his half-sister Lisa must find out whether she really is who she says she is.

The Ivy Tree opens with gorgeous scenery: A woman enjoys the peace of a pastoral view in Northumberland, savoring the quiet and solitude. But a man shows up and immediately begins yelling at her. He thinks she’s his presumed-dead cousin Annabel, who disappeared eight years earlier. With their grandfather ill and nearing death, her reappearance can’t be coincidence. Connor and his half-sister Lisa have been tending the estate for the old man all these years; it should be theirs. With Annabel’s return, Connor’s inheritance is very much on the line.

But there’s a catch. This woman isn’t Annabel. Although she bears a remarkable resemblance to Annabel, she introduces herself as Mary, a descendant of another line of the family which emigrated to Canada a few generations back. Mary has heard stories of Northumberland all her life, and has come seeking a fresh start.

Almost immediately, Connor proposes a plan. He and Lisa can teach Mary all about Annabel — and if she’ll impersonate her for a brief time, just long enough to convince their grandfather, they’ll make it worth her while. Connor fears that the grandfather has never believed that Annabel truly died, and worries that he’ll leave his fortune to her anyway. With a stand-in, that fear can be addressed. If their scam works, and even if Con himself is left out of the will, “Annabel”‘s inheritance will go to Connor, and fake-Annabel will get a hefty payout for her efforts.

It’s a marvelously twisty scheme, and Mary — who has little money and no real plans — agrees to go along with it. After all, the real Annabel is dead. Who would be hurt by this? After three weeks of intense training, the plan is put into motion, and Mary — now going only by Annabel — arrives at the Whitescar estate to fulfill her role as the returning prodigal.

Annabel’s impersonation is successful with the grandfather, household staff, and visiting younger cousin Julie. But Annabel herself is wracked by guilt and worries as she ingratiates herself into life at Whitescar. Can she succeed, and should she? What does Connor stand to gain? What will this mean for Julie. And what really happened on the night that the original Annabel ran away and left Whitescar behind?

The Ivy Tree is a wonderful example of 1960s-era romantic suspense, verging on the gothic. The old estate makes for a picturesque, lush setting, even while the neighboring estate, Forrest Lodge, lends an air of haunting decay, with the manor house in ruins after a devastating fire years earlier, and an overgrown old tree wrapped in ivy holding up the remaining walls.

For a 21st century reader, this book has an old-school feel to it. The pacing, descriptions, and narrative approach feel very much like throw-backs — which, of course, they are. The Ivy Tree is a great example of its genre and era. There’s an undercurrent of desperation and hidden desires and dire motives. It’s all quite grand and dramatic, but never too over the top.

While the plot moves forward at a mostly fast clip, the author also provides breaks in the action fairly regularly to set the scene. Descriptions of overgrown forests or a centuries-old quarry or even the condition of the roads all add to the overall atmosphere of the book, firmly grounding the characters in their environments and making clear where the beauty and the threats are to be found. A final set-piece involving a mad dash through a terrible storm adds to the overall gothic effect, and is both exciting and chilling.

I loved all the dramatic confrontations, the subterfuges and hidden (and revealed) identities, and the conflicting needs and thwarted ambitions of the various characters. It all adds up to a delightfully suspenseful reading experience. For me, The Ivy Tree feels like an excellent introduction to Mary Stewart’s books.

As far as I can recall, my mother and aunt — two avid readers! — were both fans of this author, and I’m quite sure that at least a few Mary Stewart books were on the shelves of my childhood home. Perhaps that’s another reason why I feel drawn to her novels and want to read more!

Question: Do you have a favorite Mary Stewart book to recommend?

About the author:

Mary, Lady Stewart (born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow; 17 September 1916 – 9 May 2014) was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children’s books and poetry, but may be best known for her Merlin series, which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and fantasy.

Her obituary from The Guardian offers a great deal of insight into Mary Stewart’s life and writing career. In addition to the Merlin books (The Crystal Cave and four others), her well-known mysteries include Touch Not the Cat, Madam, Will You Talk?, Nine Coaches Waiting, and many more.

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.

7Dec2025

Novella Review: Dead Letter Days (Rockton, #7.5; Haven’s Rock, #0.5) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Dead Letter Days
Series: Rockton, #7.5; Haven’s Rock, #0.5
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: February 20, 2023
Length: 87 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Eric Dalton spent most of his life in Rockton, a hidden town in the Yukon for people who need to disappear. Now that sanctuary is gone, and he’s holed up in a wilderness lodge with his girlfriend, Casey Duncan, and their friends, as they scout for a place to build their own Rockton. When Eric and Casey find a literal message-in-a-bottle, it leads them to the mystery of a woman who went missing decades ago, having never received that vital message. As they investigate that cold case, Dalton must finally lay to rest the ghosts of his own past and make some overdue decisions before he’s ready to step forward in his new life with Casey.

Strictly for Rockton series readers, this tidy novella provide an engaging bridge between the completed series and the spin-off Haven’s Rock series. We’re treated to familiar characters in a new, transitional setting, as they prepare to move to a new town and start fresh, on their own terms.

In other words… if you haven’t read the Rockton books, this novella is not for you! BUT… it’s an excellent series, so consider this my friendly encouragement to go pick up book #1, City of the Lost!

In Dead Letter Days, the plot revolves around two sets of communications, rediscovered years after they were written. The first involves a mystery of a missing woman, which Casey feels compelled to investigate. The second hits much closer to home, as letters related to Eric’s childhood come to light and provide him with much needed explanations and an unexpected opportunity for closure.

The Rockton books are all told from Casey’s point of view, so it’s a treat here in Dead Letter Days to have Eric as the narrator. It’s our first time getting to see the world through his eyes, and it’s fascinating.

As I’ve said, this is absolutely not a stand-alone or an entry point — but it is a terrific read that fans should not miss!

As for me, I’m dying to dive right into the Haven’s Rock series… but I’m going to show just a tiny bit of restraint and hold off until the new year.

Interested in the Rockton series? Check out my reviews of the previous books:
City of the Lost (Rockton, #1)
A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2)
This Fallen Prey (Rockton, #3)
Watcher in the Woods (Rockton, #4)
Alone in the Wild (Rockton, #5)
A Stranger in Town (Rockton, #6)
The Deepest of Secrets (Rockton, #7)

6Dec2025

Book Review: The Deepest of Secrets (Rockton, #7) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Deepest of Secrets
Series: Rockton, #7
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February 15, 2022
Length: 341 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Purchased
Rating:

#1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong returns to the captivating town of Rockton in The Deepest of Secrets, the next installment in one of the most imaginative crime series on shelves today.

It’s not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows firsthand. Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives—and thrives—because the residents’ many secrets stay just that—secret.

But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It’s not a question of if your secret will come out—but when.

Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight. For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn’t handling these revelations very well. People are turning on one another, and when one of the loudest complainers turns up barely alive, it’s clear that their trickster is actually a murderer.

The threat of exposure is reaching its breaking point, and no one knows what’s going to happen next.

And so, I reach the end of the Rockton series! I’ve loved it right from the start, and this 7th book ties the overarching story lines together while also providing a fresh new mystery to explore. It also neatly sets the stage for the author’s spin-off series, Haven’s Rock, which I’m so looking forward to reading in 2026!

As with my previous Rockton reviews, I’ll share a quick recap of the series premise:

Rockton is a secret hidden town in the Yukon wilderness, a haven for those seeking extreme shelter from dangers in their real lives — or those who’ve committed some sort of wrongdoing and need a place to start over. Rockton, population 200, is filled with an uneasy mix of crime victims and white-collar criminals — although as Sheriff Eric Dalton and Detective Casey Butler come to discover, the town council is willing to defy its own rules for a price and allow more dangerous people to take advantage of Rockton’s protection.

As The Deepest of Secrets opens, Casey and Eric and their closest friends are well aware that Rockton’s days are numbered. The powerful council, which funds the town, funnels new residents into Rockton, and approves or disapproves current residents’ extensions, is clearly on the path to shutting the entire thing down. As they wait for an official announcement, something occurs to disturb the calm — a sign is posted that exposes one very trusted resident’s secret past. Suddenly, there’s an uproar. People want this person expelled, but are also fearful about their own secrets coming to light.

As Casey investigates to determine the source, and whether other secrets are about to be exposed, blackmail and murder soon follow. And once the council makes Rockton’s imminent closure official, panic and mistrust become rampant. Casey and Eric race against the clock to find the person or people behind these newest crimes, while also being tasked with scheduling the evacuation of Rockton and then dismantling the entire town

Without going into further detail, I’ll just say that the mystery is handled exceptionally well, as in all of the books in this series. Seven books in, there’s a huge amount of emotional investment in the core characters (well, for me at least), and seeing how the closing of the Rockton era pans out is truly fascinating and powerful. Unexpected dangers and surprise villains add to the tension of the story, and there’s a sense of sadness underneath it all as Casey, Eric, and the others literally take apart everything they’ve built over the years.

I can’t say enough about how excellent this series is as a whole. I’ve loved the unique premise, the characters’ individual journeys, and the relationship-building among so many of them, whether as friends, lovers, or reluctant colleagues. Casey and Eric’s romantic relationship is beautiful, especially seeing their deep trust and the careful way they consider one another’s needs and responses.

I do feel a bit of sadness at seeing the Rockton days end, but it helps to know that there’s another series with these wonderful characters to look forward to!

To truly wrap up my Rockton reading adventure, I’m planning to start this sequel/novella right away, which takes place following The Deepest of Secrets, and (from what I understand) is a sort of bridge to the start of the Haven’s Rock series:

Rockton, #7.5, Dead Letter Days

Interested in this series? Check out my reviews of the previous books:
City of the Lost (Rockton, #1)
A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2)
This Fallen Prey (Rockton, #3)
Watcher in the Woods (Rockton, #4)
Alone in the Wild (Rockton, #5)
A Stranger in Town (Rockton, #6)

16Nov2025

Book Review: A Stranger in Town (Rockton, #6) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Stranger in Town
Series: Rockton, #6
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February 2, 2021
Length: 359 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In the next riveting thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, the paranoia increases – along with the stakes – as the town of Rockton tries to solve the latest mystery at their door.

Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.

When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it’s all hands on deck. What – or who – attacked this woman, and why?

With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don’t know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive town are uneasy with this stranger in their midst. Everyone in Rockton wants this mystery solved – and fast.

The Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong has been excellent since the very first book, and it’s a thrill to see the connecting story threads weave together here in the 6th book, leading toward an end point still to come in the 7th and final book in the series. A Stranger in Town builds on everything that’s come before it, provides a mystery of its own to solve, and answers questions that have been percolating since the very beginning.

Once again, a quick recap of the series premise:

A Stranger in Town starts with a frightening discovery. In the forest surrounding Rockton, Casey and Eric stumble across a severely injured hiker. She appears to be a well-provisioned but inexperienced tourist, one of the many who pay to be dropped in the Yukon for a wilderness adventure — and like many before her, finds herself in over her head. But as Casey and Eric quickly discover, this hiker wasn’t injured in a fall or animal attack — she appears to have been gravely wounded by hostiles, the pack of “wild” people, seemingly feral or deranged, who live in the forest and pose a continual threat to Rockton and other settlements. What’s more, the hiker was one of a group of four; her companions’ bodies are found nearby.

The attack highlights yet again how dangerous the hostiles are, to the point where the council — the wealthy advisory board that controls and funds Rockton from afar — are ready to shut everything down and dismantle the town, much to Casey and Eric’s dismay. But Casey has had her suspicions about the hostiles from the very beginning of her time in Rockton, and these new murders, and the council’s reaction, give her even more incentive to finally find the long-hidden answers.

If it sounds like I’m being vague… well, that’s intentional! The plot and mystery and clues are all so intricate that to talk about any in detail would mean spoiling the fun of discovering them for yourselves. What I loved about A Stranger in Town, as with the rest of the series, is seeing how the characters interact in each new situation, how much the relationships among the town residents have evolved, and how astutely Casey sees into the truth of the issues and incidents that complicate their lives.

On top of the excellent mystery and the strength of the depiction of the town’s residents, the relationship between Eric and Casey continues to be a delight. They are two strong, intelligent, complicated people. Their personal baggage can cause difficulty when it comes to their feelings and communications, yet their commitment to one another allows them to view situations, and one another, with honesty and fairness. It’s fascinating to see them work through their inner qualms and self-doubt, and to allow themselves to trust in the strength of their love even in moments of serious danger or conflict.

The plot of A Stranger in Town is terrific, and the book is impossible to put down. The mystery at hand is resolved, and there are startling revelations that go way back into Rockton’s history and explain the present challenges the town faces. This book sets up what’s sure to be a dynamite series finale, and I can’t wait to get to it!

The Rockton series ends with book #7. After that, I plan to dive into the spin-off Haven’s Rock series. Next up for me:

Book #7, The Deepest of Secrets

28Sep2025

Book Review: Alone in the Wild (Rockton, #5) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Alone in the Wild
Series: Rockton, #5
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February 4, 2020
Length: 369 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Purchased
Rating:

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.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong again delivers an engaging, tense thriller set in perhaps the most interesting town in all of contemporary crime fiction.

I’m completely hooked on the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong, and waited less than a month after finishing book 4, Watcher in the Woods, before diving back in with the 5th book, Alone in the Wild. Needless to say, book #5 provided yet another immersive, exciting reading experience — I couldn’t put it down!

Once again, a quick recap of the series premise:

Alone in the Wild picks up the story about six months after the events of the previous books. Casey and Eric are taking a much-needed vacation from their policing duties in Rockton, enjoying a couple of nights of camping out in the wild, when Casey hears an unexpected sound: a baby crying. She makes a disturbing discovery: a dead woman cradling a living baby, both buried under the fresh snow. The death is obviously very recent, but there’s no time to investigate — the baby is alive, but barely; Casey and Eric rush the baby back to Rockton for immediate medical care before returning to the corpse to look for clues.

Their primary focus is identifying the baby, a girl who appears to be about a month old. From examining the dead woman, it’s clear that she is not the mother of the child… and it’s also clear that she’s been murdered. While crimes not related to the residents of Rockton are outside Casey and Eric’s jurisdiction, they realize that solving this woman’s murder might lead them to the baby’s family, and their priority is returning her to her rightful parents, if they can be found.

Meanwhile, Casey and Eric become the baby’s de facto foster parents, with the help of the rest of Rockton, raising important questions for them as a couple. Due to serious injuries sustained during a life-changing attack in her teens, Casey doesn’t know whether she’ll ever be able to carry a pregnancy to term. Caring for the baby forces Casey and Eric to discuss whether they could see themselves as parents, and what it might mean for them as a couple. Meanwhile, concerns about whether the baby’s parents are capable of raising her bring up uncomfortable memories from Eric’s own past. The complicated emotions brought on by confronting these issues move Eric and Casey’s relationship forward in important ways.

Of course, the investigation itself is fascinating, as it involves venturing far beyond Rockton’s borders and making contact with settler communities who abide by very different rules, beliefs, and ethical standards. This broadens the world of the series in new and interesting ways, and I’m sure will have important implications in future books.

As always, there are plenty of twists and turns, and every time I thought I had something figured out, I was surprised yet again by how inventive and unpredictable Kelley Armstrong’s mystery writing can be.

With two books left in the series, I’m trying to pace myself rather than rushing straight through. It’s a challenge! My goal is to finish the Rockton books in 2025, then start the spin-off series, Haven’s Rock, in 2026.

Next up in the Rockton series:

Book #6, A Stranger in Town

4Sep2025

Book Review: There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Uncovered America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: There is No Ethan: How Three Women Uncovered America’s Biggest Catfish
Author: Anna Akbari
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: June 4, 2024
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Memoir/true crime
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Part memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them

In 2011 three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last-minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn’t after money—he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy.

After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame’s stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could have ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for “Ethan” to ever stop.

There is No Ethan catalogues Akbari’s experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture—a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms—Akbari provides an explanation for why these stories matter.

There Is No Ethan is one of the most fascinating and bizarre true crime stories I’ve ever read… especially because, in point of fact, no actual crime (by legal definitions) ever took place. And yet, the violation of ethical standards and the emotional manipulation perpetrated by “Ethan” are truly shocking.

In this memoir, the author recounts her involvement with Ethan Schuman in the early 2010s. She met Ethan on OKCupid, and they formed an instant rapport. Technology was not quite at the stage of FaceTime and Zoom, so communication via chat threads and emails was pretty par for the course. Anna and Ethan began an intense relationship via digital platforms, sharing detailed thoughts, emotions, and vulnerabilities, both ostensibly equally excited to meet in real life — something delayed repeatedly due to Ethan’s high pressure job. When Ethan cancelled again and again each time they had plans, his excuses escalated to a cancer diagnosis and surgery — and how could Anna be so cruel as to hold that against him? But eventually, the red flags indicating manipulation and emotional abuse were too much to ignore, and Anna walked away.

Soon after, she was contacted by another woman through a mutual acquaintance, someone who has a disturbingly similar tale to tell. And before long, the two of them were able to find yet a third woman who’d been involved with Ethan for over two years. For all three, the patterns were starkly similar: Intense, non-stop messaging, elaborate personal stories, harsh criticisms should they step out of line, and excuse after excuse for never actually meeting.

There Is No Ethan lays out the chronology of these women’s experiences with Ethan in a factual, organized manner, with extensive excerpts from the messages and emails exchanged over the course of their individual relationships with Ethan. As outsiders, we readers may ask how no one became suspicious earlier, but from reading the correspondence, it’s clear that Ethan was a master manipulator, having absolutely no shame when it came to concocting excuses and alibis, even going to far as to create a fake sister to vouch for him when one of the women showed signs of stepping out of line.

And yet… Ethan was never held accountable for his actions beyond having his name and true identity outed. Why? Because as far as the author is able to demonstrate, he committed no crimes. He never extorted money from his victims; there’s no identity theft, financial scam, or sexual coercion involved. But — what he did was clearly, absolutely, cruel and wrong.

SPOILER AHEAD: You can easily find out Ethan’s true identity through a Google search, but if you don’t want to know, this is the time to stop reading this review!

As the book title makes clear, there is no Ethan. Ethan Schuman does not exist. The profile pictures and other photos he provided to his various victims were all photos he took from an old acquaintance’s social media accounts. No Ethan Schuman attended the colleges or graduate schools he claimed to have attended, nor worked for Morgan Stanley or the US government as he claimed.

In fact, Ethan Schuman isn’t even a man. As the author and the women she befriends discover, the person behind the Ethan persona is a woman named Emily Slutsky. At the time of their involvement with Emily, she was a medical student — and is now a practicing physician.

Confronted with her lies, deceit, and cruelties, Emily’s responses to the woman range from anger to justification to claims of carrying out a fiction in order to try on other lives. She remains remarkably indifferent to the harm she caused, and despite vowing to stop, continued to engage with other women under the Ethan persona for years to come.

No consequences ever seemed to have caught up with Emily. While the trio of woman contacted Emily’s family, her medical school, and later employers, nothing happened. The author is adamant that the ethical breach embodied by Emily’s manipulations should disqualify her from holding positions of trust with vulnerable patients — but if you Google Emily, you’ll see that she continues to practice as an ob/gyn.

The author, a sociologist, explores issues around identity in a digital age, which is all quite fascinating. Still, the real hook of this compelling non-fiction tale is the detailed way in which Ethan/Emily’s lies and manipulation are spelled out. Emily’s victims are all highly educated professional women, who, perhaps due to the ongoing challenge of forging real connections in the age of online dating, made themselves vulnerable to a man who seemed to prize intellectual and emotional vulnerability over anything else. It’s easy to see how they’d be sucked in, especially given Emily’s relentless stream of messaging, leaving them more sleep-deprived and wrecked emotionally with each passing day.

More than a decade has passed since the author’s involvement with Ethan, and technology has evolved enough since then that a broken webcam or unwillingness to have a live conversation would not be accepted as valid excuses in the way it was then. Still, There Is No Ethan is certainly a cautionary tale about the unimaginable ways someone with shady morals and a lot of creativity can take advantage, even of someone who thinks they’re alert to all the warning signs and have taken all necessary precautions.

There Is No Ethan is fascinating, horrifying, and utterly absorbing. It also left me rather furious — as far as I can tell, Ethan/Emily has yet to face any real consequences for her actions. Highly recommended.

To read more about this bizarre story:
New York Times book review (2024)
New York Observer article (2014)
New York Post article about Emily Slutsky (2024)

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
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