Today, Anne reviews a new book by Kelley Armstrong, City of the Lost.

City of the Lost follows a homicide detective with a traumatic past as she is forced to disappear along with her best friend to a special town in the middle of the Canadian wilderness that harbors those who want to get away from their pasts. Casey Duncan thinks she is being hunted by a vengeful mafia family and her friend is in danger from her ex-husband. When they are accepted into Rockton, they arrive to discover that the town is actually a safe haven for both criminals and victims and Casey is immediately put to work helping the sheriff solve a murder. Of course, not everything is as it seems, and in Rockton, everyone has secrets.

I give this book 2 1/2 stars out of 5. Let me start by saying that I love Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld and Cainsville series. When I started this book, I had high hopes but by the second half, I wanted to quit reading even though the book did manage to keep most of its secrets until the bitter end. The story never fully develops and leaves more questions than answers. The characters never fully develop either. Casey, the main character, goes from an experienced homicide detective with trust issues to a fawning fan girl of the sheriff, Eric. And, of course, they fall in love in the whole two weeks she’s in Rockton. This, despite a string of grisly murders and epic betrayals. You never meet ‘the hostiles’ living in the woods, nor do you ever really understand the motivations of the mysterious committee that runs Rockton from afar. I won’t give specifics because despite my disappointment in this book, I don’t want to give spoilers to those who might still want to give it a try.

If you’ve read it, let us know what you thought of City of the Lost. We’re always up for a good discussion of books.

Kind regards,

Anne, Nancy, and Eric