City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minatour Books
Date of publication:May 2016

Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows this crime will catch up to her. Casey's best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana's husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it's time for the two of them to disappear again.

Diana has heard of a domestic violence support town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want; she's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding - in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives.

City of the Lost is the first book by this author that I have read.  I have seen some reviews that say her fantasy series are better.  Since I obviously have nothing to compare it to, I will just say that I did enjoy his book.  I liked the premise of a town where people can go to hide and start over.  Don't we all want to disappear at times?  Anyone who is fortunate enough to get into the town of Rockton lives off the grid.  Only a select few know the place exists.  Casey and her friend Diana both apply to live in the town because they are both getting away from something.  Rockton needs a detective and Casey is perfect for the job.

As I said, I liked this book.  I really liked Casey.  She is the kind of character that makes me want to read more books in a series to see how she grows and changes.  I didn't even mind the quickie romance with Eric.  I loved his character too.  I won't comment on the mysteries here.  It would spoil the overall story. There are a few twists that made it really interesting. The ending left me with some questions, so it will be interesting to see how everything plays out in future books. I definitely recommend this one and look forward to reading the next one coming out in 2017.  In the meantime, I'm going have to seek out some of Ms. Armstrong's other works!