Review: The Haunting of Payne's Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: October 2025

 When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood.

But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words.

Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.

In The Haunting of Payne's Hollow, Sam's grandfather has died and left his property to her.  The catch is that she has to live there for a month without leaving the property.  She soon becomes entangled in solving what really happened with her father years before.  Her aunt disappears and she begins to have nightmares and questioning everything she is seeing.  

 This book was just what I needed for the spooky season.  The atmosphere was dark and sinister. There were a lot of creepy scenes  I loved the story of the hollow and the mystery that surrounded it. It also touched a bit on the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman. The characters were interesting and I was rooting for Sam.  There was a big twist in the end that I didn't see coming.  I also love that as the reader I didn't know who to trust.  I highly recommend this one.

Review: Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: February 2020

 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.

Alone in the Wild is the fifth book in the Casey Duncan/Rockland series.  It's been a while since I visited this series  I'm really behind.  In this one, Casey and Eric are camping when they come across a murdered woman and a very alive newborn baby.  They make it their mission to find out who killed the woman and who the baby belongs to.

I forget how much I love this series.  While reading this book, I felt like I was visiting old friends.  The characters of this town are so interesting and always keep me invested in the story.  I enjoyed the msytery.  I also loved the growing relationship between Eric and Casey and where they stand at the end of the book. Somethings I also enjoyed about the book were the glimpses into the other colonies and how they operate.  I look forward to catching up more with the series. 

Review: Someone is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date: April 2023

Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.

Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?

Someone is Always Watching is a YA mystery involving Blythe and her classmates.  Strange things have been having at their elite private school.  Gabrielle thinks they are being watched, but by whom? Blythe has been having memory issues, but the adults tell her everything is fine.  What is really going on?

I thought this was a fairly solid mystery.  I really had no idea what the reveal would be ahead of time.  I enjoyed discovering everything along with Blythe and her friends.  I spent most of the book wondering if they were reliable narrators or not.  The story really makes you think about the power of the mind and memories.  The teen characters weren't annoying.  Honestly, the adults were the annoying ones in this book.  I would recommend this one.  It's worth a read.

Review: Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date of publication: February 5, 2019

The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Casey Duncan, the town's only detective on a police force of three, has already faced murder, arson and falling in love in less than the year that she's lived there. Yet even she didn't think it would be possible for an outsider to find and cause trouble in the town she's come to call home.

When a US Marshal shows up in town demanding the release of one of the residents, Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Dalton, are skeptical. And yet only hours later, the marshal is shot dead and the only visible suspects are the townspeople and her estranged sister, in town for just the weekend. It's up to Casey to figure out who murdered the marshal, and why they would kill to keep him quiet.

Watcher in the Woods is the fourth book in the Rockton series.  I was really excited to read this one because the last book left one of the character's life in the balance.  This is another book that I would really suggest reading the whole series before this one.  A lot happens and things are mentioned that assume you know what is going on in the series.  Watcher in the Woods picks up pretty much right after the events of This Fallen Prey. Casey and Dalton have just snuck in her surgeon sister to perform surgery on a wounded Rockland citizen.  A US Marshal shows up and starts to cause trouble for the secret town.

Once again, this was a really enjoyable mystery.  The events take place over only a few days, so it's fast paced with a couple of twists.  I definitely didn't call the culprit, nor the reason for the US Marshal's visit.  The best part about this installment is that we get to see more into Casey's childhood and how she related to her older sister.  We also get to know more about Dalton's background and where he came from.  But, the most devastating back story is Petra's.  You'll have to read to find out what that is, but it really explains more about why she made the decisions that she did in the last book.

If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.  This is a solid addition to it and I can't wait to see what awaits Casey and the citizens of Rockton next.

This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minatour Books
Date of publication: February 2018

When Casey Duncan first arrived at Rockton, the off-the-grid, isolated community built as a haven for people running from their pasts, she had no idea what to expect. There are no cell phones, no internet, no mail, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. She certainly didn't expect to become the town homicide detective. But, the very last thing she expected was for the council to drop a dangerous criminal into their midst without a plan to keep him imprisoned. And she never thought that she'd have to be responsible for him. 

The longer Oliver Brady stays in town, the more people seem to die around him. When evidence begins piling up that someone inside Rockton is working as his accomplice, Casey races to figure out who exactly Brady is and what crimes he's truly responsible for committing.

This Fallen Prey is the third book in the Rockton series. By far it is the most exciting and fast paced of the three in the series.  This time around, spring is coming and with it the council has sent a alleged serial killer to the settlement. The residents of Rockton are completely  unprepared for a killer like him, the situations becomes extremely chaotic after he has been there for a few days.  I will caution, I wouldn't say this does well as a stand alone.  I highly recommend you read the first two books, City of the Lost and A Darkness Absolute, before reading this one.  There is a lot of back story that you need for this book.

It's really hard to talk about this plot without giving away spoilers.  There are a few twists, one I totally didn't see coming.  I'm not sure there was ever break in the book as it starts with an airplane landing and doesn't stop until the end.  I loved every minute of the storyline.  I still love Casey and Eric together.  Their relationship gets a lot deeper as the series progresses.  The book ends on a cliffhanger of sorts.  That was frustrating and I can't wait for the next book! This is a great series and one I highly recommend!

A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minatour Books
Date of publication: February 2017

When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers. 

Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that...before another victim goes missing.


If you are considering reading A Darkness Absolute without reading the first book, City of the Lost, I would tell you not to.  A Darkness Absolute does not hold up well as a stand alone.  The story makes an assumption that you read the first book and doesn't offer much in the way of explanation for the town and why they are there.  It also assumes you already know the background behind a lot of the characters.  Reading this one first would also create a lot of spoilers for the first book.

Having said all of that, I did end up enjoying this second book.  I liked it slightly more than the first one.  It was a little slow at times and probably could have been shorter. But overall I felt the mystery was pretty solid.  I enjoyed watching Casey and Eric's relationship develop into a much more intimate one.  Eric was really cute at times in his awkwardness.  The one thing I didn't like about the book was the ending.  It was pretty abrupt and that was frustrating as I wanted more.   I am hoping it means that there will be a third book featuring this town and characters.  

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!