Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers
The follow-up to #1 NYT bestseller Kelley Armstrong’s acclaimed City of the Lost, Rockton town detective Casey Duncan makes a terrible—and dangerous—discovery in the woods outside of town.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.
A Darkness Absolute is the second installment in author Kelley Armstrong's Casey Duncan series. Homicide Detective Casey Duncan (Butler) has spent the past four months getting acclimated to the town of Rockton. It is a place where people go when they are either on the run from something, or getting away from those who might have issues with what they may have done in the past. Casey definitely fits that bill, and if you've read City of the Lost, the story pretty much covers how Casey ended up in Rockton, and the deal she made with Sheriff Eric Dalton, who is now her boss, as well as her lover, to stay in Rockton rather than return down south.
A Darkness Absolute starts out with Casey and Deputy Will Anders searching for a man who wandered out of town, which in the Yukon that is surrounded with all sorts of unpleasantness, is not a good thing to be doing. People have been known to disappear without a trace, and then later found dead. As Casey and Will are searching for the man, when a snow storm causes them to take cover in a cave. Why you need to know about said cave, is because Casey and Will stumble across a woman named Nicole who apparently has been stuck in a whole for 15 months!
Nicole never saw the face of her kidnapper/assailant. But, as the story twists and turns its way towards revealing the masochistic killer, two more women's bodies turn up in the same cave which sends Casey, Eric, and Will scurrying like little mice trying to find answers, including from outsiders. The most curious part of this town, and series, is that nobody is who they say they are. If you want an example of that, you need only to look as far as Mathias, who is both a butcher, and a former psychiatrist. Mathias truly likes Casey, and perhaps Eric because Eric was born and raised in Rockton. Eric also has a list of folks that found themselves in Rockton by nefarious means. Mathias is a character that you should pay close attention to.
I dare say that I am all for Armstrong taking a wide birth from her paranormal series, which has made her a household name, and focus on more contemporary mysteries like this series. I will definitely continue reading this series, and do hope that Casey can move past her anger with other characters who shall remain nameless. I love mystery novels, and I could have sworn that this villain was too perfect for anyone not to know who the person is by the time you reach half way. The other part of the book to pay attention to, is the romance between Casey & Eric which has gone from cold as ice, to sizzling in a rather short time. I even loved the gift that Eric gives Casey which should say a whole lot about his feelings for Casey.
If you like a mystery with a bit of romance, and characters who are more than they seem, then you will love this series.
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