Bea Reviews This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Rockton #3
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 6th, 2018 
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Blurb from goodreads:

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.

My Thoughts:

I enjoy this series so much. Kelley's trademark twists and complex characters combined with the intriguing concept of a town completely off-grid where people go to escape and hide. I have high standards for Ms. Armstrong and in "This Fallen Prey", she did not let me down.

It's spring in Rockton and Casey and Dalton are burying their dead now that the ground is no longer frozen. Their work is interrupted by a plane dropping off unexpected, and unwelcome, company. The council that runs the town, but lives in civilization, has agreed to take in and keep prisoner a man accused of being a serial killer. Rockton doesn't have the necessary facilities for a long-term prisoner and Casey and Dalton, who is the sheriff, have concerns about the situation.

Armstrong ratchets up the action early on and keeps it going for the most part. There are a few sections where it drags but not for long as the action keeps coming. Oliver Brady's arrival sets a chain of events into motion including multiple deaths, a mini revolt in Rockton, and problems with the local human population outside of Rockton. Armstrong keeps Casey and Dalton so busy that they hardly have time to think and there are plenty of twists that keep them, and the reader, wondering and guessing. You have to pay attention and look beyond the obvious to understand what's going on. "This Fallen Prey" is full of complications and people who are not who or what they seem.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger but the major threads are closed up and some new ones set up. I enjoyed the story; it was engrossing, thrilling, and intense.