The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong
What's It About?
A town built on secrets, relying on fake identities and the Yukon wilderness for survival. But what happens when those secrets are revealed?In The Deepest of Secrets (Minotaur Books), the latest installment of Kelley Armstrong‘s Rockton series, we find detective Casey Duncan in the midst of a crisis: someone is revealing the pasts of Rockton’s residents. This is absolutely not allowed and threatens the entire community. No one is safe while this threat is active, and it’s up to Casey, her boyfriend Sheriff Eric Dalton and their dog, Storm, to find the culprit while protecting the residents who have been exposed. The safety of Rockton hangs in the balance, can they solve the case?
ARMSTRONG’S CAPTIVATING HIDDEN COMMUNITY
It’s always tough to read a book in the middle of a series, especially when there have been six other books. I was skeptical but found myself declaring “I need to read this whole series” to my mom over the holiday break before I had even made it through the introduction — which I believe is a testament to the unique and captivating story that Armstrong has created in her Rockton series.
The entire premise is like nothing I have ever read before: an entire hidden community designed to protect the identities of those living in it, whether because they are in danger from their past lives or because they needed escape of some kind. Residents arrive with false names and histories, and they are required to stay a minimum of two years. They have no access to the internet, no way to contact people from their past lives or the outside world. And by the way, you won’t find Rockton on a map either. It is a hidden “sanctuary,” purposefully cut off everything and everyone.
The council — a mysterious group of rich former residents who remain unseen, governing from afar and communicating with the rest of the community through a single person — is corrupt. They’ve been letting in criminals of all sorts (who’ve paid to get in and escape crimes they’ve committed in their former lives), which only adds to the drama that unfolds in this little community. People originally came here to seek refuge, but over the years as the new council took over it evolved from a “commune of lost souls into a for-profit institution.”
EXPERTLY WRITTEN WITH NO SHORTAGE OF DRAMA
What I loved was the fact that the introduction clued in the reader to past drama, main characters and key relationships. I thought that this was expertly written as well, hooking me before I even made it to Chapter One. I found myself referring to those few pages several times while reading the book to make sure I had remembered dynamics correctly.
There was also no shortage of drama in this read. Not only were the pasts of several residents revealed to the community, but there were several murders and the underlying fact that the council was trying to shut down Rockton. One of those items alone would have made for a good story, but combined these elements made the book fast paced and just plain exciting. (The story only took place over two or three days!)
This town feels so real, and the characters are so defined that I really couldn’t put this book down. Armstrong has a degree in psychology, and it shows here: the characters are so intricate, and their personalities are defined expertly, even in those who we don’t see frequently throughout the story. Her ability to really focus on character development makes a story like this feel alive, as if the reader is observing everything in person.
I read another review that implied this may be the last installment in the series, and boy, I hope not. I can only say that I will be reading the previous books in this series, and I don’t want it to end!
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