Review – A Darkness Absolute (Casey Duncan, Book 2) by Kelley Armstrong (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 7, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1250092175
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Casey Duncan series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“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.”

This was a wonderful follow-up to the first Casey Duncan book (now switching to the name Casey Butler because of the name change in the 1st book I guess?). I am absolutely loving this series! This was a great thriller mystery set in a very unique setting. I found this book absolutely impossible to put down.

I think part of what makes this series so amazing is the secluded northern setting; this adds a lot of survival elements to the story. I love the idea of the hostiles living in the woods around this secret town. I also love the fact that the town is a secret town for people to hide in and is driven to make a profit off of people paying their way in; this adds an interesting political dynamic to the story.

There is a main mystery to be solved in this book but there is also the continuing mystery of how Rockton was formed, how it’s run, and how the hostiles came to be in the woods surrounding it. Rockton is both a tight-knit and sometimes brutal society.

The characters have to fight so many tough situations; from horrible blizzards to serial killers lurking in the woods. There is some excellent mystery in here and many of the situations the characters end up in will have you on the edge of your seat and desperate to know what happens.

The writing style is incredibly well done; the dialogue is witty and flows well. The writing just pulls you in, making the book effortless to read. This is the type of book that pulls you through right to the end and then leaves you wondering how you read it so fast!

The psychology of some of the characters in this book continues to fascinate me. There is just so much depth and so much interest in how these characters interact and survive. All of them have major social and mental issues before getting permission to enter Rockton and it is just incredibly intriguing to watch them interact with each other.

Overall this was another amazing book in this series. I would honestly recommend everyone reads this series; it is just such a well done thriller/mystery. I don’t even usually like thrillers but I was absolutely sucked into this book. The story and characters are incredible. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers and is interested in something a bit different.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge