ARC Review--The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

 

It’s not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows firsthand. Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives―and thrives―because the residents' many secrets stay just that―secret.

But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It’s not a question of if your secret will come out―but when.

Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight. For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn’t handling these revelations very well. People are turning on one another, and when one of the loudest complainers turns up barely alive, it's clear that their trickster is actually a murderer.

 

 

 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. 

Kelley Armstrong's return to Rockton with The Deepest of Secrets really shakes things up in the small secluded town in the middle of nowhere. An isolated town filled with people hiding from something and straight up criminals hiding from the law certainly is just asking for trouble and trouble is exactly what this town gets as someone is outing everyone's secrets, starting with Will Anders.

It as a quiet night, until it wasn't when Casey was just having a quiet evening with her common-law husband, Eric. When Casey investigates the disturbing appearance of a sign that outs what Will did that landed him here in Rockton, everyone is shook up. Will was a solider in the army and was getting serious issues with stress, so much so that he was prescribed with medicine, that medicine induced hallucinations and while he thought he was dreaming he killed his commanding officer, he in fact did shoot him in a medicine-induced haze. The town of Rockton seems to have turned against him, but the largest protester is Conrad, one of the newer residents.

Casey naturally pins him as her number one suspect with good reason, facts and evidence keep pointing to him, but then when he is suddenly attacked, it's clear there is a lot more going on in Rockton then simple jealousy. Unfortunately for Casey, the mysterious Council that runs the show that is Rockton financially, has decided the time to close Rockton for good has come. Now, not only is she trying to track down the person who is exposing residents' secrets, she's also looking for the person who is attacking people in town as well.

This mystery really shaped up to be an exciting one! Not only was the first less serious case of finding out who's revealing people's deepest secrets, but then there is the mystery that leads to murder and the burying of bodies alive! I feel like this is one of the fears that haunts me when it comes to claustrophobia as well! I remember reading a book years ago where a guy was semi-buried alive--he was actually placed inside a coffin in a pool, and he was terrified of drowning, so slightly different circumstances, but overall feeling is the same! Being mistaken for dead when you're not is a terrifying fear that has haunted us for centuries, as that's where we get the classic Edgar Allen Poe story!

The mystery was done very well, as suspicions rose and fell all over the place as my main suspects were revealed to be innocent when things kept happening to them or they revealed their real whereabouts during the crimes. Kelley really knows how to steer the reader in misleading directions, much as Casey is being mislead...if that makes sense! Basically by following in Casey's footsteps, we the reader fall for some of the same mistakes she does, or at least that was the case with me! Lol.

Sadly, if you're looking for more romantic interludes with Casey and Eric, there wasn't much of that this time around. The focus seemed to be solely on the mysteries at large, and the pending removal of Rockton and what their backup plan for that will be. It's been hinted at the last few books, so I'll be curious to see what routes will be taken with the next installment. While I have not seen anything official to say what the fate of this series is, I feel like there should be at least one other installment just to see what the results will be after everything that happened here. Yes, the mystery was solved and resolved, but the fate of many of Rockton's residents still hangs in the air, as well as Casey and Eric's and everyone else we've come to care about in this town.

The Deepest of Secrets is a spine-tingling read! Everyone has secrets, but in the town of Rockton secrets can mean the cost of your life and/or existence. Hive-mind is definitely a thing in this small town. If you're looking for a mystery that will keep you guessing long into the night, then this is the perfect read for you! While this mystery itself stands alone on its own, there's still a lot of backstory and history with the characters happening that is consequential. I would recommend starting at the beginning of this series if you haven't yet in order to truly get to know these characters and be eager for your return to Rockton!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

The Deepest of Secrets releases February 15, 2022