City of the Lost (Casey Duncan Series #1)

Kind of mind blowing....the whole thought of a hidden town, in this day of age.....off the grid...that no one knows about....explained in a way that makes complete sense....the characters of such a town and how it works, just awesome....add in a murder mystery, and you have a story that you wish would not end....kudos to Ms. Armstrong, for another engaging tale....hope there is a sequel...

Outstanding!!!! The previous reviewer said it all, and I totally agree!! This is a true page turner not to be missed. Highly recommend!!!

I just couldn't stop reading it

Kept me engaged during the whole book.awesome read

A Kelley Armstrong MUST. Every page turn will have you engrossed even more.

Yet another throughly addicting series by Kelley Armstrong. Another series, another 'verse, another handful of characters to fall in love with.

Extremely unique setting and interesting characters. Not your run of the mill mystery. I happened to read the second book in the series first and immediately went and found the first book in the series which is this novel. It keeps you guessing. I eagerly anticipate the third book's publication. Very happy to have discovered this author and this series because the setting is so unusual the author is able to do things you cannot do in a traditional mystery. Terrific! Highly recommend you start with this book and read them in order.

What an awesome story. Loved it. On to the next book in this series.

Interesting concept Really enjoyed it TS

I love Casey duncun!

SO good!

Grabs you by the throat and never lets go. Chilling. Taut. Incredibly plausible. Loved every word

I have just found a new series to read as I can’t stop thinking of this novel. Imagine a dark forest that the area village is afraid of entering because it contains creatures and dangerous individuals. The forest is there for hunting and for punishment, some individuals have been in the forest for years. I didn’t want to put this novel down once I got started and when I had to put it, I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and what might happen next. There were plenty of twists and secrets inside this novel and they kept coming right up until the very end. The story begins with Casey telling her therapist that she killed a guy and she’s telling the truth. She did it in self-defense and the event has turned her life upside down. Casey is basically a loner and she confines in her best friend, Diane. Diane is a punching bag for her boyfriend, Graham and has been for years. Diane has a on-off relationship with her boyfriend. Casey is secretly dating a bartender who ends up getting shot one evening after work. This shooting is tied to the guy that Casey killed. Diane begins talking about a safe town where individuals can go to escape for a while but Casey ignores her. Casey tries to protect Diane from her abusive boyfriend and it frustrates her when Diane gets beat up. She doesn’t know how to protect her but she doesn’t believe in this safe town that Diane has been talking about. Diane ends up finding a phone number for his safe town and Casey makes the call and puts things in motion for the two of them to make the trip. The town is called Rockton and there is a time limit that most individuals stay. Population now is 200 people and it seems like a great place, a self-sufficient town but nothing is perfect including this small town. They have issues and not everyone knows or cares. Once individuals come into Rockton, they change and its usually not for the better. Oh, how I liked this freaky little town and its citizens. It seemed that they tried to create their own community to help others but what is this controlled society really attempting to do? What a fantastic read, I can’t wait to get back to it!

Was on vk when I read this which was good since I couldnt put it down. Put the rest of the series on my wishlist. Great read!!

Recommend & cant wait to finish the series

Amazing. Nothing bad to say about this book, i finished it in 3 days and now i need to read it again just for fun

here have always been stories of cities lost to the mists of time and history, Camelot, El Dorado, Z and others. Did they ever exist? Maybe. But if you are a certain type person, a criminal, a victim, a killer with money you might have heard of another town that offers sanctuary. Not a glamorous town by any means, the living is harder than you can imagine, but Rockton does exist. If you meet the stringent requirements of need and/or money you might get in. A homicide detective, Casey Duncan and her best friend Diana, a victim of spousal abuse are accepted grudgingly, very grudgingly by Sheriff Eric Dalton. According to Dalton he doesn’t want them, but the ruling council insists because Rockton needs a homicide detective-even one who has committed murder herself. Casey won’t come without Diana. Dalton runs Rockton with an iron hand. The most important rule, one that incurs severe punishment is you don’t go into the woods by yourself. Sometimes the punishment is administered by Sheriff Dalton, sometimes by the woods. There are scary people in the woods. There are apex predators in the woods because Rockton is located in the Yukon. People are dying in ugly torturous ways in the woods, deaths inflicted by humans. It is Casey’s job to find the killer and determine if it a resident or one of the many who live in the woods. The inhabitants of Rockton are scarred in their own way, even the killers who buy their way in. Once they arrive in Rockton they have to re-invent themselves. Casey is one of the few who can stay true to herself and maybe start to forgive herself. Casey begins to realize the sheriff is different for a reason. She begins to forge warm friendships with Deputy Will Anders and Doctor Beth. Eventually she begins to be more accepting of the local madam, Isabel. I loved that when misunderstandings occurred they were actually resolved in a reasonable amount of time by adults communicating. Ah, the woods, possibly the most interesting character in the book. Rockton is not far behind but I will instead leave it as a fascinating setting. There is not a character in the book that I did not find compelling. There are numerous surprises that await Casey and the reader. Well done surprises, not from out of left field. There are romances. One of which is just about the sweetest I’ve come across in a long time. Sweetest and damn hot too. For the love of all that is holy can not the denizens of Rockton learn the meaning of a locked door or a closed door, or of people not actually answering a door due to sleeping or ummm, something like that. The Sheriff needs to rectify that lack of knowledge of boundaries soonest with himself as first pupil. It was good to see a bit of lightness shed on all the darkness of Rockton. Here is my deep dark secret; I’ve already read this book three times since it came out. I am just fascinated by every aspect of it. Thank goodness there is an equally wonderful second book, A Darkness Absolute that is already out. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

WOW! City of the Lost will suck you in and keep you on the edge of your seat. Kelley Armstrong has a winner in this series. Casey Duncan is a smart homicide cop who let fear and anger create a circumstance where she killed a man. Yes he was the scum of the earth but she shouldn’t have killed him. She has been living with this for 12 years as she climbed through the ranks of the police force. Now her past has caught up with her and she needs a safe place. Enter Rockton a safe harbor for those who have made mistakes and victims that need to disappear. Casey's best friend, Diana, needs to get away from an abusive ex so they both arrange to move to this town in the middle of nowhere with few modern amenities but a chance to start anew. But despite Rockton’s billing as a safe haven it does have crime and Casey’s skills are needed. I fell for Casey. She is a smart overachiever with debts to pay but she isn’t angsty about it. I really enjoyed this book and am diving into the next installment asap.

Kelley Armstrong’s novels center around a mystery but usually take place in an Urban Fantasy setting. City of the Lost also has a mystery as the center of its story, but seems to be pretty straightforward without any hints of a fantasy world. However, the city Casey Duncan and her friend move to to escape their pasts sounds too good to be true. A city filled with other people who are trying to leave their pasts behind. A city thats off the grid and where no one can find you. A city with hints of the old west, where men outnumber the women and is policed by a sheriff, the favorite hangout is a saloon/brothel, and hints of danger in the forest that surrounds them. City of the Lost is a mystery with hints of horror, typically not my thing, but I loved it. Casey Duncan, our heroine, was allowed to live in Rockton because of her skills as a detective. Someone has started murdering the citizens of Rockton. When Casey arrives, she butts heads with the sheriff who has absolute rule, but soon learns how to work with him. Is there eventually an attraction between them? Yes, and it’s filled with emotional upheaval, passion, and grit, however, this is not a love story, though that bit was really enjoyable. This is a mystery and it’s intricately planned and the characters involved were fascinating. Imagine living in a city where every person there is escaping something. They could be victims, but they also may be the perpetrators of horrible crimes, yet no one knows each others past. Its a fresh slate, but sometimes a persons nature just can’t be changed. If you love mysteries, I highly recommend this excellent book. It’s the first in the series and I am not going to take too much time before starting the second!

This is the first book in the Casey Duncan series. I fell in love with Kelley Armstrong’s tales through her Other world series. Bitten is the first in that one. So, I discovered Nadia Stafford, not supernatural and loved that trilogy. Then this book came out, and I was interested. Imagine a place in the middle of middle of now where, where a person can shed their old life for a while, start fresh, but at a cost…A place that was designed for those who truly need to disappear. But Rockton, has its own secrets and its first murder. So, enters Casey Duncan, a woman with her own secret, and her friend Diana, who can’t escape her abusive ex. Rockton, needs a detective, Diana needs a fresh start… Soon after you start this tale, it grabs you and takes you on a wild ride, with twist and turns that keep you wanting to see how it all ends. I really enjoyed this story and wasn’t disappointed at all. Looking forward to the second book. A well written thriller. Worth the time to read.

Love the series!

I am shocked by how much I ended up liking this book. The story grabbed me immediately and I never lost interest. This was one of those books where just as soon as I thought I knew where the story was going, something would happen and I would realize that I was completely wrong. This really was the kind of book that can really hard to put down. This is the first book in the Casey Duncan series and after reading the first two books in the series, I do recommend that this series be read in order. This book really does set the groundwork for the next book in the series. This was a book that started in one manner and by the time it was over it was a completely different book. I loved that this book kept me guessing until the very end. Casey is a detective. A detective with a past. She is very protective of her friend, Diana, who has been the victim of domestic violence. She has even moved before in order to support her friend. Diana learns about a town where people like her can go to hide and desperately wants to go. She wants Casey to come along with her. They end up going to Rockton, a town off the grid, in the Canadian wilderness. Rockton is filled with interesting characters. Casey is put to work right away with Sheriff Dalton who more or less runs the town. The mystery in this story really took a lot of twists and turns that were completely unexpected. I had no idea which characters could be trusted from one moment to the next. I had to keep the pages turning just to find out what would happen. The writing was wonderful. I was sucked into the story from the first sentence. Literally the first sentence. The pacing of the story was perfectly done. There were points in the book that were focused on really getting to know the characters while others were actively working on the mystery. The mystery was complex and believable. I honestly cannot believe that this is the first book by Kelley Armstrong that I have read because it seems that I am really missing out. I would highly recommend this book to mystery thriller fans. Although Kelley Armstrong is known for writing books filled with supernatural elements, this book is a straight up mystery thriller. And it is a good one.