The Boy Who Cried Bear

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Series: Haven's Rock #2
Published by Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books on February 20, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Length: 10 hours 19 minutes
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm

Haven's Rock is a well-hidden town surrounded by forest. And it's supposed to be, being that it's a refuge for those who need to disappear. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton already feel at home in their new town, which reminds them of Rockton, where they first met. And while they know how to navigate the woods and its various dangers, other residents don't. Which is why people aren't allowed to wander off alone.

When Max, the town's youngest resident-taught to track animals by Eric-fears a bear is stalking a hiking party, alarms are raised. Even stranger, the ten-year-old swears the bear had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, so they're taking it seriously. But odd occurrences are happening all around them, and when a dead body turns up, they're not sure what they're up against.

This was fantastic! I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong’s writing and the characters featured in the Rockton/Haven’s Rock series hold a special place in my heart. I know this is listed as the second book in the Haven’s Rock series, but that series is just a continuation of the Rockton series, so I would recommend starting there and reading the books in order if possible. You could probably get away with jumping right into this book but the whole series is great so you don’t want to miss it.

I was quickly pulled into this newest mystery and couldn’t wait to see how Eric and Casey would get to the bottom of things. A boy disappears from the hidden town of Haven’s Rock after claiming to have seen a bear in the woods. I love that this series always seems to keep me guessing and this book was no exception. It turned out that bears were not the scariest things in the wilderness surrounding the small town that Eric and Casey. There are some developments in this story for Eric and Casey that should play an important role in future installments that I am pretty excited about.

I usually read this series with my eyes but this time I listened to the audiobook and thought Therese Plummer did an excellent job with this story. This narrator has been one of my favorites for a very long time and this performance was up to her usual high standards. I felt like I was right there with Casey and Eric trying to find this boy in the woods. The voices that she used for the characters really brought the story to life and I thought that she added just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I am certain that her performance added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would highly recommend this series to others. I have found this series to be very smartly written with characters that feel like friends. Kelley Armstrong has earned a spot on my favorites shelf and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

I received a review copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio.

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