Sirk TV Book Review: MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK [Minotaur]
The reasoning behind the idea of utopia depends on the basis of people sharing a common goal. The reality of the human race is that it is constantly at odds. Some players are altruisitic. Some are out for their own. Some are a little bit of both. In "Murder At Haven's Rock" [Kelley Armstrong/Minotaur/352pgs], the lead character of Casey continues to search for a piece of paradise but human fallacy always seems to find her in her own space, even peripherally. Haven Rock is set further off the grid in the wilderness of the Yukon and is meant to be a place of healing and context. However, even the building of a place has its own issues. Casey has a great partner in Dalton. Heunderstands her and he appreciates him, a combo that doesn't likely happen always happen and is a little bit wishful thinking but runs in context with this story.
They arrive at their new dream town which is just being built but a missing persons case turns a little more dire and motivations, connections and coincidences play together. Many of the characters are well drawn with a modicum of caricature but good motivations none the less. The aspect of approaching certain forensic investigation in the woods with a sense of humor and unusual characters bodes well for the most part. There is a sense of warmth to Casey and Dalton and the extended family in Anders and April works well in context even if the latter two become more muted in the progression by the end. The underlying concept of greed within mining versus the intent of people escaping from the city is not a lost intent. One of the successes of the book is showing how people mask certain things while being abundantly clear on others. Granted as a reveal, it accomplishes its job admirably but without too heavy of a fanfare making "Murder At Haven's Rock" vivid but fairly rote in other ways. B
By Tim Wassberg
