Do you like mysteries with a strong female detective in an unusual setting?  I do!  So I loved discovering the novel “City of the Lost” by Kelley Armstrong.  It is the first book in the Casey Duncan series.

Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a guilty secret:  she killed a man but was never charged with the murder.  Because she feels she should be punished in some way, she confesses her crime to one therapist after another.  Casey finds it difficult to form relationships because of this secret.

Her one long-term relationship is her lifelong friendship with Diana.  When Diana’s abusive husband beats her again, Casey agrees to accompany Diana to Rockton.  Rockton is the “City of the Lost” where people can go when they need to leave their former lives behind.  Diana is accepted to Rockton because of her abusive husband.  Casey is accepted because Rockton needs a homicide detective.

Rockton is a city off the grid, located in the middle of miles of wilderness in the Yukon.  There is no electricity, no automobiles, and no contact with the outside world.  A dictator sheriff runs the town and those who live in the town follow his rules.

“City of the Lost” is full of action, but not the kind where the heedless female plunges into one dangerous situation after another.  In a town where everyone used to be someone else, Casey has to learn who tells the truth and who she can trust.

Many of us dream about escaping from our past and starting fresh.  Will Casey solve the mystery and make a true home for herself in the wilderness?  Or will she be defeated by predators more dangerous than the grizzlies that roam the forest?

I enjoyed “City of the Lost” so much that I ordered and read the next book in the series the next day!  Because the third book is not yet published, I am going to try some of Kelley Armstrong’s other books.  But you can be sure I will be reading about Casey Duncan as soon as Book three is available.