City of the Lost (Rockton, #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5★ Audiobook⎮City of the Lost is my first novel from author Kelley Armstrong. I’ve begun a few of her other titles, but have been put off for reasons varying from narrator dislike to protagonist annoyances. Thankfully, neither of those applied here. I’ve been in the mood for something suspenseful, thrilling, and gritty. City of the Lost checked those boxes and then some. An off-the-grid city for people who want to disappear? My arm needed no twisting to jump into this audiobook.

City of the Lost features the exact type of the protagonist I love. Casey Duncan is flawed, yet tough as nails. She’s also extremely savvy and it’s easy to believe that she is a police detective. She meets my high standards for a heroine with ease. Armstrong is a good enough author that she doesn’t need a conveniently naïve main character in order for her plot to fall into place. And although I had the “whodunit” culprit pegged before the big reveal, there were several other curve balls thrown my way before that revelation, thanks to Armstrong’s delicate weaving of plots and subplots.

Intensely satisfying is the best way to describe City of the Lost. Or maybe intense and satisfying, because it was so much of each. I was there for the mystery, which certainly didn’t disappoint, but the romantic element of the story caught me by surprise. Unlike most other romantic subplots, the progression in between our main character and her man felt natural, not forced or out of place. Like everything else, it fit beautifully into the larger arc of the story. I became overwhelmingly invested in each character individually, as well as their pairing.

My only complaint, if you can call it that, was the final resolution. I wish it had been drawn out a bit more and “shown” more than “told”. Still, City of the Lost left me as satisfied as a cat with a full belly. City of the Lost is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that burns like dry ice. It consumed me from start to finish and, once it was done, I couldn’t reach for the next installment fast enough. Now that I know what Kelley Armstrong is capable of, I won’t be so easily put off by small annoyances with her other work. I’m currently reveling in the excitement that comes from the discovery of a new favorite author, so expect to see a lot more of a Armstrong on The Audiobookworm!

Narration review: Therese Plummer was the reason I even gave City of the Lost a second look. The synopsis intrigued me, but Plummer sealed the deal. I loved her performance in This Savage Song enough that her name and voice have become recognizable me. Plummer does excellent characterization for women and her primary male characterization is one of my favorites. If you haven’t heard anything from her, I suggest correcting that immediately. She has a ton of fantastic titles to choose from and I’m having a blast working my way through them. ♣︎