Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Watcher in the Woods, by Kelly Armstrong

In the Canadian Wilderness there exists a small town called Rockton. This town is miles away from anything, you need a bush plane to get to it, you need to know exactly where it is to find it. But very few people know about it and fewer still about where it is situated.

The whole purpose of the town is to provide a place for people to hide out for two years to allow their troubles to pass them by. The people living there might be hiding from an abusive spouse, an abusive boyfriend, or just society at large. Maybe they are a sociopath, maybe a psychopath, maybe a criminal who has done their time but there are people who want to harm them.

Whatever the situation, they pay good money to come to Rockton and hide. They must commit to a stay of two years minimum. Some have stayed longer, either voluntarily or because they are a risk to society. The Corporation Board who runs the town (from a distance) makes the decision.

But to enforce that decision you need law enforcement. Thus three people have charge of enforcing the rules and sometimes carrying out judgment. It’s not perfectly legal, but then again, those who are there have signed away their rights, they have agreed to the set up.

But sometimes crime happens here. Some times people kill each other. That’s what has happened this time. The law enforcement must root out the killer and deal with them in the best way possible.

The story is very well written. It is very interesting and draws a vivid picture of what life would be like in the wilderness where the summer sun is up 20 hours a day, but the reverse is true, the winter sun only 4 hours a day. Could you survive? Would you want to try and survive there? Would you be desperate enough to sign away your civil rights and move there for two years to let trouble pass you by?

Armstrong has invented a wonderful town with a wonderful story line that combines several plot lines to make it fun and riveting at the same time.


Enjoy!

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