by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: February 20, 2024
2024 Minotaur Books
E-book; 339 Pages
ISBN: 978-1250865441
ASIN: B0C1X77GLZ
Audiobook: B0C3NQ5YSY
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Copy from publisher
3 / 5 Stars
Summary
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.
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.
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.
My Thoughts
The Boy Who Cried Bear is the second book in the Haven’s Rock series. This series revolves around the “new” Rockton, an isolated town in Yukon Territory, a place of refuge for those who have nowhere else to go. I like the title as it seems to be a twist on the fable “The Boy who Cried Wolf” whereby when you say you have seen a thing too often and nobody else sees it but you, people will stop believing you have seen it. An interesting title for a story set in an isolated wilderness.
The story features Max who kept insisting he saw something in the woods. And while Casey and Eric believed him, you get a real sense of his feelings and emotions as he relates his experiences of fear and foreboding. Max had already been through a lot, and he and his mom and brother were in the wilderness hiding from some people who want to harm them. His older brother was not handling the situation well and his mother was quite protective of Max. Everyone was hiding something, and it is always fun when you learn something new about the characters as the author reveals information about them quite slowly, as events happen. This can sometimes be frustrating as I want to know about them, but due to the absolute secrecy of why they are there, it is also necessary to do it this way and reveal things as they come up in the story line.
What the author does really well is give you a clear picture of the difficulty of living in such a remote environment with little luxury. People have to rely on each other to build a thriving community and everyone pitches in. Personally, I found the actual mystery to be a tough one as I didn’t find it that intriguing as too many other things seemed to interfere with the tension and the horrifying situation that happened to Max. When a child disappears, there should be more outrage, more tension, more stress, and while there was some of that, I felt like what was happening with Casey kind of overshadowed that aspect of the story. Questioning whether children should even be allowed in the town because of the situation that arose is mind-boggling considering some of the issues they have already faced. I personally don’t care either way, but the justification needs to change. Overall, I found it somewhat predictable and the twists and turns easy to figure out.
Verdict
The Boy Who Cried Bear was not as strong as the first book in the series, but it was still a good book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the wilderness, the characters, and the interactions with the mining camp, something that will probably be a problem in the future. I have gone in the wilderness to go camping and canoeing and it is a completely different experience than going to a provincial park, so I really like the emphasis on the dangers and the limits that are put on people not to go too far in unless you have experience. While you could read this on its own, you will get a richer experience if you have read the first book and an even better one if you have read the previous series, the Rockton/Casey Duncan books.
The story features Max who kept insisting he saw something in the woods. And while Casey and Eric believed him, you get a real sense of his feelings and emotions as he relates his experiences of fear and foreboding. Max had already been through a lot, and he and his mom and brother were in the wilderness hiding from some people who want to harm them. His older brother was not handling the situation well and his mother was quite protective of Max. Everyone was hiding something, and it is always fun when you learn something new about the characters as the author reveals information about them quite slowly, as events happen. This can sometimes be frustrating as I want to know about them, but due to the absolute secrecy of why they are there, it is also necessary to do it this way and reveal things as they come up in the story line.
What the author does really well is give you a clear picture of the difficulty of living in such a remote environment with little luxury. People have to rely on each other to build a thriving community and everyone pitches in. Personally, I found the actual mystery to be a tough one as I didn’t find it that intriguing as too many other things seemed to interfere with the tension and the horrifying situation that happened to Max. When a child disappears, there should be more outrage, more tension, more stress, and while there was some of that, I felt like what was happening with Casey kind of overshadowed that aspect of the story. Questioning whether children should even be allowed in the town because of the situation that arose is mind-boggling considering some of the issues they have already faced. I personally don’t care either way, but the justification needs to change. Overall, I found it somewhat predictable and the twists and turns easy to figure out.
Verdict
The Boy Who Cried Bear was not as strong as the first book in the series, but it was still a good book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the wilderness, the characters, and the interactions with the mining camp, something that will probably be a problem in the future. I have gone in the wilderness to go camping and canoeing and it is a completely different experience than going to a provincial park, so I really like the emphasis on the dangers and the limits that are put on people not to go too far in unless you have experience. While you could read this on its own, you will get a richer experience if you have read the first book and an even better one if you have read the previous series, the Rockton/Casey Duncan books.
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