Book Summary and Reviews of First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

First Sign of Danger

Haven's Rock #4

by Kelley Armstrong

  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2026, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong continues the atmospheric Haven's Rock series as Casey Duncan investigates a threat to their off-the-grid Yukon town.

Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven's Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven's Rock, they realize they're in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they're no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven's Rock. Only by tracing the hikers' movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven's Rock—and their safe, secure new existence—are at risk.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The latest from Haven's Rock boasts quirky characters, outdoor adventure, and a knotty puzzle neatly wound up." —Kirkus Reviews

This information about First Sign of Danger was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Janine_S

Exciting mystery
I’ve read a couple of this author’s others book so was really happy to be offered an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s (thank you). This is the 4th in the Rock Haven mystery series but I found I didn’t need to have read the prior ones. The author gives a nice introduction to the series at the start of the book.

Rock Haven is an off-the-grid town in the Yukon. It’s a place where people can seek shelter from threats. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Eric Dalton are the law for small but thriving community. On a hike with daughter, Rory, Casey and Eric stumble upon a woman asking for help for her injured husband. Being wary of strangers, they help but aren’t so sure these two aren’t spies. This becomes the starting point for a systematically suspenseful investigation after the man is later found dead. Plenty of red herrings and lots of great sleuthing abound in this book.

I liked the way the author handled the investigation- Casey and others offer theories as they rule out means, motive and opportunity. This keeps the suspense high. Casey is a really fine character - she’s strong, determined and kind (and a good mom). The premise too is unique - hidden town off in the wilderness, what could ever happen there. Plenty it would seem.

I enjoyed the read and would recommend.

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Author Information

Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong is the author of over 50 novels in mystery, fantasy and horror. She believes experience is the best teacher, though she's been told this shouldn't apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies.

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