The Book:
Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
Published August 3rd 2021 by St. Martin’s Press
Date read: July 23, 2021
The Characters:
Hailey
Her best friend Johnny
Her girlfriend Autumn
Autumn’s sister Beth
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.
Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.
One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance
I’m in love with these pictures I took in Zion. I also took this one there.
The Review:
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this gifted book and to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener’s copy.
I had never read a Chevy Stevens novel prior to Dark Roads, but when this book was announced I heard a lot of buzz about how excited people were for her latest. I’m definitely going to have to check out her backlog!
Dark Roads was so much more than a thriller. There’s a dirty cop using his position to control Hailey and other members of the town; racism, classism, homophobia, and the constant worry many women face of something happening to them while they travel alone.
Hailey was an amazing MC. I loved her resourcefulness and really admired that she didn’t just leave her town behind and instead stuck around to make sure the highway killer was caught. Beth’s chapters were good too, but Hailey was definitely my favorite character and I was always anxious for her and Wolf to show up again.
I loved Wolf and got so anxious when he got hurt. A doggie sidekick can always make a story for me, and this clever mutt was no exception. He was the perfect companion for Hailey while she was alone in the mountains, and served to add another level of emotion to the book.
The writing style and the way this book was laid out were incredible. Hailey’s story was so suspenseful that I couldn’t stop listening. The audio copy was excellent. The narrator did a great job of conveying the emotion of such a heavy topic and really brought the story to life.
QOTD: Have you ever hitchhiked?
I have, but not in the US and never alone. It’s pretty common in Australia and New Zealand, especially hiking to and from trailheads.
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