I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley and Berkley Books. This has not impacted my rating and this review is voluntary.
- Genre: Horror
- Published by: Berkley Books
- Publish date: March 05, 2024
- Number of pages: 352 pages
- Author’s website: https://www.simonestjames.com/
- Support local! Buy the book on BookShop!
July 1995.
April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.
Rating: 5/5
4.5 rounded up to 5! I grew up listening to highway ghost stories of spirits who were killed on the road and ended up haunting anyone who finds themselves alone on them, so I was pumped to see Simone St. James tackle this trope in her latest book, Murder Road! I read a little of this at night and was shocked to find one of the scenes gave me chills and made me rethink my bedtime reading haha!
I liked this book. It has the classic feel of a ghost story – the main characters are first unsure of what they are seeing, then they investigate the history, until finally they solve the murder of what led to the haunting. It isn’t particularly unpredictable but I found comfort in the familiarity. I think readers will figure out a lot of the mystery before reaching the ending, but it’s still a fun ride (pun intended).
The characters are interesting in their own right too. I think this is what makes the book well-rounded. Multiple characters have backstories and the two main characters, newlyweds April and Eddie, both have a dark past that comes to the surface. I like that there is a little bit of romance within this ghost story too!
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know!
Musings by Michelle 