Murder Road by Simone St. James

A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel.

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 be a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker 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.

Published by Berkley
on March 5, 2024

Review:

This was my first Simone St. James book, and it certainly won’t be my last. I’ve had “The Sun Down Motel” on my TBR for a while and will be reading it soon as part of my 24 in 2024 reading challenge, and I’ll likely be checking out the rest of her backlist as well. In this book, St. James takes readers on a chilling journey down a dark and mysterious path, where a young couple’s honeymoon takes a sinister turn when they take the wrong exit while driving to their honeymoon resort.

Set in the summer of 1995, the story follows April and Eddie Carter as they unwittingly become entangled in a series of gruesome murders along the infamous Atticus Line outside of a small midwestern town known as Coldlake Falls. When April and Eddie pick up a hitchhiker on the deserted road, they assume they are just helping a distressed young woman – but then they notice the blood pouring out of her chest, and they realize that she has been stabbed and left for dead. They take her to a hospital, but when she dies, the couple find themselves in the middle of a police investigation. They know they are innocent, but the police don’t believe them. As they dive into the mystery of the murdered young woman, they uncover a string of murders that have taken place over the years – all along Atticus Line – a road that some locals have dubbed Murder Road. The more they dig, the more they put their lives in danger, and they can’t help but wonder if maybe something had forced them to take a wrong turn – something that wants their blood.

I loved how fast-paced this book was. It was a breeze to get through, with short chapters and lots of suspense. The pacing was perfect, and the narrative unfolds with a sense of urgency, drawing readers deeper into the mystery surrounding the murders and the possible supernatural forces at play.

The author’s skillful blend of horror and mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. As April and Eddie delve deeper into the town’s dark past, they uncover a web of secrets that threaten to consume them both. The mystery surrounding “Murder Road” is fun to unravel. Even though I pinned what might be happening about 2/3 of the way in, I still very much enjoyed the ride. This is a story that is both haunting and chilling, summoning a sense of unease that builds as the story progresses.

The characters in the novel are well-drawn and multidimensional, from April and Eddie’s personal secrets and their desperate fight for survival to the enigmatic residents of Coldlake Falls; each character adds depth and complexity to the story, making it all the more engaging and immersive. I loved to hate Detective Quentin and absolutely adored Rose. I wish she was real. I’d totally stay at her B&B.

In “Murder Road,” Simone St. James delivers a spine-tingling tale of horror and suspense that had me glued to the pages. With its eerie atmosphere, gripping plot, and unforgettable characters, this novel is a must-read for fans of supernatural thrillers and psychological suspense. It’ll also make you think twice about driving down a dark and lonely road after dark.