Sharon M's Reviews > Dark Roads

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Chevy Stevens, always a must-read author for me. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Cold Creek Highway is an isolated highway running through British Columbia - it's also the hunting grounds for predators over the decades. There are billboards of missing young girls and signs warning others not to hitchhike or walk alone. Hailey lives in Cold Creek, raised by her father to be knowledgable about the surrounding woods and take of herself. When he dies unexpectedly, Hailey must go to live with her aunt and her husband, Vaughn, a police officer in town who bullies Hailey. Things get to a breaking point and Hailey disappears into the woods, leaving the town to believe she fell prey to the highway killer. The following year, Beth comes to town to try and find closure after her sister, Amber, was killed there only to find herself in danger as well.

The prologue and epilogue bookend a story that is filled with danger and scary characters, but also filled with resilience and strength. You will be rooting for Hailey and her amazing dog, Wolf, as they survive in the woods and try to right so many wrongs. I loved the strong friendship between Jonny and Hailey - were we all to have such a friend! The story was very well written and I was in the dark figuring out exactly who the perpetrators were. I also appreciated the author's note about the real highway in BC where so many have gone missing - adds a very creepy realism to this story.