Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Paranormal
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 363
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.
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.
My Review: Murder Road is a ghost story set in July 1995. April and Eddie have just married. While they are driving to their honeymoon, they become lost and end up going the wrong way. While they try to find the road that will take them to their destination, they stumbled upon a hitchhiker who happened to be horribly stabbed. April and Eddie take her to the nearest hospital where she dies shortly afterwards. The police believe that April and Eddie have committed the murder. However, April and Eddie soon learn that there is something more supernatural going on.
I did not really care for April. April seemed like a typical Mary Sue. She was described as beautiful and smart. Even though the reader eventually learns that April had a hard life growing up, I did not think Mrs. St. James showed her character as rough and struggling. Instead, April did not really have any hardships. Therefore, I did not think that she was a well-developed character. I did love her romance with Eddie. They seemed like they had a deep relationship. They relied, trusted, and were devoted to each other. Their romance was the novel’s greatest strength.
Overall, this book is about secrets, love, and trauma. I did like some of the characters in the book, but I also didn’t like others. I found the setting to be very eerie and spooky. I also thought that this was a very fast-paced and easy read! I read it in one sitting! However, there were a few plot holes that didn’t make sense. I also thought that Mrs. St. James should have developed the ghost more and given her more character development. Even though Murder Road is not Simone St. James' best novel, I did find it to be an enjoyable ghost story! I recommend this book for fans of M. J. Rose, Paula Brackston, and Hester Fox!
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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