This dark thriller takes place in Cold Creek, a small town along Canada’s Cold Creek Highway in British Columbia, which is infamous for a string of mysterious disappearances attributed to a serial killer targeting young women. Seventeen-year-old Hailey McBride is not too concerned and ignores all the warnings about traveling alone in the area. After losing both parents, she is living with her aunt, nephew and her aunt’s husband, Sergeant Erik Vaughn. When life becomes too hard for Hailey living with the all-too controlling, mean and creepy Vaughn, she decides to run away and hide out in the wilderness aided by her best friend Jonny. The community assumes she too has fallen victim to the serial killer. A year later, Beth Chevalier travels to Cold Creek to find out who killed her sister. She gets a job at the same diner her sister had worked at. As danger lurks, Hailey, who has mastered her survival skills within the dense forest and wild rivers, is able to watch over Beth and tries to protect her without being discovered.
Dark Roads is an engaging story told mostly from the perspectives of Hailey and Beth. Author Chevy Stevens has created a cast of interesting characters in this tense mystery thriller. And Stevens includes a wonderful dog named Wolf who helps Hailey. The description of this claustrophobic town, the woods, campgrounds and more, sets the right dark, atmospheric tone. The story starts a bit slow, then the pace picks up and the suspense builds nicely with some effective twists and turns. (Don’t miss the author’s notes at the end.)
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Dark Roads in advance of its release.
Rated 4 out of 5 stars.
Mystery / Suspense / Thriller.
Publication Date: August 3, 2021.
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