Murder Road - a captivating and haunting mystery thriller with supernatural elements.

It's the summer of 1995 and April and Eddie have just gotten married and are en route to the place they plan to honeymoon at. It is nighttime and Eddie makes a wrong (very wrong) turn and the couple finds themselves on Atticus Lane. They spot a young woman walking alone on the road and offer her a ride. What seems like a very kind gesture turns into a nightmare. April realizes that the young woman is bleeding. They take her to the local hospital, but she dies soon after. They become the main murder suspects and are told not to leave the area. Eddie and April learn that Atticus Lane has been the location of a series of deaths which started twenty years ago with an unnamed victim known as The Lost Girl. Rose, the local innkeeper, educates the young couple on the murders and the rumors and legends surrounding them. As the story unfolds, Eddie and April, who both have their own secrets, come to the realization that there is something unexplained and eerie going on in Coldlake Falls. 

Author Simone St. James writes intense mystery thrillers which delve a bit in the paranormal. This aspect of her storytelling is not something I normally seek, but in Murder Road, and the other books of hers that I have read, it works. And while there is a ghostly atmosphere, I wasn't terrified - I was intrigued and couldn't wait to find out how it would turn out. April and Eddie were appealing characters as was Rose. I also enjoyed the characters of Beatrice and Gracie Snell, two local teenagers who are completely absorbed in the tales of Atticus Lane and are trying to solve the murders. If this took place in the present time, they'd surely have their own podcast. Placing the story in 1995 removed all technology such as cell phones to call for help as well as the ability to take photos and videos, which added to the tenseness. This is a fast-paced page turner worth a look. You may want to keep the lights on.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for the advance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Mystery Thriller | Paranormal.

Publication Date: March 5, 2024.

Please "like" this post if Murder Road sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.