Book Review - Murder Road by Simone St. James

Title: Murder Road
Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/ Horror
Published: 2024
 
Description: 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 one hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But nor long after the hitchhikers 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 strtch 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.
 
Review: April and Eddie, a young newly-wed couple, have taken a wrong turn. They pick up a woman by the side of the road, who clearly needs help. When she enters the car, they see she’s bleeding and drive her to the hospital. The hitchhiker dies and April and Eddie are the prime suspects.
 
When trying to find out the truth, the road that they found the hitchhiker called Atticus Line, has a dark history. It seems that many people have been found dead there. The police is not really being friendly to April and Eddie, but they get help from a few of locals.
 
I consider Simone St. James one of my favorite authors. I have read three other books by her, which I had all rated 5-stars. I had high hopes for “Murder Road”. Even though I didn’t give it a perfect score this time, I really enjoyed her newest novel.
 
Where we normally follow different timelines in St. James’ stories, we only follow one in “Murder Road”. The story is set in 1995, which I really loved. I loved the 90s vibes, the nostalgia, pop culture references and the fact that the main man is called Eddie (Vedder, from Pearl Jam anyone?). The book had a supernatural element to it, which is also something this author does a lot. And again I enjoyed it. It’s a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down. I liked reading about the history of the town and that titular murder road. But, I did found the story a bit predictable and the ending felt a little lackluster.
 
Yet another win for Simon St. James. She still has a large backlist that I need to get to. “Murder Road” is not an all-time favorite, but I would recommend it to people who have loved her books before.
 
Rating: 4/ 5