I loved, loved, loved this fast-paced, thrilling novel about a small town in British Columbia and its highway - the Cold Creek Highway - in which dozens of girls have gone missing and been found dead. Stevens explores themes of violence against women, dirty cops, grief and loss, and so much more, all set against the backdrop of a small rural town with lots of trauma and issues of its own. I don't even want to try to provide a teaser or summary, because trying to lay out all of the relationships can get a little confusing. But once you're immersed in the town of Cold Creek, with its hardworn cast of characters, you won't be able to put this down. I read this nonstop until I was 75% of the way through and had to stop because it was 1 am - then I finished it quickly the next morning.

The action is really what drew me in and kept me hooked; Stevens has such a great way of setting up an intense situation and writing compelling scenes of wilderness survival, predator/prey, stalking, and a perpetrator with his victims. Both of the main female protagonists, Hailey and Beth, are characters that you root for, despite them being so different from each other. You hate the villains and love the heroes, just as you're supposed to.

Overall, this was a super fast-paced, entertaining, thrilling read - I highly recommend it. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC via Netgalley!

This is quite the ride! It's a murder mystery, young girls disappearing and being brutally murdered along the dark highways of rural Canada. It's a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who goes to live with relatives after both parents die, and it's a story of survival when the odds are against you and it's almost impossible to try to trip up a dirty cop. When you can't even protect and help yourself, how exactly are you supposed to save those that matter most to you, especially when you're a teenager! This one is not for the faint of heart but definitely for those who enjoy Karin Slaughter books. #netgalley

I received a free ARC of this excellent mystery thriller from Netgalley, Chevy Stevens, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read Dark Roads of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am so pleased to have found Chevy Stevens. She is an author I can heartily recommend to family and friends, an author I will follow.

Dark Roads refers to the Cold Creek Highway, that long, lonely highway running 500 miles to the Pacific Coast in British Columbia, Canada. Every year during spring, a woman will disappear and may or may not be found dead somewhere along that highway. No killer has ever been pinpointed, been brought to justice. Hailey McBride is a Cold Creek native, raised by her father to respect the land, to exist off-grid, and to love the nature around them after her mother's death when she was very young. Her father unexpectedly dies when she is a young teenager, and she is entrusted to the care of her Aunt and her overbearing husband, a police officer with the Cold Creek Police Department. He controls everything Hailey loves, her home, her friends, her wilderness. She does, with the help of her best friend, disappear into the wilderness for about a year, hoping to be cast as a run-away but often viewed as another victim of the Dark Road Killer, until it becomes time for her to return to Cold Creek, to bring to light the dark secrets of her home town.

Chevy Stevens loves the coastal stretch of British Columbia - it is obvious in every descriptive passage of this excellent novel. An all-together entertaining read, and one that I loved. I feel a Chevy Stevens binge coming on!

This book! So many emotions and so many thoughts of how I've driven alone down roads and never thought twice.

Well thought out characters and story. I couldn't put this book down.

Dark Roads is the 2nd book that I have from this author and the 2nd book I gave 5 stars to. A strong plot and unforgettable characters (especially Wolf) makes this book a winner. Rugged, unbreakable, resilient, and tough as nails are just a few ways one could describe Hailey. I loved the chemistry between Hailey and Jonny.
This storyline is so clever, complex, and fascinating. Just when you think you have the story all figured out, the rug is pulled right out from under you.

I look forward to reading more from this author. So far she does not disappoint. This is definitely a book worth reading!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Chevy Stevens for a copy of "Dark Roads" in exchange of an honest review.

Pulls you in from the very first chapter. Atmospheric and fast-paced, I enjoyed it very much. This is a new author for me and I look forward to reading more

Wow, this book brought out a lot of emotions for me! I'm going to start with the Author's Note at the end. This was inspired by a real highway that has a string of unsolved murders surrounding it. All the victims and situations within the book are fiction, but I am always interested in finding out what inspired an author to write a story.

I'm going to separate this story into a few sections.

The serial-killer that stalks the highway:
This portion of the story was really interesting. We have Hailey who wants to find her girlfriend's killer. We have her POV, but then we also have Beth, the victim's sister, and her POV. I really liked the plot to this part of the story, but I got really bogged down with Beth's POVs a lot of the time. I think there were a bit too many details and scenes, and they could have been removed, while maintaining a solid story.

Hailey's Survival:
I love survival stories, so I really enjoyed Hailey's attempt to disappear into the woods. Her voice throughout this story was, by far, the most interesting parts for me. I found her character interesting. I think her story could have almost been its own book. It was interesting without the serial killer portion of the story.

So, overall, I really did enjoy this book. I thought the plot was good, and I liked Hailey's story. I felt like the book was too long though, and could have had a lot removed while still maintaining a wonderful story.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

My first read from this Author and it won't be my last. What an awesome fast paced thrill ride from the very beginning. The action packed thrill and suspense continues throughout the book. Definitely an un-putdownable read.
Revolving around two strong female protagonists that you can't help but root for.
Oh and an extra star should be given for the awesome Dog in this book.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins press and the Author, Chevy Stevens for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens is a thriller set in British Columbia along the Cold Creek Highway. Many young women have gone missing over the years along that stretch of road. Hailey McBride has just lost her father and is struggling living with her aunt and her aunt's husband who is a police officer. She ends up running away into the mountains with the help of a good friend. Many Cold Creek residents think that she's a victim of the highway killer, but then another murder victim is found, and she's a good friend of Hailey's. Will Hailey stay in hiding, or will she help find her friend's killer? This story was atmospheric and superbly written. I highly recommend it! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

What a wild ride! This novel was inspired by the Highway of Tears in northern British Columbia.

Girls are going missing in Cold Creek and found later dead. Hailey’s dad dies and she is forced to live with her aunt and uncle. Her Uncle, “the Iceman”, has her freaked out when she discovers photos of her and other girls on his computer. Jonny, a long time friend, is constantly taking heat from her Uncle. Hailey decides to runaway and live up in the mountains that she knows so well for at least a year until she is 18. Many things happen during that time. Do they find the Cold Creek Highway killer?

Wolf has to be my favorite character. He is the smartest dog ever.

Trigger warnings- death, abuse, abduction, crime victims

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the #arc.

A throat clutching thriller brilliantly written by a master storyteller ! ! I highly recommend this must read ! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are solely my own ! #Netgalley #St.Martin'sPress #DarkRoads

Chevy Stevens makes a welcome return with "Dark Roads." Stevens presents the story of two young girls who both have a commom bond to a serial killer. Both of the girls are practical, smart, and strong. The story itself is a good page turner. The resolution is satisfying, but it takes to long to get to it. It felt like Stevens was piling on the action scenes instead of just getting to who did it and why.

I enjoyed a couple of Stevens' previous novels and thought she was a fresh voice in the Thriller genre. I'm glad that she is back with her storytelling skills.entact.

The prologue sucks you in, but then the rest of the book you are left slogging through to get to the end. When the book turned into a survival type story I was confused with what the point of the storyline was. A few mentions of missing indigenous girls but nothing in the details to indicate that they were. If the author didn’t want to disrespect the true victims of The Highway of Tears then she should have not used include that in the story. An unnecessary detail.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book! This was my first Chevy Stevens book that I have read. There were some things that worked for me, and other things that didn't. For the first part of the story, I felt like I was really engaged and invested in the story. With everything that was happening around the main character, Hailey, I was curious to keep reading to see where the story was going to go. I also was leery of Vaughn, and curious to see what was going to happen with him in the story. Just when I was starting to get a little bored of the story, I came to Beth's story in Part Two. I felt less invested in Beth's story that in Hailey's story. In some ways, I felt like Beth's story was kind of pointless; I felt like the author should have just kept going with Hailey's story, but it felt like she needed more to write so she changed perspectives. I also felt like the readers were very blatantly and intentionally deceived about Vaughn's character, for no other reason that she was trying to throw readers off. Although I like a good twist, I like when it is more subtle and not as obvious. I will probably check out some of her other books, as I have heard good thing about other books of hers!

by Chevy Stevens

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 384 pages
Genre: Thriller
Goodreads Rating: 4.16
My rating: I loved it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-arc! This one was published yesterday - 8/3!

SUMMARY:
After her dad dies, Hailey moves in with her aunt and her husband, Vaughn. Vaughn and Hailey immediately don't get along, with Hailey not giving up her independence for Vaughn's controlling ways. Vaughn is especially concerned about The Highway, a strip of secluded road where tons of girls have been found murdered over the past few decades. Hailey finds out a terrible secret about Vaughn and decides she has no choice but to run away.

MY THOUGHTS:
🐕 I loved Hailey and Beth- they were both such strong characters that you rooted for them no matter what. However, my favorite character was definitely Wolf! What a good best friend / dog companion / pupper.
🐕 I thought Vaughn was so well written, he was so creepy and a power hungry cop. It made it easy to hate him and suspect him of being the highway murderer.
🐕 The concept of The Highway would have been such a draw for psychos and crime junkies alike. I want to do more research on the highway that inspired Chevy Stevens for this story.
🐕 I figured out the ending as it was happening- about 77% through - rather than expecting it or knowing from the beginning. However, I wasn't shocked by the ending.
🐕 This book went in a totally different direction than I thought it would, but I still loved it all the same!

Other Chevy Stevens books I've read are STILL MISSING and NEVER LET YOU GO. Both were good, I love her writing!

A friend of mine introduced me to Chevy Stevens earlier this year with Never Let You Go. I immediately followed up with Still Missing. So when I saw that she was back with Dark Roads, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Dark Roads did NOT disappoint. Main character Hailey lives in Cold Creek with her aunt and uncle, after her parents have died. Her uncle is one of those police officers who REALLY doesn't like teenagers and uses his badge to control every little thing. Hailey tries running away from town, but instead of assuming a runaway, the town assumes that she became another victim of the highway killer. The way Chevy Stevens tied all of this together was great. I definitely thought I had things all figured out, until about 3/4 of the way through when BAM, everything was completely changed. It was such an unexpected change, yet still a realistic one, which is what I look for in my thrillers. Of the three Chevy Stevens books I've read, this would be my least favorite. However, it was still a solid 4 star read and I will still 100% pick up whatever she puts out next..

This book had a lot going on between the highway killer, Hailey’s abusive uncle, wilderness survival, multiple narrators, and a romantic subplot, so I had a hard time seeing where this story was going.

There was a bit too much focus on survival skills that just didn’t interest me. I was not a fan of the romance; it just caused unnecessary drama. But while the ages and maturity levels of the main characters made most of this book almost feel like a YA thriller, it took a VERY dark and adult turn when the killer was revealed.

I was not completely satisfied with the way all the pieces came together and were explained at the end, but the story built to some very thrilling, twisty moments that gave me that heart racing feeling I crave from a thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Along an isolated highway where women have going missing or have been found dead for decades, sits the small town of Cold Creek. After the sudden death of her father, Hailey moves in with her aunt and uncle - a local police sergeant known as the Iceman for his cold demeanor and icy stare. When his oppressive rules and a shocking discovery force her to flee into the woods and pretend she’s missing. Then her girlfriend Amber is murdered along the highway, and Amber’s sister shows up, grief-stricken and looking for answers. The lives of these young women collide in a way that will shake this small town to its core.

This one was hard to rate. I think it is more like 3.5 stars, which is a shame because it had some really great potential.

The set-up is good. An isolated-ish Canadian town where young woman routinely wind up missing or dead along the highway, and a group of young people who get caught up in that story in various ways. And the mystery in this book is good, in that there are some twists and turns as the group investigates things and begins to uncover the secrets that the town is trying to keep buried. I’ll admit I didn’t see that ending coming and I thought it was pretty clever the way things tied together.

But the major annoying part of the book is that the story seemed to revolve around a group of teenagers who made terrible, terrible decisions in a town of adults who were just too dumb to care. Like, Beth lives out of her car and at a campsite and no one around her, in this town “that care of their own” says anything? She ends up in the hospital twice, and everyone’s just like, “Cool.” All of this stuff happens to Hailey in the first half of the book, but Hailey aunt, the one adult who shows potential is too blinded by love to care? OK.

Also, while I liked the nuances in Beth and Jonny’s characters, Hailey was pretty much just a brat. Or, at least, we didn’t get to see her be redeemed in the end.

So yeah, there was stuff I liked, and stuff I didn’t. I was really intrigued by the storyline and setting, but some of the characters and their actions left a bad taste in my mouth. I would say read with caution on this one.

3.5 stars rounded up. Good thriller, a bit of a slow burn but kept me interested with a few twists and turns. A little bit bit dark and gritty about the woman who go missing near the Cold Creek Highway. Hailey a local dissapears after her father's death when she's left in the care of her aunt. A year later Beth comes into town trying to get answers to her sister's death. The two cross paths in this dark twisty thriller where one may help to give answers to the other.

This was my first Chevy Stevens book! Definitely won’t be my last! I liked this one but i feel like there weren’t many surprised in it. I would have preferred more of a twist to it. I also wasn’t hugely fond of the perspective shift starting in part two. I didn’t hate it tho! Just didn’t flow right away. My issue mainly is the predictably but i enjoyed the characters. And i loved wolf! Probably my favorite character. I loved the dark and dankness of the book. There is some graphic scenes which I’m into! Overall i really enjoyed it but i just would have liked a little more.