4.5 stars for this perfectly-paced, darkly atmospheric thriller. Stevens prose makes you feel like you are there - in the small, claustrophobic town, along the creepy highway, or in the woods. Each character is fully realized - Hailey and her determination to escape; Beth and her desperate need to find out what happened to her sister; Vaughn the control freak cop; Jonny - Hailey's best friend. Even the dog, Wolf, is a character you can picture running through the woods and trying to be protective.

"The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.

Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance…."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, that was dark, disturbing, and truly entertaining. I went into this book pretty blind. I’ve never read Chevy Stevens before, although I’ve heard wonderful things, and I got an email from the publisher offering me an advanced copy, so I grabbed it based on the cover alone, without reading the blurb, and it did not disappoint.

This is a truly thorough psychological examination of two women and the trauma they endure in this small town with a crooked police officer, and a series of missing women being taken from a “dark road.”

I struggled with it a little bit, simply because the topic is heavy. It took me about 9 days to read. I read it in little spurts. But then the half way point really hooked me and I knocked it out. The ending was very satisfying. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Stevens

4.5 ⭐️ Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley.

Chevy Stevens has been one of my auto-buy authors for many years, so I was so excited to see she was releasing a new book, and I was definitely not disappointed. I don’t understand how she can have so many fast-paced, unique stories in that head of hers.

The main idea of this book is the many girls that have gone missing near Cold Creek highway. Hailey thinks she has figured out who the murderer is, but once she confronts him, her life is in danger. Beth, the sister of one of the victims, comes in to town to try and relive the life of her wild spirited sister and gets more then she bargains for in this small town.

I loved all the twists and turns, although some of the violence gets a bit too gory for my liking. Although that wasn’t my favorite to read, I know it was needed and helped make the story what it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Chevy Stevens has wowed me yet again with another empowering, thoughtful, character-driven suspense novel. This book is more of a character drama than some of her previous more pure thrillers, but there is suspense and mystery aplenty in this well-told tale of female survival. I listened to the audiobook and also read along in the physical copy. Both reading experiences were great but I especially loved the narration of the audiobook.

The book focuses primarily on two women, and one wonderful dog, Wolf. (As a dog lover, I really just can’t adequately express how much I just loved the character of Wolf.) In the fictional town of Cold Creek, women are disappearing and turning up murdered along the highway. Stevens, in a very informative and sad afterward, shares how the story was inspired by a real highway that has claimed the lives of numerous First Nations women, murdered by a killer or killers as yet unidentified.

In this book, we meet the wonderful and irrepressible character of Hailey, a young woman who has to turn to shocking methods of survival after she is orphaned and placed in a home with an uncle who is beyond creepy and possibly extremely dangerous. We also meet Beth, the sister of one of the highway victims, who is attempting to start a new life in Cold Creek after her sister’s death. The stories of the two women intersect almost magically, with one woman acting as almost the guardian angel of another (as we women should maybe do more in this world that is dangerous for us). The second guardian angel in the form of Wolf was also wonderful. You could read this book for Wolf alone, but that would do a disservice to the two equally wonderful female protagonists.

The story is part wilderness survival story, part violence survival story, and part wonderful dog story, and all parts were equally wonderful and well-developed. I will say, however, that I rarely read wilderness survival type stories but this was not your typical one in that genre and I absolutely loved this aspect of the book.

I really loved this audiobook, so richly narrated with wonderful and distinctive characters (including the dog!) and was riveted to the audio from beginning to end. This is one of those occasions in which the wonderful narration definitely enhanced my experience of the book. But as always, Chevy Stevens’ beautiful prose shines, and her thoughtfulness places her a cut above the many more superficial stories in this genre. This is a really rewarding heartfelt story of female survival of violence, the human spirit, and the dog spirit. I really recommend this book, and especially the beautifully read audiobook, to all fans of the suspense genre, But know that it is more of a character-driven drama than your typical fast suspense tale. This is a story to be savored rather than raced through. I have always liked Chevy Stevens, but this is the book that made me a full-fledged fangirl.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the wonderful author for this exceptional reading experience.

I love when books turn out to be so much better than I thought they would be.

This is book is loosely based on the highway of tears, making it truly heartbreaking.

I feel like this would be a good story for someone who enjoys YA. It's definitely a thriller (that plot twist though), but more of a young thriller. It's dark, but you don't get a lot of the grizzly details.

A really well told story, with great characters that felt like real people.

TW: Abuse, SA, animal abuse.


*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

Fantastic edge of your seat thriller. When a young girl loses her father in a tragic accident she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle is a local cop who is known to be pretty nasty to the local kids. As she lives with her super strict uncle she discovers some unsettling information that puts her in danger. The community that they live in is home to a number of girls who have went missing and never been found. Tense and fast paced, this book is impossible to put down. This book is definitely one of her best. Highly recommend.

This is a dark, twisty thriller set in a small town. Several girls have been murdered along this stretch of highway, and another is missing. There’s a local cop who is creepy and suspicious. Together, these ingredients make for a wild ride!

I was not happy with this book. It sounded like it was going to be so good and filled with lots of thrills. Twists and turns. To me it feel short.

Hailey is a child who needed her aunt. Her aunt on the other hand was not supportive of her. Vaughn, her uncle, is a first rate jerk. A crooked cop who uses his power to basically keep Hailey prisoner. She's not allowed to do anything. Nothing. I mean get real. She's a teen. In reality she would revolt. Of course she is morning the death of her dad so I gave her a break for that. But still. She's a teen. She goes missing, or runs, and no one knows what happened. Now you would expect this to get way better. To me it dragged. Two more characters are on now.

I did not connect with anyone in this story. I guess I am in the minority with my review as it seems others loved it. I just could not connect with any of the characters. I read right at 65% and gave up. I can't waste more time with the antics of a run away teen and her family not being the way they should be for her. It's full of a bunch of jerks. I did feel bad for Hailey for the most part but this book fell flat for me.

Thank you #netgalley, #chevystevens, #stmartinspress for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

3/5 stars and read if you want. I neither encourage or discourage it. To me personally I just didn't like it.

“Nothing about this town feels right.”-Beth
Have you ever read a book and thought, “is it really possible that everything about this is messed up?” And if I had to describe this with just one word it would be creepy! The cops were creepy. The campground was creepy. Creepy, creepy, creepy. But maybe that’s how a place feels when so many women go missing, are murdered.
This mystery thriller had all things suspenseful. I couldn’t figure anything out and that’s a good thing. More mystery at every turn with fearless girls just walking around looking for trouble. It made me crazy.
I recommend this to everyone who loves thriller-suspense. And suggest you take the time to read the authors notes to understand why she wanted to write this story.

Thanks St Martins Press via Netgalley.

This was a well-paced, character driven mystery/thriller. I think I enjoyed Hailey's story the most, although I was often frustrated with her decisions. There are some very unlikeable characters, including the local police sergeant and Hailey's uncle, Vaughn. I love the way Chevy Stevens brings a dog into the story - Wolf was a great addition! It is a sign of a great book when I am so caught up in the characters and their story that when the villain is finally revealed, I'm caught off guard.

A creepy, twisty tale of suspense, murder, coverup, and intrigue. The highway murderer has for years been abducting, torturing, and killing girls near the town of Cold Creek. But what if law enforcement is complicit or even responsible for these crimes? Read Chevy Stevens's Dark Roads to find out how everything is resolved, for good or evil.

This was a surprise! I thought I would be bored going in but found that I wanted to know more of what happened and in this case, you think you know BUT do you really? Great poolside read with a twist that you don't expect. Grab this on release day.

Thank you so much to St. Martins Publishing for sending me an ebook copy!!!

The amount of hatred this book made me feel toward Vaughn is indescribable. My heart was with Hailey and Beth. All of Hailey’s struggles and everything that she had been through tugged on my heart. The plot twists I did not see coming and I love the addition of adding Wolf. I love Hailey and Jonny’s relationship.

The way this book ended was so beautiful. Chevy Stevens does it again. ❤️

Dark roads had a good story line . The unknown , back and forth had me on the edge of my seat . I felt like the ending was perfect for the story and you felt satisfaction knowing everything was going to be ok .

Thanks to a Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Chevy Stevens for this ARC. I loved every book I’ve read by this author, including this one, but I feel that while reading it, some things got lost. I’d read A few paragraphs and then the next paragraph could be something totally different like it should’ve been the start of another chapter. Or at least to double space so we knew it was a different person or subject which had little bearing on the previous paragraph..(Maybe that was just me). I thought the Beginning was the foundation, all the other chapters with the story, and the ending that was exceptionally written to complete the circle. I actually loved the ending the way it brings you into the possibility of spirits beyond death, on this earth,, and that some of us might believe in such things... Sometimes I will read the acknowledgments at the end of the book, and this one I did. . I liked that she thanked people which is always nice of an author to do. I love Saint Martin’s press people, they always have such great authors that they allow me to read. Thank you ! I especially like the part about her child, and the dogs! I also have to thank Ms. Steven’s for not letting the dog die, once a dog dies I stop reading that book, I’m glad she let him live so I could continue to finish this story or I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate such a great ending. A great book for our book clubs and 4 stars..

No woman is clicking her heels begging to go home in this book. The situations are harsh and they are looking for escapes. It begins with a prologue which is meant to be shocking as a woman is in the process of being murdered on a dark road. It's followed by pages of fast-paced suspense. It's not an easy read. It's disturbing to think about women being sexually and violently abused.

It takes place in the small town of Cold Creek in the mountains of the Yukon where folks thrive on any type of gossip. Parts of the story made me climb out of my comfort zone as it addresses hard core issues of trust and survival. The book reminded me of action-packed movies where it appears that the bad guys are winning. Some characters happened to be equipped with super=human skills at times which made it a tad unbelievable. However, the message is strong. And I wish we all had a dog like Wolf. It's my hope that women are no longer hitchhiking on highways like the 70s. If so, they need to read this book.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Chevy Stevens and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Okay, there's no easing into this review- THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK!!!!!

I was so blown away by the writing! From the scenery, to the characters, to the plot itself- 100/100!

There are books you read and finish and they stay with you. Some days you have a sudden flashback of a scene you read and just smile and reminisce. This is one of those books. Every emotion one could feel are in the pages of this book.

Cold Creek is a small town with dark secrets. For decades girls have gone missing off the highway. No leads or suspects, just the memory of the girls who once were.

For nearly half the book we get to read as Hailey tells us her story. It's a sad and frustrating one, her father passed away and she is trying to adjust to her new life living with her aunt and her aunt's husband, Vaughn. Vaughn is a hard-ass police officer who every teen in the town fears and hates all at once. He is very strict with Hailey and seems to want to make life hard for her.

Johnny is her best friend. He races motorbikes and is a little rough around the edges, but she wants her friend to go pro and leave this small town for better things. There's also a new girl in town, Amber, who works at the diner. Amber is beautiful and full of life and Hailey falls hard for her. They start a relationship with each other, spilling their hopes and dreams for the future.

Her Uncle Vaughn has a secret shed and Hailey breaks in to discover a horrible secret. She is in danger and to save her own life she decides the only thing to do is leave town, live off the grid in the deep woods, and wait until she turns 18 so she can leave her Aunts house and get far away from Vaughn. Only Johnny will know where she is. If all goes right, she will be just another missing girl from Cold Creek.

But then Amber goes missing... and later turns up dead.

We are then introduced to Beth, Amber's sister. Beth was the sister who's life was heading in the right direction, but with Amber's murder she can't focus. She is failing law school and popping pills, and decides to pack up everything she can fit into her car and move to Cold Creek. She must find out what happened to her sister.

Beth's arrival and sleuthing sets into motion a series of events that start unravelling the town's secrets. She befriends Johnny (who knows Hailey is not missing) and the two of them try to right the wrongs and bring justice for Amber and the missing girls of Cold Creek.

This book is a slow burn. There were times I wanted more action and for the pace to pick up, but looking back I can see the author was simply setting the scene for bigger things to come. I had no problem imagining the events in the book, as the characters are so well written and the scenes vividly set. Stevens' writing is effective, provoking, and intense. I loved reading every single word.

"Dark Roads" is set to be released August 2, 2021 here in the U.S. so pre-order now! You don't want to miss this!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me a digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 5 star read for me!

Happy Reading!

While I was initially intrigued by the premise of this book (girls going missing for decades along a highway), it did not pay off for me as a thriller.

I struggled with both the characters and plot of this novel. The characters were not well developed. The story focuses around three young women who all blurred together in their similarities. Around these young women were men who were distinct characters, but came across as caricatures rather than well-rounded characters.

The structure of the novel was also a challenge for me. The book begins in one point of view, but switches to a character we have not met yet around the 30% point. This change in point of view added to my difficulty in connecting to the story. I did not have a character to invest in to serve as a throughline, and they typical questions of a thriller didn't work as throughlines, either. In a thriller, we are usually asking either who is the bad guy, or, will the main character survive their interactions with the bad guy. This novel gave us a very obvious bad guy right from the beginning. Having read other thrillers, I immediately thought he could not be THE bad guy of the novel, as he was too obviously A bad guy. The problem in this novel was that there was no other option given to us as readers. In the end, I was not surprised by the conclusions, but I also did not feel that the story led us to some of the resolution.

Overall, I was disappointed in Dark Roads. I found it difficult to get invested in the story due to unclear characters and a plot structure that lacked thrills.

I enjoyed this book. I have read many Chevy Stevens books in the past and this one may be one of my favorites. I will definitely recommend,

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I've read all of Chevy Stevens books and always enjoy her themes and her writing. This one especially appealed to me because it's influenced the the Highway of Tears in Canada. If you haven't heard of this place, it's a long stretch of pretty deserted highway where an large number of unsolved murders have taken place. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that a large number of victims are indigenous/First Nations.
Anyway, the book focuses on a small town where several women have been killed. And if you think you have it figured out at the beginning, just keep going. The story and the writing make it worth it.