A modest-paced thriller that effortlessly holds the reader's interest. The plot has a dark, foreboding undercurrent present in the early chapters and is carried throughout the book, adding a bit of edge to the overall tone. The cast of characters are each flawed and yet deeply developed, making the story that much more engrossing. Stevens takes readers on such a wild ride that by the time the "big" reveal comes, it almost feels anticlimactic as the rest of the storyline is still being processed. Fantastic!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #DarkRoads which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

#bookish #thrillerreads #bookstagram #tbrstack #readreviewrepeat #chevystevens #stmartinspress

The first half of this book was rough. I didn’t connect with the the characters. Like at all. The second half picked up though, and though I still didn’t connect with the characters, I zoomed through it.

The suspense aspect was a page-turner and it’s rare that I don’t see the ending in thriller novels.

After Hailey’s father dies, she moves in with her aunt and her new husband - an overprotective creepy sheriff. Something is off about him. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to date, work or socialize, she runs off and lives in the mountains.

The most heartbreaking part of this book is that this book is inspired by the Highway of Tears in B.C. Canada - where girls (mostly Indigenous girls) have disappeared and been killed at an alarming rate since the 70s.

Dark Roads out August 3rd.

I just finished reading Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens and it was a really good read. My first one I read by her was Those Girls and it really brought my attention on her and now I read everything I can by her!!

Dark Roads is a Story about multiple characters and storylines. Abuse of Power, murder mystery, drama and suspense. What more can you as for. Not once did I find myself bored throughout this story and I was caught completely off guard at the end. Just Wow!! I knew it was going to be good but I did not see it coming.

4/5 star rating for me!! Definitely recommend! Thank you for the opportunity to read this story.

No one spins a yarn like Chevy Stevens and Dark Roads is another feather in her very decorated hat. This is her fastest paced, most engaging novel since Still Missing.
The characters are fully built, the setting is a place you’ve been but never want to go again, and the themes are rich and deep.
Our protagonist is dealing with the grief of losing her father and struggling to settle under her Aunt and Uncle’s room. The rules are new and many and she feels like a burden. Not to mention her uncle is a cop and keeping way too close of an eye on her. Looming on top of this and everything else in town is the long history of women going missing and turning up dead.
Come for the mystery, stay for the heart. This one is a dark, twisted tale…you wouldn’t expect anything less from Stevens. She’s raised her own bar again.

This definitely pulled me in as all of Steven's books do! Plus how can you not love Wolf?! That definitely added some extra love for me. I definitely get hooked on Steven's books and get super excited when they get released! This one wasn't my favorite of all of hers however I still found it to be enjoyable and a strong read!

Dark Roads is set along a stretch of road in British Columbia where a significant number of women are disappearing. When Hailey's father dies and she is forced to live with her aunt and uncle, her life takes an unexpected turn where she chooses to live off the land in a dangerous situation, instead of living with her controlling family. Unfortunately, people assume she has been taken by the killer. Her truth later collides with the stories of Amber and Beth and the mystery behind the murders.

Stevens' book is a quick, entertaining mystery. It was a good story with likable but troubled characters. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of Dark Roads.

This is the first novel I’ve read by this author and knew more about her from her Facebook page than through her works. She seems like a really funny person in real life.. I’ve wanted to read one of her books for awhile and was thrilled to be selected to read ahead of the August publication date. I loved the story following our lead character, Hailey after she’s lost her father and is now living with her aunt, Lara and police detective uncle Vaughn. She likes playing with her little cousin Cash, but her uncle is not a loving or understanding uncle. He’s controlling and not well liked by the young people in Cold Creek. There’s a history in the region of disappearances and murders and most women are afraid to travel alone at night or hitchhike. She uncovers shocking information about her uncle and runs away. She learned how to live in the woods from her beloved father and with help from a friend she might be able to stay away indefinitely leaving a new found love behind and in the dark for protection. The community starts to believe Hailey is a victim like the others missing or killed off the highway. Hailey is trying to figure out what has been happening all these years and after her first love becomes a victim, she’s even more determined to get answers and survive. Page turner, loved the story’s complexity and following dual main characters. Great book and will be picking up more of her works.

I stayed up late last night to finish Dark Roads! This is the kind of book that will have you screaming, "DON'T GO IN THERE! GET OUT OF THERE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" ...as you watch characters try to fix and figure out things that you know will go badly for them! If you're looking for a disturbing and suspenseful read, this is the one.

I did have to suspend my disbelief a few times. First, when Wolf, a stray dog is somehow capable of performing tasks that would be far-fetched even for Lassie. I didn't mind too much because I love when stories have a dog as a significant character. I just told myself he must have a backstory as a trained Navy SEAL dog or something, and he somehow got lost from that life to end up a stray in Cold Creek. If that's the case then the story totally makes sense. Second, how is Beth, a girl abusing pills and alcohol on a level that makes her barely able to function, somehow able to notice and figure out things the police have missed for over a year?

Other than that, this is an action-packed mystery/suspense/serial-killer book that is sure to entertain fans of those genres. The prologue really pulls you into the story and you won't be able to stop!

📚 Review
Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫(5)

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my early copy.

Pub Date: 8/3/21

✨Young women have gone missing from Cold Creek Highway for decades.

Hailey, who recently lost her father, now lives with her aunt Lana and Lana’s big time police officer husband Vaughn. He is mean and abusive towards Hailey, so Hailey flees to the nearby mountains and survives on her own. Rumor is that Hailey is the latest victim of the notorious killer.

One year later, another girl, Amber is found murdered. Amber’s sister Beth arrives to find out what happened in this small dark town. She will come to meet the locals and have her own suspicions about what happened to these young women. And she won’t leave until she uncovers the truth, even if she puts herself in danger. ✨

My thoughts: while it wasn’t my fave, it was still solid. I enjoyed the elements of the unlikeable, horrible villain Vaughn. I liked the outdoorsy feel of the setting. However, I felt it was kind of repetitive and it felt like the longest game of cat and mouse ever! I felt like it could have been better told in about 50 less pages! 💁🏻‍♀️

♡ Dark Roads was a gripping thriller which makes you not to keep the book down unless you finish it. To be more precise, unless you find the answers.

♡ The book was slow paced that makes you more attached to the characters and the environment in which the book is set.

♡ I liked how the author wrote this book in reference to the original events happened. Reading this book through will bring in an awareness and also make us realise what the people around us are capable of doing. It also educates us on whom to trust and whom not to.

♡ I personally felt emotional too. I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did. Thanks to the author for writing this book.

Wow, this book kept my pulse up and my adrenaline pumping. The locale and characters were so colorfully portrayed you got a real understanding of the situation and felt all the strong emotions. We follow Hailey from being orphaned to living with her kind but clueless aunt and her domineering Police Sergeant husband in small town Cold Creek, Canada. Something is rotten in Cold Creek, too many young women have disappeared, and Hailey is going to get to the bottom of it. The twists and turns will keep you turning the pages! A very satisfying ending and based-in-reality epilogue helps make this a great read.

Rating 3.5

Years ago I read books by Ms. Stevens, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So when I saw that she had a new book being published, I knew I had to have it.

There is someone who is killing young girls on the Colf Creek Highway. The book has three subdivisions.

Hailey: A 17 year old who lost her mother at an early age and was super close to her dad, who was a wilderness guide. Then tragedy strikes again when her father is killed in a motor vehicle accident. Being a minor, she ends up living with her maternal aunt, her aunt's husband Vaughn, and their son Cash. Vaughn is the Sherriff of the RCMP and is quite controlling. But even worse, Hailey finds something quite disturbing about him that she runs away into the woods, in hopes that her family thinks she was one of the victims of the serial killer.

Beth: A year ago, her sister was a victim of the highway killer and has not been able to move forward from it. She leaves the life she knows and travels to Cold Creek in hopes of finding answers about her sister.

Hailey and Beth: The 2 girls team up to unmask the killer.

The storyline kept my interest. The suspense and action were palpable.

Even though I enjoyed this read, there were 2 issues, at least for me, that took away from the story and the reason for my rating.

The settings in the first 2 parts were mainly in the woods and were quite in-depth about surviving there. Not being a camping person, I found myself skimming over a lot of it because it was so detailed that at times, it just took away from the story for me. The other issue was that it was obvious from the beginning as to who had involvement in the killings. And because of those 2 reasons, and the fact that I had a mindset of setting the bar so high because of her previous books, that I was just a bit disappointed.

Would I recommend it? Yes! Just because this wasn't a read that I didn't 100% enjoy, I'm sure many will. And now, I wait patiently for her next book. I just hope that I don't have to wait as long as I did for this one.

05/29/21 posted to GR
08/04/21 to be posted to blog

My thanks to Chevy Stevens, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.
This is a slow burn of a story. I usually hate that, but it took place in British Columbia. B.C. is one of my favorite places. So, I didn't take it too hard that I was kinda stuck there!
The whole story was heartbreaking. Even the "big bad" was scary. I didn't know who it was, but I knew that I personally would have got the heck out of Dodge!
I am slightly disappointed that this murderer on the highway killed white girls.
As a white woman myself, I'm very aware of the fact that in Canada and the northern U.S, most of these females are Native Americans. I felt the focus should have been placed mostly on that. Just my opinion.
I did really like the book, and I'll probably have to read more from this author.

Wow! Another great thriller from Chevy Stevens! Dark Roads tells the story of Cold Creek Highway and the many disappearances that have taken place there. We follow Hailey McBride and her life following the death of her father. She lives with her aunt and her husband who is a police officer who bullies and controls Hailey. Hailey decides to disappear to protect herself from his abuse. People believe she was taken by the killer who has been kidnapping and murdering girls along the Cold Creek Highway. After her sister Amber becomes a victim of the killer, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek a year later looking for answers. The two girls’ paths cross, and the story really picks up there. This story is thrilling, dark, and suspenseful! Readers will not be disappointed, especially at the twist toward the end. I love Chevy Stevens’ novels, and this is no exception! Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy!

Wow, Wow, Wow!! This may be the best book I've read so far this year. I've enjoyed all of Chevy Stevens books and was so excited to have been approved for this ARC. I reserve 5 stars for books that I consider favorites. I know I will read this again, even knowing the ending.

It is a beautifully written story that I didn't want to put down and also didn't want to finish too fast. I know Hailey and Beth with be sticking around with me for a while. I highly recommend it and definitely think it should be made into a movie or something. It's just that good!

I'm a fan of Chevy Stevens in general. I know that when I pick up her books, I can expect solid mysteries and characters I'll grow to know and love.

This novel was no exception. <i>Dark Roads</I> is a slow burn mystery and thriller but it's about so much more than the murders contained within its pages. It's about familial love and commitment and overcoming obstacles to live the life you deserve. And the fact that it is loosely based on real-life events will make it even more heartbreaking.

And the female main characters are BADASS.

If you are looking for a frantic , frenetic, fast-paced thriller, you may not enjoy this one. But if you are patient you will really enjoy this book. You will be rooting for Hailey and Beth until the last page.

Thank you to St. Martin's for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press by the ARC of Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens in return for my honest review. It was inspired by a series of horrific murders, mostly of Indigenous women, along a 450-mile highway that runs through the isolated northern wilderness in British Columbia. I have had the non-fiction book, Highway of Tears, sitting on my Kindle for quite some time, and now moving it up my list to be read soon.

There was much to like in this book, and I believe it will be very popular among most readers. I regret it wasn't a good fit for me, and I was never fully engaged. Despite the grim subject matter and some scenes of violence, much of it read like a YA novel and was not what I expected. The writing moved at a slow, steady pace but later picked up for some suspenseful, tense action scenes. The writing gave a vivid, atmospheric description of the forested BC wilderness with its forests and rivers and the small isolated settlements along the highway. The scenes were visually compelling, and I thought the story could be adapted into a gripping movie. There were too many dirt bikes and motor vehicles needing repair that got tedious for those not mechanically minded. This was a character-driven book.


There was much to like in this book, and I believe it will be very popular among most readers. I regret it wasn't a good fit for me, and I was never fully engaged. Despite the grim subject matter and some scenes of violence, much of it read like a YA novel and was not what I expected. The writing moved at a slow, steady pace but later picked up for some suspenseful, tense, frightening action scenes. The report gave a vivid, atmospheric description of the rugged BC wilderness with its forests and rivers and the small isolated settlements along the highway. The scenes were visually compelling, and I thought the story could be adapted for a gripping movie. There were too many dirt bikes and motor vehicles needing repair that got tedious for those not mechanically minded. This was a character-driven book.

The plot revolved around a 17-year-old girl, Hailey, who lives in Cold Creek, one of the small remote towns along the highway. Her father taught her survival skills in the forest, and she is very independent and resourceful. She is now orphaned and lives with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle, Vaughn, is a bully who kept her under strict control and constantly harassed her. As a policeman, he is feared by the town's young people. Hailey finds him creepy and discovers something about Vaughn that might put her life in danger. She decides to run away and survive in the forest. A friend, Jonny, helps her hide in the wooded mountains that her father loved. The people of Cold Creek now believe she is one of the victims of the Cold Creek killer.

Shortly before Hailey vanished, she developed an intense friendship with Amber, a young waitress at the local diner. Amber is murdered, and her distraught sister Beth gives up her life in the city, intending to find Amber's killer. She takes a waitress job in the same diner where her dead sister worked. With the focus on these three young white women, very little is mentioned about most of the murdered and missing women being Indigenous, but they are remembered and mourned.

Beth is little prepared for camping and hiking in the wilderness and makes many impulsive mistakes. She is drinking too much and taking medication to relieve her sorrows. During her ordeal in unfamiliar territory, her determination and bravery are revealed. Will she and Hailey find each other and work together to survive the mortal danger they are facing? There appears to be more than one person intent on making them disappear forever.
Honourable mention goes to Wolf, a wonderful stray dog that connects with Hailey and Beth and is loved and protected by them, and he returns the favour.

I believe most readers will find this an exciting book with some unexpected and surprising twists and reveals.

I have read several book by Chevy Stevens and enjoy all of them. This book was a stand out. I stayed up late turning the pages of this thrilling book. I thought I knew how the story would play out but I was surprised with the twists. I was interested to know that this was based on true events. I will recommend this book to all of my patrons at the library.

Wow - Dark Roads. What a fantastic, edge of your seat, stay up all night read this was!

The eerie, creepy setting of not only Cold Creek, but the highway, the murdered young women, and some of the men was more than enough to keep me reading faster and faster.

I love strong female characters and Hailey really kicked ass! I want to know Hailey!

If you're looking for a suspenseful thrill ride, look no further. You have found it in this amazing author's latest book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for providing an ARC at my request. Thoughts in this review are my own and happily given.

Found some typos and a few plot errors but thought this was a great read. Disturbing and also surprising. Would definitely read this author's other novels.