Reads like a YA novel with the nicely-wrapped up ending, but well written - great use of character development (interactions with Wolf made this story IMO). I also appreciate the author taking the time to call the reader's attention to the needs of the indigenous community and how folks can help.

DNF @20% This is an "it's me and not the book" situation. Chevy is wonderful and I wish this book all the success in the right reader's hands!

A new book by Chevy Stevens, I don’t even have to know what the book is about, I want to read it! Thank you to NetGalley for making my dreams come true and allowing me an ARC of the novel in return for an unbiased review.

Cold creek highway is known for the unsolved murders of indigenous women. There is a billboard with the faces of the victims and every year the town has a memorial. This book starts with the story of the ghost of a victim and continues to slowly build tension throughout the book.
There are characters you will love and others you will hate, and you will meet one of the coolest dogs I’ve ever seen in a story.

Thank you Chevy Stevens for continuing to write great books, I can’t wait until your next one

I always am quick to pick up Chevy Stevens’ newest read! I am so happy I was able to read this in advance. I loved this story and all of the elements of suspense that added to the plot. Th characters were likable and it was a very easy and enjoyable book! Thank you.

I’ve been waiting a long time for a new book by Chevy Stevens, and this was worth the wait. Missing girls and secrets abound in this story. Fast paced and well written. You won’t put it down once you start reading.

I’m a big Chevy Stevens fan but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Probably the pace and the fact I didn’t feel any suspense or relate to the characters. A fascinating real life case gave rise to this fictional account and I have to admit to being more interested in the real life case than this book.

Wow! I didn’t want this one to end; it is so good. Dark and deep into the woods. Survival at its best. A small town with girls going missing off a highway. Small town cops, diners, truck stops and motorbikes. Definitely some good twists. And for us pet lovers, an awesome hero dog. Definitely put this suspenseful one on your to read list. Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC

Enjoyable thriller based on real life events that take place in Canada. I will follow up with reading more nonfiction about the Highway of Tears and the cases that still happen to this day

Wow! My adrenaline was running wild throughout this book. I just finished it and my heart is still in my throat.

Dark Roads is about a small town where women mysteriously disappear and are murdered over many many years. It follows Hailey, who lives in Cold Creek and Beth, who comes to Cold Creek after her sister was murdered.

The book started and ended strong but it lost me a little in the middle. I also was able to predict the ending but it was more of a wild guess then prediction. Either way, a great 4 star thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC. All thoughts in this review are my own

I very much enjoyed this new Chevy Stevens book. The two points of view were nice to see - a little jarring when it switches early on but better as the book goes along. The afterword is nice as well explaining how this is based on a true story.
You will enjoy this book and you'll be wondering what's next for both these characters throughout the boo.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

At first, I found myself questioning if this was targeted toward a YA crowd, but as the book gained speed, it became hard to put down. A solid, adventurous read that will keep you guessing!

Hailey McBrides' father passes away and she goes to live with her aunt and her husband. Cold Creek, where she lives has seen many single young females murdered. Hailey has been taught to respect nature and society. She does not fear for her life but she does fear her aunt's husband. Hailey fakes her own death to get out of the house where she is living. When her friend Amber is murdered, Hailey goes even further underground. Amber's sister, Beth, shows up in town to try to figure out who killed Amber.

A great mystery. Very fast paced book. A great read!

From the very opening pages I felt the menacing claustrophobia of the thick dark woods and the cloying entrapment of an inescapable community of people who know your every move. Chevy Stevens is able to pull you into her settings so thoroughly that it's almost hard to shake off the feeling that it's not really real and you aren't really there. There are very few books that grab you the way hers do and that have you remembering and thinking about the characters months after a book is finished. Hers does. Every time.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an e-ARC of Dark Roads. This book will be hitting the shelves August 3rd.

Quick Synopsis:

For decades, people have been warned about the Cold Creek Highway. Hitchhikers have vanished along it over the years, and women have been known to have disappeared and not come back. This story is told from the story of two strong female protagonists who have one goal in mind - find the highway killer and seek justice for the victims.

I was surprised to learn that this story was Inspired by true events of a highway in BC called Highway of Tears where Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered. I thought this made the story that much more disturbing (and sad).

Stevens does a great job at building atmosphere, character development and keeping the suspense going throughout the entire book. I loved the dog that came into play - he was the best sidekick for one of the main characters.

Unfortunately there were some parts that dragged on for me and other parts that felt a bit unrealistic. I typically enjoy multiple plot twists in a thriller which this did not have, however the one big twist that occurred was definitely unpredictable which I appreciated!

I recommend if you enjoy character driven thrillers, a good "whodunit" story and multiple POV's.

CW: sexual assault, pedophilia, violence

4 ☆☆☆☆

I enjoy Stevens' work, and this novel—with its focus on indigenous women and their murders—is different from the others... and that's good in a lot of ways! it's very character-focused and atmospheric... it is paced very steadily, rather than moving at the speed of light like some of Stevens' other work. On the whole, however, the pieces didn't quite add up for me by the end. I loved the clear sense of place, I loved Wolf, and the serial killer plot is what you'd expect from a thriller-- but added up, the novel just didn't grab me.

I absolutely love this author and couldn't wait to read her next book. This is no different. From someone who is from a small town - this book gives me the chills. Love it - would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a dark book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens is an astonishing book about a small town with a terrible past involving the abduction, kidnapping, and murder of so many young women. The police have been hopeless in trying to ascertain who is behind these terrible crimes. But it takes plucky women, some former victims, good cops, bad cops, and a great story to bring this book to an amazing conclusion. From the minute you start reading until you’re at the final words, you will be riveted by the storytelling of bad men and innocent lives lost. It’s gonna take a while for my heart to stop pounding but this is a thrilling murder mystery. Don’t miss it when it’s released in August of this year.

This story is dark, but I liked the characters. I had to keep reading to figure out what happened. I kind of wish we heard more from Amber, but I appreciated how everything came together.

i understand that this is was a preview but the lack of editing made it difficult to read, especially at multiple time/scene jumps that weren't indicated by formatting. there is a scene with a hiking mishap & a river that is so poorly handled, it was difficult to know what was going on.

this is one of those books that is meant to be all about suspense but it gets bogged down by the unnecessary
descriptors which were repetitive & felt forced, as if trying to be literary and utterly failing. the result is a very basic plot that feels heavily padded.

lastly, i was a little disgusted by the idea that this white-girls-in-peril story was inspired by the very real problem of missing first nation women that is happening & being ignored.

Chevy Stevens is one of my favorite authors, so I was SO EXCITED when I saw she was writing another book! When you love an author, it seems like it is so long between one book to the next. This was worth the wait! Chevy Stevens creates dark, sad stories and pulls you in so you have to know the ending- and you're never disappointed!