I had read Chevy Stevens book "Still Missing", and I enjoyed it, so I chose "Dark Roads" to read from Net Galley. It starts out with missing persons along a certain stretch of highway, and it holds your rapt attention until reaching the end. It has very well developed characters,
I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.. And, I will read Chevy Stevens other novels for sure after reading "Still Missing", and "Dark Roads"

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Dark Roads take place on Cold Creek Highway, a fictional location based on The Highway of Tears in British Columbia, Canada. The 450 mile long Highway of Tears runs from Prince George to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. It’s hard to find the number of women and girls missing or murdered around the highway, but it is estimated there are between 18 to 40 victims since 1969. Most are still unsolved, and most of the victims are First Nations. The highway appears to be the perfect storm for such tragedy. While the scenic drive has beautiful views of forests and mountains, the weather is usually brutal and the road is isolated and desolate, with towns few and far between. Poverty plays a part, as the towns along the highway are impoverished and a lack of transportation leads to hitchhiking.

The book begins with the voice of one of the missing, and it really pulls you into the book. The story is then told from a few different perspectives, the main belonging to Hailey McBride. Hailey’s mother passed away, and it is just Hailey and her father, a nature guide. She is close to her father, but when he dies in an accident, 17 year-old Hailey is sent to live with her aunt and uncle, an intolerable situation. As she is a bit of a loner at school, she has only one friend she can count on. They outfit an old abandoned camp deep in the woods with food supplies, etc. The plan is for Hailey to disappear until she turns 18, counting on everyone to think she is a victim of the Cold Creek killer.

The story changes tone from the first chapter and begins to sound like a YA novel, which I wasn’t expecting based on the content. We spend a lot of chapters on Hailey planning her escape and her existence in the wild. It was an unexpected departure from the “breathtaking thriller” I was expecting. An actual murder does occur during Hailey’s absence, an acquaintance of Hailey’s named Amber. However, many more chapters are spent on Amber’s sister, Beth. Beth is troubled by her sister’s murder, comes to Cold Creek to find closure, but her life is just spiraling out of control.

The story ends with a twist, but at that point I had lost interest. The finish is once again the voice of one of the missing, which was much better writing than the entire middle of the book. As for the pace of the story, it just plodded along, whether it was following Hailey’s daily life in the woods, or Beth’s daily life drinking and popping pills. While there was certainly a lot of creepiness in the book, it wasn’t breathtaking or thrilling and just didn’t work for me.

I will say that it has piqued my interest enough in the real story of The Highway of Tears that I will probably look for a book on that subject.

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Another fabulous Chevy Stevens' book. Some authors always it out of the ballpark and Chevy Stevens is one of them.

The storyline reminded me so much of the 70s when we thought nothing of hitchhiking. By ourselves! Jeez, we were idiots.

This is really an excellent story that keeps you enthralled.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens.
A great storyline kept me intrigued from beginning to end.
I look forward to reading more books by Chevy Stevens.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens had me hooked from the first page! Truthfully, I have never read a book by Chevy before and now I know that has been a mistake. It was perfectly paced, with exciting but logical twist and turns, and characters had depth to them. This was a quick read because I was so enthralled and had to know who was behind the disappearances. (I didn’t guess who, but it still made total sense!)

Mystery books can blend together, but this one stand a part for me. The setting was still a huge part of the story and its as described with such beauty, I need to visit British Columbia one day. I also appreciate the history and background that helped develop the story. It provided a strong foundation for an intriguing mystery. This is one all mystery lovers must pick up!

I received an advance copy of this book thanks to Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, I'm a big fan of Chevy Stevens, so was very happy to receive this.

Cold Creek Highway, in Northern B.C. Canada, is known to be a frightening, dangerous road to travel especially at night. Women have disappeared, or their bodies are found by the side of the road. Women are warned not to travel or hitch hike.

Hailey McBride is a 17 year old girl who is living with her Aunt Lana and her husband, Vaughn in Cold Creek, after her father died in a car accident. Vaughn is a police officer and a bad cop, Hailey finds a secret about Vaughn which causes her to run away. She misses her love, Amber who disappeared from town suddenly. Using her strong survival skills. Hailey manages to live in the woods with her dog (a great character)! A year later, Amber's sister, Beth Chevalier shows up searching for Amber. The story goes back and forth between Hailey and Beth.

"Dark Roads" is a compelling, very well-written thriller which I found difficult to put down. Chevy Stevens has done it again!

I am so happy I was given the opportunity to read this early. I was not aware of this author prior to this book, but she was highly recommended by someone so I knew I had to read her latest novel! I was not disappointed! Chevy Stevens' book is full of suspense and thrills. It was one of the novels that keeps you up at night to see what happens next, and those are the very best kinds of books! I loved the plot and the execution of the story. Great book!

3.5 ⭐

Synopsis:

Cold Creek Highway has a long and dark history. For decades, women have gone missing...or worse. Hailey McBride is seventeen and living in an unbearable environment. Thus, she decides the only answer is to flee into the Cold Creek wilderness, counting on the outdoor skills her father passed down for survival. In an alternative perspective, one year later, Beth Chevalier enters Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the highway victims. Beth's own sister was murdered there the previous summer, and she finds herself getting a job at the same local diner her sister worked at.  As she gets closer to piecing together the truth of last summer, she realizes she's up against more darkness and lies than she ever imagined. 


My thoughts:

This book really kept me guessing!  Surprising and intense, it's a suspense read that I had fun attempting to piece together before the big reveal. This was an emotional read as well.  What these women went through was horrific. Sometimes my HSP (highly sensitive person) traits sneak up on me when I'm reading, and it happened in some of the details of violence in this book, and I found I had to take a breather.  It's odd because I've read other things that have just as much, if not more detail, and I've been able to plow ahead, so I think it was just a timing thing...but maybe good to know if you're a fellow HSP. 😉 All in all, this was a  compelling suspense with excellent pacing, and it has me already looking forward to more Chevy Stevens books in the future.

Dark Roads is everything you’d expect it to be. It’s atmospheric and definitely had my heart racing in anticipation at what was to happen next. I could not turn the pages fast enough. If you’re a mystery & thriller fan this book is for you! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 St.Martins Press, NetGalley and the author herself for my advanced readers e-copy of Dark Road! I absolutely loved it & plan to pick up a physical copy on its release date : August 3rd,2021

4.5⭐️

If you want a book that has you wanting more, this is the book for you. It alternates between two main characters, Hailey and Beth. Hailey suddenly lost her father due an accident and is now living with her aunt and uncle Vaughn. Hailey becomes aware of her uncle’s creepy behavior, which makes her suspicious of his possible connections to deaths in the area along Cold Creek highway.

Beth comes to town for a memorial for the victims who have died, which includes her sister Amber. This is an intense and sometimes disturbing ride, but hang in there; just when you think you have it figured out, you don’t. Chevy Stevens does not disappoint!

"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 their cars break down... and never be seen again. When Hailey McBride decides to run away from an unbearable living situation, she thinks that her outdoor skills will help her disappear into the Cold Creek wilderness, and she counts on people thinking that she was the victim of the killer..."

3.5 stars

I have been meaning to read Chevy Stevens for a while now. A friend of mine recommended her years ago to me. I'm not sure why I haven't picked up her books until now, but I'm glad I did. I do believe that this book could be a trigger for those that have survived and are surviving domestic violence. I had a hard time with the beginning of this book because of the content. I'm glad I stuck with it. Chevy Stevens is a great writer and I will definitely read her previous books in the future. I had to suspend belief a bit, to believe all the things a 17 year old was capable of achieving. Also the convenience of so many things throughout the book that helped the characters out of situations. The ending was satisfactory and the killer could only be a handful of people, so not too surprising. I would recommended this thriller but be warned about the triggers. It comes out in August, so make sure to put it on your TBR list!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced egalley of this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review..

I have liked Chevy Steven's books in the past and this was just as good.

Hailey McBride, orphaned, lives with her aunt and husband, an abusive police officer, who takes away her freedom and appears to be a pervert. Amber, a close friend loved by Hailey, is murdered, joining the ranks of the many victims of Cold Creek Highway whose deaths have never been solved. Desperate to escape Hailey relies on the help of Jonny, her best friend in the world, and the survival skills taught by her father. The town has many shady characters who could be the kidnapper/murderer. When Beth, Amber’s sister, arrives and takes a job in the diner, the reader follows her investigative activities. The real plight of missing Indigenous women is heart-breaking; I was very interested in reading about the fictional characters in this novel. Unfortunately I grew weary of descriptions of dirt-bike riding and surviving through theft. The resolution of the crime became for me a string of denouements. On the whole it seems to lack cohesion. I know the admirers of Chevy Stevens will enjoy her latest work, but it is disappointing for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was the first book I read by this author and I am very impressed by her talent. I enjoyed her writing style. It is obvious that she has great writing skills. I thought that the story has focus, development, unity, coherence, and correctness. It is very dramatic and intense from start to finish. It's gripping. It’s dark. It’s suspenseful and thrilling. A true page turner! There are lots of twists and turns in the plot with the most shocking and unexpected one at the very end and it is packed with many interesting characters, good ones and some very evil ones, all very well depicted and characterized. I became very fond of the three main protagonists: Hailey, Beth and Jonny. The relationship dynamics among all three are very impressive. The fact that the story is based on true events also makes it even more compelling and convincing.

I am definitely going to read the other books written by this author, unknown to me till now.
I took my time to read this one and really enjoyed it. I think this is going to be my top recommendation to friends and family as well as to all the readers who love phycological thrillers.

This review has also been published in Goodreads at this address:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3882330411

I started reading this because I have liked several of Chevy Stevens' books in the past, but I could not get into this one.

I love a good thriller that grabs you from the start and keeps you on the edge of your seat and this book did just that. Chevy Stevens is known for her twists and turns and this book is no different. The book starts with Hailey, who recently lost her father, leaving her to live with her aunt and her boyfriend, who is a police officer with a reputation for being cruel and strict. Hailey soon discovers a secret and is forced to run away from home and live off the grid. I loved some of the characters in this book, especially the bond that Hailey and Jonny had and the relationship Hailey had with her dog, Wolf. Where I think it could have been a little bit improved would be the character of Beth who seemed a bit lost, which did not take away from the story but would have made it a solid 5 star read.

I highly recommend this book for any fans of thrilling novels with twists and turns.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.

Excellent. I wasn't familiar with Stevens' work and since finishing this novel I've purchased and read 2 on Amazon Kindle. She's a good writer and an outstanding storyteller. I'll be reading the rest of her works in coming weeks.

Cold Creek Highway doesn't sound like the kind of road that I would choose for a spontaneous road trip. Located in British Columbia, it is vast, desolate, and dangerous. Many girls have gone missing over the years. Hitchhikers or drivers, it doesn't seem to matter to the predators who view it as the perfect hunting spot.
Hailey McBride has spent her life in Cold Creek and is well aware of what can happen to someone alone on this highway. The death of her father leaves her grief-stricken. She has to leave the home she loves, full of memories of her father behind, and move in with her Aunt Lana and her husband Vaughn. His job with the police should make Hailey feel safe, but his actions say something else. Soon, she feels her only option is to run away. But a young girl going missing in Cold Creek can only lead to one conclusion. Hailey must be another victim of the highway killer.
Beth Chevalier comes to Cold Creek to attend a memorial service and find out who killed her sister, Amber. She decides to stay in town and discovers not everyone is telling the truth. She doesn't intend to put Hailey at risk, but the truth has a way of bubbling to the surface, and soon their fates will bring them together.
I don't want to spoil the journey for anyone, but I will say that this heartbreaking story grabbed me from the first page and wouldn't let go. A compelling mystery and characters that I kept crossing my fingers that nothing bad would happen to the ones I cared about. Hailey and Wolf had my heart, and I came close to feeling the same way about Beth. I wish the inspiration for this book wasn't based on a true story. I wish the world was a better place. I don't wish that I hadn't read this unforgettable book.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of Dark Roads in exchange for my honest review.

I will begin by saying this book had me hooked from the very first page. It was definitely a page turner with lots of twists and turns. It’s marketed as Adult Fiction but could easily be a YA novel. It was a little too “all over the place” for me at times. I found myself having to reread some paragraphs to see if I had missed something that brought me to where I was in the book. This was my first time reading a book by Chevy Stevens. I will look into reading more of her books.

I received this book from Net Galley for giving an unbiased review. This book is for young adults. I feel the author developed the character well, but the plot was scattered. I had a very hard time finishing this book. I would not recommend this book to anybody.