Not what I expected but an enjoyable read.

Fast paced, survivalist camping story. Great world building and character development.

Stay off Cold Creek Highway because too many people have gone missing..Beth and Hailey aren’t afraid of what the locals say are they?
Wow what did I just read? Ms. Stevens knocked this one out of the park. She is one of my favorite Authors and I always look forward to whatever book that comes out by her. Every time I think nothing can top her previous book she proves me wrong with a mind blowing new book. I loved everything about this book. It flowed so very nicely to me. The way she described some parts had me checking my windows .Lol.. I was guessing until the very end and needless to say I was totally off with my assumption of who did what.
This book starts off in the fast lane and doesn’t slow down. I definitely recommend this book!
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for arc of this novel. Based on true events, Dark Roads is set in the fictional town of Cold Creek where young girls have been murdered and left for dead for years yet the killer has never been found. I'll admit I thought I knew exactly who the killer was but hey - I was totally wrong. Stevens did a great job developing the characters in this book - although I did think Amber and Hailey's relationship was a bit exaggerated since they hadn't been in a long term relationship. That's okay though - its fiction! This will be my second book by this author and I intend to go back and read her backlist titles.

Dark Roads tells the story of two very different women whose lives converge because of a stretch of road called Cold Creek Highway. There is a killer lurking around this highway, dumping the bodies of his female victims along the side of the road, if he bothers to dispose of the body at all. Some women disappear and are never found. The first protagonist, Hailey, runs away from a terrible home situation and the town assumes she is the latest highway victim. She has great survival skills, but may be no match for the killer who has been able to evade detection or capture for years now. Meanwhile, the sister of a victim, Beth Chevalier, is in town for the annual memorial service. But in her grief, she decides to stick around and retrace her sister's life, including getting a job at the local greasy spoon. Beth and Hailey's lives will collide as terrible things continue to happen around town. The entire book is atmospheric thanks to author Chevy Stevens being so descriptive. You really feel the frigidness of Cold Creek, especially in the many scenes set out in the woods. It's creepy but never scary, a very hard balance. Yet Stevens manages to balance this entire tale quite well.

A dark, intense thriller, all the more disturbing because of the many real-life missing and murdered indigenous women, whose stories were the impetus for this novel. This isn't some made up monster, it's the worst part of humanity and entirely real. This novel is engrossing and tense the entire way through, and the author does a good job of creating a sense of dread and desperation.

This is a first for me by this author.
This story is dark, depressing, disturbing and of course a page turner!
Cold Creek Highway seems kinda like the urban legend type of story. Hitchhiking or being alone in the dark along the highway attracts the attention of the serial killer that preys on girls.
So many of the girls that have disappeared along this highway are long forgotten!
Now, this story is told immaculately by two different POV.
We have Beth who comes into town to find out exactly what happened to her sister Amber who was killed on this stretch of highway a year earlier and then we have Hailey who basically escaped the wilderness around the town after finding out her uncle was definitely NOT who she thought that he was!
These girls are tough and very resourceful throughout the whole story! I enjoyed getting to see what they would do next. I enjoyed that some aspects of the story were realistic and raw, like it seemed totally believable that it could actually happen. The villain was someone who I kinda had a feeling about but it was still a mic drop moment!
So, that being said I do not want to reveal too much of the story however, if you enjoy books that will keep you guessing and that will keep your mind turning even after you put the book down then this is the book for you! I am definitely going to check out her other book because this one was AMAZING!!!

I was given an ARC of this book to leave an honest review.

I was pleased with this book! I really was stunned at who the actual killer was in this book. I loved that we followed two different women and was able to feel the things that they felt. I felt it was written very well, and was very suspenseful. I felt like I was being watched reading this book. I liked the balance between mystery, drama, and suspense.

I have eagerly awaited the next book by Ms. Stevens. This story started out slow but picked up and had some twists and surprises to it. I would recommend .

Dark Roads is the story of Hailey who lives in British Columbia. Women have been going missing along Cold Creek Highway where Hailey lives. Who is doing the abducting and killing?

The writing is shallow in every sense. Too much had to be manipulated throughout the pages – excessively – to make it work. It is pushed beyond the limits of plausibility. One small example is: Hailey escaped to an abandoned miner’s cabin in the woods to live there for a year. In the search no one – not the many area hunters, the cops, the diner owner who had the picture of the cabin on the wall of his diner, helicopters, or even old men – could find Hailey. But Beth, the new girl in town, quickly found the cabin and Hailey.

The love interests were shallow. People were falling in love (or lust) at the drop of a hat. (Insert eyeroll.)

The storyline itself is shallow. Covered – but not in any depth – were abduction, sexual predators, drugs, dirty cops, heterosexual love, homosexual love, bad mother/daughter relationship, and murder.

Thank you to NetGalley. I agreed to an honest review in exchange for the opportunity to read Dark Roads. Sadly, my review is dismal. This book was a disappointment and painful to read. It leaves me wondering about all the five-star reviews; what did they see that I didn’t.

Dark roads was a fun read. I liked hailey and beths POVs equally. I really felt their need to find justice for these missing/murdered girls and get the killer. Vaughan was the most vile character I’ve ever read about. I couldn’t stand him, yet he was too good of a suspect to be the killer. My suspicions were right, however I didn’t guess the true villain of this novel. 3 stars for me because I find the story will be forgettable for me in a few months.

Big thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Roads is set in the town of Cold Creek. In this town, teenagers party by the lake, truckers stop to eat at the quaint diner, and women’s bodies are left along the Cold Creek Highway. These murders have gone unsolved for decades, and the bodies keep adding up. Hailey is a grieving girl living with her aunt and uncle, who happens to be the town’s strict police sergeant. As Hailey begins discovering secrets, she begins to realize the darkness that lives in Cold Creek.

I have had numerous Chevy Stevens books on my to be read shelf for years now, but somehow this was the first novel of hers that I picked up. Now I know that I have to read her whole backlist because this was great! The atmosphere in Cold Creek was harrowing. The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. Both Hailey and Beth have interesting POV’s and have distinct voices from one another. And how could I not love a book with a dog as adorable as Wolf!

This is not a perfect, five star read for me for a few reasons. At times it felt like the mystery was moving too slowly. It worked well to build the atmosphere, but at times it felt like the mystery was at a standstill. And while this is separate from the story itself, I do want to note that I think the book synopsis gives too much away. There are some things that I would have been shocked about if they weren’t spoiled in the synopsis. If you haven’t picked this book up yet, which I highly suggest you do, try to avoid the spoilers. You’re in for a mystery thriller with seemingly endless twist and turns if you do.

Ok I’m being a little biased - I can’t pinpoint a reason for my 4 star rating and not a 5, other than that Stevens’ novel, Still Missing, is one of my favorite books of all time and I just keep waiting for something to match it, and I keep coming up short. That being said, Dark Roads is another success by Stevens!

Nothing grabs my attention faster than a mysterious murderer. But I love that Dark Roads isn’t JUST a whodunit story, but the story of Hailey’s survival and Beth’s healing. I personally loved the characters in this story (minus Vaughn) and I enjoyed the multiple POVs and as much as I hated Vaughn, the character description is what made him so unlikeable so great job!

I guessed the main plot twist, but not until right before it was revealed and I highly enjoyed it. And the justice served to those who deserved it made for a great ending.

Two things that didn’t fill me with joy: the fight scene with Mason. It was just a little unbelievable that Hailey could take him down alone and Beth miraculously finding her footing on the stool. Secondly, the spiritual epilogue. That’s just personal opinion because I’m not into spirits and ghosts, especially when the rest of the novel was so realistic - to pull Amber’s spirit into it at the very end was just not my thing.

Overall, if you’re looking for a page turner, I highly recommend Dark Roads. The proof is in the fact that I am not a kindle fan (old school books for me, please!) yet I read this in basically 2 sittings on my kindle.

Thank you NetGalley for my first ever prereleased novel. It was a pleasure to get to enjoy my favorite author so early!!

Ps. I know bad things have to happen, but thank you, Chevy, for not killing Wolf!

Huge fans of Chevy Stevens books know that a recipe for a fabulous thriller always includes a twisted plot, slimy characters, a victim (or two) on the run, and secrets… lots of them…

This Stevens’ book is no different! She has a huge talent for creating a cast of characters you HATE, but are sad to let go at the end of the story!

We are huge fans of Chevy Stevens and can’t wait to read her next book!

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress for the ARC. I just couldn’t connect with this book. Disconnected. Lost . I can only give it. I love thrillers but this one wasn’t for me.

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 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.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the victims of the highway, but it might as well be one week for the amount of pain that Beth is still dealing with after her sister, Amber, was murdered the previous summer. Beth has quit university, is lying to her parents, and popping pills like Tic Tacs. Maybe this will finally bring her peace.

When she gets a job at a local diner where Amber once worked, she connects with people who knew her sister. Beth wants to find who killed her sister and put her own life back together, but as she gets closer to the truth, she learns that there is more than one person lying in Cold Creek.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
#bookstagram #bookaddict #bookreviews #netgalley #netgalleyreview #chevystevens

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

For decades, the authorities have warned women about hitchhiking along the Cold Creek Highway. Hitchhikers vanish, drivers whose cars break down disappear.

Hailey McBride comes to live with her aunt after her father dies in an accident. But it’s unbearable for her and she runs away, thinking that she will disappear into the wilderness, leaving people to believe she became the victim of the killer who stalked women along the highway.

A year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the victims of the highway killer. Her sister, Amber, is counted among the victims of the highway killer and Beth struggles with the aftermath of losing her sister. She’s been unable to return to college, has lost both her job and her apartment, and is lying to her parents about her situation. She decides to stay in Cold Creek and finds a job at the local diner where her sister once worked.

But there are secrets in Cold Creek . . . and those secrets may cost Beth her life.

There a strong sense of place in this disturbing narrative that carries an undertone of desperation throughout the telling of the tale. The story is dark and apprehensive, filling readers with dread. Well-defined characters populate the narrative, but readers may cringe at some of the choices Hilary makes as the story unfolds.

Surprises take the story in unexpected directions and there’s a revelation near the end of the story that readers simply won’t see coming. But there’s much to appreciate in this unnerving tale of life and death and justice. Although the story is based on true events, it’s in the telling of the tale that readers come to appreciate the tenacity, the friendship, and the young women’s refusal to become another statistic. This is a book that belongs on everyone’s must-read list.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#DarkRoads #NetGalley

Just in time for summer camp season, I feel like Dark Roads sent me on something like a virtual armchair trip to a survivalist training camp. That aspect of what is perhaps an overlong book captured my interest. The mystery at it’s heart was not as compelling.

I have long awaited another Chevy Stevens book and this one did not disappoint! It offered up everything I love about her books; great characters, lots of drama, and thrilling to the end! Loved it!

Thank you to Chevy Stevens, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book made me paranoid a little bit. It makes you think and take pause in your everyday life.
Hailey is a teenager and recent orphan. She moves in with her aunt and uncle, whom she does not have good feelings about. Hailey finds out some secrets. Beth is reeling from the loss of her sister and goes to Cold Creek to investigate for herself.
I throughly enjoyed this book. At times it did seem to drag and over describe some things. I got very frustrated with one of the characters and the choices she made that ended up in trouble or mortal danger. Overall this book is absolutely worth reading.

From the author who gave us Still Missing comes a new and terrifying new tale!

What’s it about?

Everyone is aware of the disappearances of young women on a dark and lonely stretch of highway in Cold Creek. Cars break down, girls hitchhike, and they either never turn up or they do in an awful and disturbing way. We are talking dark here. Dark road, dark town, dark and sketchy people.

When Hailey McBride can’t take her overbearing and very suspicious acting Uncle Vaughn (also the Police) a minute longer. She was raised in these woods and her father taught her well. For her disappearing will be easy. Surviving will not.

When she finds the girl she loves dead on the side of the road, she runs.

A year later and Amber’s sister Beth is in town looking for answers but no one wants to talk and she has no one to trust. No one wants her poking her nose into all of these deaths, especially Uncle Vaughn.

This was a dark and emotionally charged read. Hailey is a great character and I admired her tenacity and strength. With a beginning and an ending told by a dead girl, this was right up my alley.

Excellent Writing!

NetGalley/ August 3rd, 2021 by St. Martin’s Press

Walking in someone else’s shoes is something to think about but to actually do it Beth can give us some insights as she tries to find out who killed her sister Amber. While Hailey thinks she figured out the murders on Cold Creek Highway.

This is my first Steven’s book and definitely won’t be my last. This is definitely a thriller that puts you right in the midst of the story and before you know it it’s over.

Beth and Hailey have the same goal but will they become victims of the murder on Cold Creek highway? Start the journey and find out for yourself.


This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my thoughtful & honest review.