Give me a minute while I calm down. I read a lot of thrillers so it takes a lot to really get me on edge these days but, boy, this was a one of them.

Does the dog die? Answer at the bottom of the review if you want the spoiler.

First, highway killers are scary af. This book is fiction but it’s pulling on some very real - and very scary - situations. The story chronicles three young women who are doing what they need to do to survive. Hailey is on the run after he father’s death and run in with an abuse family member (think Naked and Afraid minus the naked), Amber is trying to live her life and finds work in a diner and Beth, after losing her sister, follows in her footsteps in an attempt to find resolution. But the best character, IMHO, is Wolf, the loyal (and crazy smart) dog who joins Hailey on her quest for justice, truth and tracking down a serial killer.

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, scary incidents for the dog.

Does the dog die? Nope. Wolf is ok in the end.

Going into Dark Roads, I had no idea what to expect. I loved the characters, the setting, and all of the surprises that came along with it. The strength they had to overcome was insane. I will definitely recommend this book to friends.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens grabbed me from the beginning with the main character Hailey.

Hailey just lost her father to a car accident and is now living with her aunt and her husband in Cold Creek. Cold Creek isn't an ideal place to live however, girls have been known to go missing from the Cold Creek Highway never to be seen again. Things are a bit off at home. Vaughn, her aunt's husband is overly controlling and in Hailey's business way too much. As Hailey starts to dig for information about him, she discovers something that makes her go on the run.... Just as I was really getting into Hailey's story, a change of character is introduced. Beth, one of the sisters of one of the missing girls.

This story read a bit like a YA novel to me. There are many secrets in this small town and the ending did surprise me. Suspense, corruption and a twist, I highly look forward to this author's next book! Oh and Wolf the dog was the absolute best, loved him.

A very big thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I was so excited when I got approved! 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Chevy Stevens has done it again, totally sweeping me off my feet with this perfectly-paced thriller. Dark Roads is the type of thriller I strive to find—one that totally takes me away from real life and leaves me turning the pages so quickly that I’m completely lost.

Summary: Stay off Cold Creek Highway...at least that’s what the locals say. Too many people have gone missing either from hitchhiking or just bad luck. Hailey thinks she may have figured out the mystery on her own, but now she’s left isolated and needs to find clues to put the story together and end it once and for all. Beth is an outsider with secrets and many problems. She’s come to Cold Creek to a memorial for the lost victims of the highway, hoping to close this chapter of her life and get back on her feet. While in town, she takes matters into her own hands to avenge a family member. Beth and Hailey want the same thing, but can they come together to solve this mystery without getting themselves killed?

Characters: This story has great characters and some you just can’t figure out. Hailey and Beth’s courage was intoxicating, and the constant high-stakes left me on edge. The tension had my heart pounding so hard at times. Hailey’s knowledge of survival in nature captured me head on, and I loved the constant connection she had with her dad in the story. The references made it emotional for me—especially her inner thoughts. I liked the way she was connected to nature and appreciative for all she had. Her dad taught her well. Vaughn, on the other hand, was a character that drove me absolutely insane from the very beginning. He was hard to figure out. I definitely felt connected to many of the characters, especially Hailey, and of course I fell in love with Wolf too, who’s the once-in-a-lifetime dog. This was just a great cast of characters.

Story: I loved the plot and the way this story was written. It’s true that there was a little predictability when it came to a few of the characters and their intentions, but I couldn’t figure out the actual perpetrator until late in the book. It was nearly perfect with just enough information to keep you mystified. Everything wrapped up wonderfully, and I appreciated the epilogue and added information regarding her inspiration for this story. I suppose it’s important to note that a few small parts of the book were a little difficult to read at times, but mainly toward the end. These few parts may be difficult for sensitive readers.

I only had a small niggle with the believability of a few things in the story, and it was mainly with Vaughn. I felt right away that he was the type of person to leave no stone unturned, and wondered how he didn’t figure something out early on. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s something pertaining to Hailey’s past with her dad and a choice she made.

Overall, this was great. Chevy Stevens has become a favorite, and I can’t wait for her next book. If you love thrillers, don’t miss this one!

5*****

This book is extraordinarily hard to read due to its darkness and exposure to the underbelly of society. Whether it be the frequent killings of women and whom actually did it, photos of women in disparaging positions and a corrupt police force, it is hard to know whom.to trust. They are good people with pure intentions and hearts but then there is Vaughn who undermines all. This caused Hailey to run and Beth to encounter terrible physical suffering. Well written and physiological intriguing.

I will always be eager to read a Chevy book, and I have been not so patiently waiting for this one. I’m here to tell you: it is worth the wait! Sure, I can’t walk my dog in my very well populated, residential neighborhood without instantly transporting myself to a logging road in Cold Creek, but that’s a small price to pay. I truly wish I had Wolf along with me because he is the unsung hero of it all.

Dark Road is eerie and frightening. The characters are well-developed and you really get the sense that you know who they are and you really get a feel for Cold Creek. I had an idea of where this one was going but knowing that Chevy was behind it, I knew I’d be wrong. She really takes us along for a ride with this one!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, and a special thanks to Chevy Stevens for sharing her twisted thoughts with us! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the story!! It kept me guessing until the very end. I loved Hailey, Jonny, Beth, and Amber. Hailey was definitely my favorite. I love a strong female character in a thriller!
The only think I would change is how one paragraph would end and the next would be starting a few days later without warning. Maybe there should have been more chapter breaks or at least some kind of warning that time has elapsed from one sentence to the next. It took a minutes to figure out that the book had moved on from the last "scene'.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of twist and turns and just when you thought you had it figured out, BAM, a new twist.

It starts out with 17 year old Hailey losing her dad in a car accident and having to live with her Aunt, her husband, Vaughn, and their small child. She never felt welcome and Vaughn, gave her the creeps. The town of Cold Creek has had an issue with a serial killer and young women being killed along the highway. When Hailey decide to run away, she lets people think the killer got her.

When Beth, whose sister was killed by the killer comes to town to try to find out who killed her sister, she gets more than she bargained for. Who was the killer and will he kill again?

I received a copy of this ARC from #netgalley,thank you. I thoroughly enjoy this book. I have read all of Chevy Steven's novels and have loved them all. Being a Canadian, I have heard the stories of women found murdered along a highway in BC, it is a horrifying thing and makes ones heart break. This story does the same and is a thrilling mystery. It is very well written and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read several books b Chevy Stevens. Each one has kept me on the edge of my seat and I devour the novel within a day or two. I went into Dark Roads with the expectation for the same. At about 20% in, the book just fell apart for me. All of a sudden, it felt like I was reading a YA novel, and I cannot stand YA. Also, the role that the main character took on, trying to face off with her aunt's "big bad cop" was just unbelievable and a bit silly. I cannot stand books where there is a teenager playing detective. I was so annoyed with the characters in this book and I just cannot recommend it to any of my reading buddies. Such a disappointment.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC
Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens was a very good, tense, murder mystery/thriller. There were so many times I was on the edge of my seat while reading this!!!

Girls and woman have been going missing from Cold Creek Highway for decades.

When Hailey unexpectedly loses her father, and had to move in with her aunt and her aunt's overbearing and abusive cop husband, Vaughn, she thinks the highway might be the perfect way to get out of the bad situation at home. Amber is new to town and she and Hailey instantly connect, but when Amber is found murdered it's her sister, Beth, who comes looking for answers.

It's a bit difficult to write this review without giving anything away but I'm gonna do my darnedest! There were quite a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming and wasn't sure where the author was taking us. I really enjoyed the story and couldn't wait to get into bed and read it each night! Very suspenseful and exciting!!
I applaud Stevens for (although fictionally) bringing attention to the crimes that disproportionately affect Native women, and the Highway of Tears. My only complaint (and maybe this will be fixed before the book is actually released 🤞) is the transitions we're terrible! One minute Hailey and Jonny would be at his garage and then the next sentence they were at the lake. So many of these instances throughout the book, where it felt like the author should've started a new paragraph. Again, I'm hoping that's fixed before wide release because it was very distracting and made it a bit difficult to keep the flow of the story going. Other than that, I really loved this book!

.

This story didn’t grab me right away, and right as I was getting into it (at around 40%) there is a major narrator switch to a new character. I understand why this had to happen, but personally, it made me put the book down for the night. Plus, I feel like the novel sort of centers around a romance that wasn’t.. even.. a romance. If you can call meeting at the lake and kissing once a romance, then sure. I also think some events were a bit unrealistic. For example, Hailey runs away yet stays in the same town in a cabin... and no one finds her for over a year. Yet, Beth goes wondering aimlessly in the woods and happens upon her. Not likely. Beth also may be the most accident prone character I've read about. Every time she went in the woods, I thought, here we go again! This book also has the alcoholic, pill popping female lead which is overdone in my opinion. Can we please normalize emotionally and mentally healthy females in thrillers?

With that said, the last 30% or so is nail biting and suspenseful. I didn’t see the ending coming so that’s a plus. In the end, Wolf, who is a dog, is the sole reason you should read this book as he’s the best and smartest character in the whole thing. Overall, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. This was my first book from Chevy Stevens and I'd like to explore more from this author. Would still recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Wow, this kept me up reading steadily until after midnight. I had to know if the bad guy was going to get caught and stopped. Surprise twist at the end. I rarely read a book in one day, but I did it yesterday. It had me from the first page. I planned to just read the first chapter for a preview and get back to my other responsibilities and read the whole book later. I couldn't do it. After several chapters I just gave up and got comfortable on the couch and dived it. As I said, it was 12:30 when I turned the last page.

In addition to keeping me captivated I learned a lot. I knew nothing about dirt bikes or how much of an asshole at home a cop can be. I hope that not all police officers are as much of a jerk as this cop was AND there was a good-guy cop to balance it out.

In the end I think justice was served, unfortunately some lives were lost. The book was modeled after some real life happenings on some similar locations although they were fictionalized locations in the book.

I recommend this book if you like thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat.

Dark, twisty, psychological...what more could you ask for from Chevy Stevens?! This may very well be her best novel yet. Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this title.

Recently, I have been reading a lot of true crime fiction based on numerous notorious true crime stories. This story is based on Highway of Tears in Canada where Indigenous women were murdered or went missing. In this small US town, girls started to go missing. Soon, police was able to find a body. Nothing was going to be the same after that point...

Hailey lost her father and her aunt decided to give her a home. Hailey's uncle was a senior officer in the police force; however, this fact was not making her trust him more. There was something off about him that gave Hailey creeps, but she couldn't put her finger on it until she broke into his office. She found the most damning evidence, but how can you call police on police?

Hailey's friend Amber was also gone missing. She could not let this thing go longer. She decided to do one thing that all of us would do when there is no justice and no one to go to: take matter into her own hands. She devised a plan to catch creepy uncle on the job. But I doubt she could not imagine what she would recover during the process... When system fails to protect women, women protect one another.

When I received an ARC of this book I was really excited because this is one of my favorite authors. So I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley. (this did not impact my review).

In many ways, this felt a little different for a Chevy Stevens book. Usually there is one character that I really identify with. In this case, I really liked both main characters - really all 3, but I didn't feel that emotional connection.

This is almost 2 books. Just when I am really getting into Amb's story, it's now years later and we have Beth. I truly enjoyed both stories and how they merged together though. I just kept turning page after page - I had to know what happened next!

So far - the record stands. Chevy Stevens has not let me down yet.

I loved this book! I have heard so many wonderful things about Chevy Steven’s books, I was worried that it was too hyped up at first, but Steven’s delivered for sure! I devoured this book over the weekend. Thankyou so much Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Gah! I devoured this book in about 36 hours. And now I’m mad at myself. I didn’t want it to end but needed to know what happened.

I am so thankful to NetGalley for this advanced readers copy. When I saw I got this one I did a happy dance! I have been waiting for Chevy Stevens to write another book. It’s been far too long.

Dark Roads - when I read the premise of the book I truly thought this was going to be a serial killer hunting the long stretch of road. But this story was far more than I bargained for. Just reading the prologue sucked me in immediately.

Main character Hailey just lost her dad in a car accident and being only 17 is sent to live with her aunt, and her aunts husband who happens to be a police officer. Some strange things begin to happen and she ends up running away into the woods.

Meet Beth who comes to Cold Creek to find out more about her sister who was killed here.

There are many layers to these characters and also the plot. I did not guess the killer until the end when it was revealed. But this book is about much more than a serial killer. It exposes plenty of sickness in the small town.

I thought this book was suspenseful, and couldn’t put it down.

Best character in the book - Wolf the dog!

Easily a 5 star read. And Ms. Stevens please don’t make me wait so long for your next novel!

First off, I LOVE every single one of Chevy Stevens books, so I went in with high expectations and I was not disappointed.

This book was told from two POV, both strong, resilient woman who take no crap from no one and were inspiring all around. I read this book in 2.5 days and when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it. It had the twists, the darkness and the depth that I look forward to in a Chevy book. The story was realistic, and I didn’t feel there were any plot holes. I like there was no extra details where wasn’t necessary and made for a quick, enjoyable read. It will be a hit come August and I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.

5/5- ⭐️

My only real dislike, I didn’t love the epilogue. I think the book was finished and didn’t need the little extra at the end.

I'm a big fan of Chevy Stevens and I feel like it's been forever since she released a new book, so I was pumped when I saw this was coming out. I was hooked at the beginning but I felt like the middle got a little slow for me. I was surprised by the reveal of the culprit, so kudos there because I did not see that one coming. Not my favorite of hers but still good!