Member Reviews
Wow - this was a fantastic psychological thriller and I was so enthralled and could not put this one down..
Suspenseful and surprising - you will stay up late reading this novel.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for fair and honest review.
Dark Roads is a great read .
I love stories about sisters and this is a fantastic story . Thrilling and twisty I really enjoy the characters and plot .
A tale of three women.two are sisters , one a rebel. Young women have been disappearing along the roads here, or so the story opens. A sister haunted by a sisters death returns to the town that was her last stop. Amber , free spirited and open to the world haunts Hailey , her only friend in a town small and talkative. Beth comes in search of answers not only of Amber’s death but the direction of her life. Little does she know her arrival will signal a betrayal so unlikely it will shake this small town to its core.
"Dark Roads" is well written and suspenseful. I am not a fan of gory reads, and there was plenty of that in this book, but it was easy enough to lightly read those sections and still get the full story. I liked the atmospheric writing of this novel and can see it making a great mini-series or movie. "Dark Roads" was fast paced and kept my interest.
I read my first book by Chevy Stevens about 2 years ago, and have loved every book by her since then. This book was no exception. I loved that the story was loosely based off a real life location. I loved the multiple points of view. I didn't guess the ending, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when that happens. I found myself hardcore rooting for the girls to survive the very real monster they were facing.
I can't say enough good things about this book and the author herself. If you like gritty and suspenseful novels, this will no doubt be right up your alley.
Read all about it: the hype about Chevy Stevens is real. Stevens is gifted at weaving a story that draws you in. She is an expert at crafting unsettling narratives.
This story takes place in and around Cold Creek Highway, which stretches approximately 500 mile through British Columbia, Canada. It is as isolated, as it is beautiful. And for decades, women travelling the highway have been going missing and many, have turned up dead. No one has ever been caught, let alone convicted of the crimes.
Hailey McBride’s, who calls Cold Creek home, father is killed in a motor vehicle accident. Her mother died years before. Hailey is sent to live with her Aunt as an orphan. As she is coming out from under her cloud of grief, she struggles with her aunt’s husband; a police officer who uses his badge to bully and intimidate others, including Hailey. When she can’t take it any longer, Hailey takes off into the local mountains, hoping everyone assumes she left town.
But given the history of the area, rumors swirl that she was taken by the highway killer.. Hailey’s mountain escape becomes a game of rugged game of cat and mouse, as she becomes an unexpected heroine.
Dark Roads had that gritty feel that I crave in a thriller, but in the same vein as Winter Counts, it was way more than that. Throughout the book, there are very real facts regarding the disproportionate amount of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Numbers that if white women, the epidemic would be splashed across the nightly news. Yet, we hear little to nothing. It's gross.
These are the books that we need to be reading. Books do not have to be non-fiction to teach.
People have been taught through story for generations. I love when I put down a book and I have a new fact or my attention has to be drawn to something that we all should be paying attention to.
This book was released into the wild on August 3, 2021. If you align with my thriller taste, this one is definitely worth a read.
Another Incredible Chevy Steven’s book. This was a quick read I absolutely loved the characters and storyline. Women along the trail of tears highway are disappearing AND found murdered what a wonderful story can’t wait for the next book
4.5/5
Dark Roads is my first time reading Chevy Stevens even though I have a TON of her books sitting on my shelf, and I have no idea what I was waiting for! There is a distinct YA feel to this novel due to Hailey's age, but I love YA so that in no way bothered me. I felt like there was almost nonstop action the entire time, and I was gripped from the very beginning. I actually stayed up until 2 AM listening to the audiobook because I didn't want to put it down, although I did have to in order to go to sleep. I finished right away the next morning though and I don't know if I ever would have guessed how this was going to end. One of the standout parts was definitely Wolf the dog, and I loved him more and more as the book goes on. The novel is broken up into 3 parts and the end of part 1 had me dying to know what was going on. I thought Stevens did an excellent job of keeping the tension high throughout and I was on the edge of my seat multiple times.
I also really loved the audiobook, which is narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc, Angela Dawe & Brittany Pressley. I know I have said this many times, but I adore Brittany Pressley and it was a huge bonus to have her be a large part of the narration for the audio. There are a few slower parts that the audio really helps with, but the best part of it was really that LaBlanc, Dawe & Pressley were excellent choices for the characters. They brought everything to life for me and somehow managed to make the Cold Creek Highway even creepier than it sounded in the synopsis. I loved many of the characters, but Hailey's uncle really got under my skin. Stevens wrote him in such a way that he felt entirely real and terrifying even though he is just a character in the novel. Dark Roads was tense, volatile, and entirely spellbinding, and even though I was already buying this author's books, I will definitely continue to do so.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook and NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the eARC.
This book was very underwhelming. I was intrigued at the start, but then it got real slow. It picked up in the last 10% or so, but just wasn’t exciting overall. I liked the multiple points of view telling the story, but just didn’t feel like there were many twists/turns to keep my interest. The relationships formed seemed super rushed and not authentic. It was atmospheric and there were some unlikeable/unreliable characters that I did appreciate but this one just didn’t do much for me overall.
I like the parts of this I listened to. I enjoy Brittany Pressley’s narration and was happy with the other narrators as well. I would recommend the audio version if you choose to read this one!
Chevy Stevens does it again in her new thriller. Dark Roads. Hailey's mother passed away when she was little and she finds herself orphaned at seventeen when her father has a truck accident. She ends up staying with her Aunt Lana, Uncle Vaughn, and six-year-old cousin Cash. There are dark roads where women disappear in the town Hailey comes from and Vaughn always seems to be watching Hailey wherever she goes. Vaughn soon shows his true colors and as the Sergeant of the local police department, he uses his power to get what he wants. Hailey knows Vaughn must be a corrupt cop and wants to prove it. When she finds some incriminating evidence on Vaughn's laptop with the help of her childhood friend Jonny, she knows she has to get out of there. Dark Roads is a fast-paced thriller filled with action and brilliant characters. The characters are very real and come to life on the page as they find themselves in danger on several occasions. This is a must-read for fans of the author. A real page-turner.
As a huge Chevy Stevens fan, I can safely say that Dark Roads is one of her best novels to date. Its basis in the real-life murder mysteries within a section of highway in British Columbia gives the story an added layer of legitimacy. Dark, disturbing, and more visceral than her previous novels, Ms. Stevens keeps you guessing until the very end. The characters' pain is all too real, as is their frustration regarding those who are abusing their power. In part an ode to those who lost their lives on that deadly highway and in part a timely #metoo story, I believe Dark Roads solidifies Ms. Stevens' ability to write stellar thrillers.
Dark Roads is a slow-burning thriller set in a small town called Cold Creek in British Columbia. For years, young women have mysteriously disappeared while traveling along the highway, but the local police force has never found a killer or an abductor. While young Hailey is forced to run away from her home to escape from her abusive uncle, lawyer-in-training Beth finds her life altered forever when the next victim of the Cold Creek highway is found.
While I really enjoyed the premise, the story development, there were some parts of it that felt too long and distracting to me. If the book was edited down, I would have really enjoyed it more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.
The Cold Creek Highway is well known to locals where you shouldn't hitchhike because too many girls have turned up missing. Hailey McBride, a newly orphan at 17, is living with her aunt, Lana, her aunt's young son, Cash, and her new husband, Vaughn, who is a police officer, pretending to have Hailey's best interests at heart but is more of a bully. Vaughn places restrictions upon restrictions upon Hailey. Teens have an intense dislike of Vaughn and have dubbed him the Iceman.
Hailey's best friend is Jonny Miller, whom she's been friends with since a child. Jonny races dirt bikes and both are good at fixing them but steal parts when their bikes require fixing. This puts Jonny on Vaughn's radar.
Hailey meets Amber Chevalier, who works at the diner, and the two become close only for Hailey to be informed by Vaughn that he was spying on her and didn't like what he saw. Hailey has lost all privileges. Hailey believes Vaughn is cheating on Lana and sets out to provide proof and with the help of Jonny, Hailey uncovers a secret she didn't expect. Hailey knows she needs to get away and enlists Jonny's help.
A call comes in about a body, which turns out to be Amber's which brings her sister, Beth, to make a trip to Cold Creek seeking answers. Beth gets a job at the same diner that Amber worked at. Trying to stretch her money, Beth moves to the campground by the lake to sleep out of her car where she gets acquainted with Jonny. It's not long before Vaughn takes an interest in Beth, and Beth uncovers another secret.
I liked how Hailey was self-sufficient because of her father, and Vaughn was creepy. In the beginning, I knew the narrator was a spirit and pulled me into the story wanting to know what had happened. This is a terrific thriller with a few twists that left me shocked with the ending that I did not guess.
I requested & received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.
Chevy Stevens sure knows how to write a dark and twisty tale. I LOVED that this book took place in Canada, even if the premise was terrifying and a hard pill to swallow because of the content. While I usually enjoy dual POV novels, it lost me a little bit when it first switched over to Beth's POV. I was very invested in Hailey's life and her POV, but I wasn't a huge fan of Beth at first. I couldn't have predicted any of what happened throughout this. I thought I had it all figured out, but realized that would have been too obvious, however that pleased me to not have seen any of the twists coming.
Please note there is a lot of trigger warnings here - missing women, torture, sexual torture and injured animals.
A must read! This is my favorite thriller I’ve read in 2021 😍Influenced by real life events that connect the Dark Roads storyline to The Highway of Tears In British Colombia that occurred throughout the 1970s. This novel jumps right into the mystery from the first page and you won’t be able to put it down as Chevy Stevens takes you through a dark twisty storyline of survival, courage, and trust. You will not be able to guess who the killer is throughout the whole novel, as the ending had me completely surprised.
Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an early readers’ copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a pretty fast paced thriller that follows the lives of Hailey and Beth and their troubles with a psycho serial killer. The two main female characters are beyond awesome. I loved how strong they were, especially Hailey. The sheriff is one of those characters that you just hate and is the perfect bad guy. There was enough action to keep me on the edge of my seat.
I feel exhausted after reading this book, but in a good way. There is tons of action and loads of suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I love that it is a great fictional tale but loosely based on true events. My recommendation...buckle up, hang on and enjoy the ride.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.
This was a terrific fictionalized account of the tragedies that occurred on Highway 16 - The Highway of Tears - in British Columbia. Over the years, many young girls were murdered or missing while hitchhiking or driving along this desolate route. The author pays tribute to these women and provides a thrilling novel at the same time.
Interesting characters, great descriptions of locale, and plenty of suspense. What's not to like?! The writing is excellent and it's interesting how the narrative switches between characters - leaving cliffhangers along the way.
One character seemed like the obvious choice to be the 'bad guy' - - too obvious? Read the book and find out. Shocking twist at the end!
My favorite character was Wolf, the dog!!
I wasn't really a fan of "Dark Roads." The characters and plot just didn't connect with me, so I found it sort of difficult to make it all the way through to the end.