I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I thought it was going to be much more of an exploitation of a serial killer terrorizing a town, it read more YA. I thought the uncle was so uncomfortable to read and I never really understood why he was as bad as he was- like I wanted more backstory. The three parts felt a bit disjointed, and although I appreciated the ending, the book dragged overall.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Chevy Stevens is one of my must-read authors…whenever she has a book coming out, I add it to the list of books I know I am going to be reading at some point. I just love her books and this one was no exception. They are equal blends of emotional and chilling, suspenseful and at times disturbing reads, and keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

This story immediately grabbed me and never once let go. It plays on just about every emotion and I was completely engaged start to finish. As disturbing and gritty as this one gets, I was all in and I loved that I for sure knew where who it was the entire time only to be completely blindsided when it was finally revealed!

Inspired by the true story of The Highway of Tears Murders in Canada where girls have gone missing for years, this book is so haunting and riveting. The characters have such depth and really come alive on the pages. It was quite easy to fall in love with and root for many of them, though definitely not all of them – I’m talking about you, Vaughn! They were all realistic and flawed, making them relatable in many ways.

This book is twisty and dark, and the setting is incredibly atmospheric, giving off major eerie, and at times spooky, vibes, which lends to the overall tension of the story. If you like deliciously creepy, suspenseful reads, this is definitely one to pick up!


Audio thoughts: I love listening to Chevy Stevens’ books – they engage you right from the start and keep you hooked all the way through. The narrators in this book, Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley, and Isabella Star LaBlanc were great. They all worked together to bring this book to life, voicing their parts effectively, all infusing just the right amount of emotion and tension into their voices as needed.

And let me tell you – listening to Chevy Stevens’ books on audio is in fact like when you are reading those books with very short chapters…in this case it becomes an instance of “I’ll just listen for a few more minutes” because you just cannot pull yourself away. I find myself flying through her books in the course of a day because I simply cannot walk away – I just become so absorbed in them and just need to keep listening!

Wow, Wow, Wow!! This may be the best book I've read so far this year. I've enjoyed all of Chevy Stevens books and was so excited to have been approved for this ARC. I reserve 5 stars for books that I consider favorites. I know I will read this again, even knowing the ending.

It is a beautifully written story that I didn't want to put down and also didn't want to finish too fast. I know Hailey and Beth with be sticking around with me for a while. I highly recommend it and definitely think it should be made into a movie or something. It's just that good!

I loved this book! I have never read anything by Chevy Steven's before and I really enjoyed listening to
It. The sorry was strange but I liked listening to the narrator.

WOW! This one left me spinning. It takes place in British Columbia and it sounds pretty rural where there have been several unsolved missing young women cases on a remote section of highway. That in itself is a reminder to never hitchhike but still...What this story revolves around is Hailey, a girl who has lost her dad and is living with her aunt and family and subjected to Vaughn, the local police officer and her aunt's husband who is controlling and slimy at best and dirty in all ways. He has taken away all her freedoms and when Hailey discovers naked pictures on his computer of her and others she knows she has to go and now. She walks into the woods and disappears and when her bike and cellphone are discovered it is thought she is one of the victims. So many twists and turns and I didn't even have a clue who the real killer was until the end. This one was so good and I did read a print version and also the audio and loved both versions! The narrators of the audiobook were superb!

Set in British Columbia’s wilderness, Cold Creek Highway is a long and desolate road known for the disappearance or death of many young women. Haily McBride’s father was recently killed in an automobile accident and she has been sent to live with her aunt and her policeman husband, Vaughn. Haily’s dad had trained her to be self-sufficient and the woods was her second home. Vaughn is mentally abusive to Hailey and when she finds some disturbing information on his computer, she decides to disappear. While gone, she finds the body of her friend, Amber, and thus begins the struggle to find and expose the murderer. Add Beth, Amber’s sister, to the equation, who comes from Vancouver on the anniversary of her death and finds herself mixed into the search for the killer. There are plenty of action scenes, but I felt most of them were stretched out. And the ending had a surprise or two. I was approved for both the e-book and audiobook versions of this ARC and chose the latter. I don’t feel like I lost anything by listening to the book, especially since the narration was quite good. That being said, having read several other books by Stevens, this was not her best. At the beginning, I just wondered where this story was going, and the ending was somewhat predictable. The author’s note at the end does say that the story is based on a remote highway in northern Canada known as the Highway of Tears where many women have really disappeared. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley/MacMillan Audio for the ARC of this book.

PS: After I wrote this review, I looked at other reviews and find that I am definitely in the minority - all 4 and 5 star reviews. So let’s just write this one off as not my cup of tea - if you like Chevy Stevens’ books, maybe you should give it a try.

Dark Roads is my first Chevy Steven's novel, but it will not be my last. I have already added her debut novel, Still Missing, to my TO BE READ pile. Dark Roads kept me glued to my headphones (I listened to the audiobook) and thinking about the story for days after finishing the book.

In Dark Roads, we begin by learning about the dark history of missing girls and a warning about the dangers of Cold Creek Highway. Most of the missing/dead victims were hitchhiking or alone on the highway. A local teenager starts to do her own investigation based on some suspicious behavior from her Uncle. What she finds leaves her feeling more alone and troubled with only one friend to turn to. Dark Roads follows her journey and the mystery of the victims of Cold Creek Highway.

Dark Roads is a book driven by plot and, in many ways, is a coming-of-age story for its young adult characters. It's rare to see deep character development in a thriller, and I loved spending time with the book's characters.

I loved listening to Dark Roads on audio. The narration was terrific and kept me engaged with the story. My mind did not wander when this book was playing in my ears.

Thank you Net Gallary and MacMillian Audio for the ARC.

3 twisted stars

The powerful prologue grabbed and mesmerized me. I was excited about reading further. From the publisher, “Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why.”

My favorite character was Wolf, the magic dog. Easily trained, he both warned and saved Hailey and Beth. The action becomes more far-fetched toward the end. Beth, with no outdoor survival skills, hikes up the mountain while injured…. And more over the top action and drama.

The tone is creepy and threatening from police officer Vaughn whom 17-year-old Hailey is forced to live with after her dad dies in an accident. Stevens’ descriptions set you in the forest or in the small-town diner. The action keeps building. Romance enters the mystery. It is a tiny bit of a stretch, because characters are so attractive. “Now he was pulling on his jeans tugging them up his long muscled legs.” The killer reveal caught me completely by surprise.

I would have rated this mystery a solid 4 stars if it had not been for the graphic torture of a naked woman. The kidnapping could have been handled with a bit of sensitivity. It kept me awake at night. Publishers need to include a warning like podcasts, TV shows and movies. I expect ‘some blood and violence’ in mysteries. I just don’t expect twisted cruelty against both women and men. I would not have chosen this book if I had known.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The narrators were easy to listen to and understand, even at a faster speed.

Dark Roads is an action packed YA thriller loosely based on the horrific crimes of The Highway of Tears – a 725-kilometer corridor of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in BC, Canada where many predominantly indigenous women and girls have been murdered and abducted over the span of several decades.

The story takes place in a small town of Cold Creek. Girls have been disappearing along the stretch of Cold Creek Highway for decades, but the killer is still on the loose. Some of the victims were found brutally murdered, others vanished never to be seen again. When 17-year-old Hailey McBride disappears shortly after her father’s tragic death everyone assumes that she has fallen prey to the highway killer. But things are not what they look like – Hailey has left her aunt’s home voluntarily and chose to live in a small hunter’s cabin on the mountain, surviving in the wilderness all by herself (except for her loyal dog, Wolf 🐺), in order to avoid her police officer uncle, whom the local teens call “The Ice Man”.

21-year-old Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek one year after her 18-year-old sister Amber has been found brutally murdered. Beth was on her way to become a lawyer when it all happened. She has not been herself ever since. Not being able to overcome the trauma of losing her little sister, Beth came to Cold Creek in hopes of getting some closure. She took a job waitressing at the same diner as Amber did. In her spare time Beth is trying to lessen the pain with the help of alcohol and pills. When she is trying to find out more about the circumstances surrounding Amber’s murder it is clear that someone (or possibly several people) does not want her asking too many questions.

Will either Hailey or Beth figure out who the highway killer is? Or will they follow Amber’s suit?

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this audiobook! It was a very entertaining, atmospheric experience perfectly delivered by all three narrators: Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley, Isabella Star LaBlanc. Here is a little more in depth things I liked and did not like about Dark Roads:

Things I liked:

1. Action packed and entertaining! Everything you’d expect from YA thriller really….

2. The fact that it put The Highway of Tears on my radar (I knew NOTHING about it prior to listening to this book)

3. FIERCE female protagonists

4. Very atmospheric. Loved all the description of the nature, and living in the wild

5. LGBTQ representation and normalization

6. The bond between Hailey and Johnny, AND between Hailey and Wolf 🐺😍

Things I questioned….

1. If the author wanted to bring attention to the fact that most of The Highway of Tears victims are First Nations women it is not clear to me why she chose to make the two female protagonists white? Perhaps they are not and I misunderstood?! If that’s the case please correct me.

2. The mystical realism in the prolog and epilog seemed odd, did not integrate well with the rest of the book, and in my opinion, did not contribute much to the story.

3. Beth and Hailey excluded, all other protagonists are one dimensional to a tee: either good or bad. There is a bad cop and a good cop etc. etc…

4. I found the action scenes very entertaining but unrealistic. Given how, you know, we have two teenage girls fighting grown ass big men here.

5. After learning more about The Highway of Tears, I clearly saw that there was no one serial killer to blame. It’s more like every jerk out there felt like he could go and do whatever the f he wanted to those helpless women because there were NO repercussions. I feel like the novel did not convey that fact very well (if indeed that was what the author wanted to convey).

6. The whole “serial killer” part of the story is just full of plot holes. More on that below but be warned that there are spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Rating: 🐺🐺🐺.5

More things I did not like (SPOILERS AHEAD):

1. Now… what are the chances that the proper serial killer will blackmail the cop, and will risk being exposed and caught, for some …kiddie photos? This is silly and entirely implausible. Vaughn would have ended him. I mean who would even believe a serial killer who is trying to say bad things about a cop?!

2. The serial killer would not kill the person who works for him, employed in his own business….twice in a row! Unless he has a very low IQ. Which he did not, right? I mean…he has not been caught for decades…

3. What. Was. Up with Lana? Was she just really…ehh not very smart? I mean her 17 y.o. niece asked where all the money was coming from, but she was like…oh nice, another vacation!! Yay cop’s salary! (?!)

Thank you NetGalley , the author, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me this ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Chevy Stevens's book almost always end up on my TBR. I've only read one other before this, but it was a 5 star read for me and all of her books just sound so interesting to me. I was really happy to receive a copy of this book prior to publication.

I have to admit that this book was difficult for me to read in parts, which is not typical for me. I read a lot in the genre and can tolerate some pretty unsavory things, but this this one just hit a couple of my buttons. I honestly wasn't 100% certain I was going to finish it from the beginning. I struggled with the situation our main character found herself in and it made me really uncomfortable. I can't explain why without giving away some of the plot line, so I will just say that I found a trigger I didn't even know I had.

Once that first 30% or so was over I was able to become more absorbed in the story. It was an interesting story and kept you guessing regarding the motives of a couple of the characters. Stevens has good writing style and the dialogue was believable. The main characters had emotional layers, which was nice. They didn't make all of the best decisions, but you could believe their reasoning.

I liked the way the story played out and will look for more of Stevens's work in the future.

I was fortunate enough to receive an audio copy in addition to an ebook. The story was narrated by Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley and Isabella Star LaBlanc. They all did an excellent job and made their characters come to life.

Great narrators in this audiobook, they captured the female voices really well. Story had a lot of infuriating moments, in a good way, and I love that the story sprung from the real life Highway of Tears, drawing attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Mystery was solid.

I have been a fan of Chevy Steven's books in the past and I was thrilled to try this one out as well. I am happy to say I loved it! It had me riveted and I sped through it to find out what happened to Hailey. She is such a wonderful heroine and I loved her ability to take care of herself and her dog, Wolf. Beth proved to be an admirable co-protagonist as well, although I expected her to be much weaker than she was! Those who are sensitive to violence may not like this book, and my concern about the dog had me sobbing at one point. This book also contains voyeurism.

Unfortunately, I did not listen to much of the book on audio, as I had the ebook as well. The net galley audio app is not functional and echos when played at higher speeds.

Holy cow Chevy Stevens has done it again,  this book was everything I hoped for and more. If you love a twisty, bingeable fast paced suspenseful read this is one you need to pick up.  It's also a coming of age story of love,  heart and loss.  Stevens has a wonderful way of weaving a story that it feels so real that you are right there feeling everything along with all the characters. 
I loved how Chevy got her idea from the hoghway of tears and other crimes that have lingered in her mind She took this and created a beautiful story yet made it into fiction or of respect for the victims,  family and rcmp.

Wow! Chevy Stephens does it again with Dark Roads. Unlike other prominent thriller authors, Chevy Stephens does not have a formula - each book is a wonder. Dark Roads is perfectly paced, red herrings well placed, and a cast well developed. The narrator was an excellent choice.

5 stars! Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens. Narrated by Angela Dawe; Brittany Pressley; Isabella Star LaBlanc.
Dark Roads is a great thriller with lots of bad men doing bad things. Lots of twists and great characters, especially Wolf the dog. Highly recommended! The narration of the story was great and highlighted the emotions of what was happening to each woman.

Thank you to the MacMillan Audio and net galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

For many years, girls have gone missing along a strip of highway in a small town. This book is so gripping right from the prologue. Told from 3 different pov (1 per chapter) you try to figure out who is killing these girls. And will they stop them? Is one of the main characters next?

I really enjoyed this book. The author was inspired to bring light to this real issue (even though the book is completely fictional and not about the real missing/dead) of unsolved cases of missing/murdered indigenous women in a small town in Canada.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
This book took me a little while to get into, but once I did I was intrigued as to what exactly was happening. It is divided into three parts--The first features Hailey, a seventeen-year-old girl whose father recently passed away and who is living with her aunt, creepy policeman uncle Vaughn, and cute adorable young cousin. Vaughn is awful and wants to control Hailey's every action. Supposedly because there has been a killer preying on young women along the highway outside of town for many years and Vaughn wants to keep her safe. Yet there's more behind his actions and reactions. The second features Hailey after she has run away from home to live off the grid until she turns eighteen and can get away. The third features Beth, a lawyer who moves to town after her sister Amber (who was also Hailey's girlfriend) is murdered along the highway. As these stories intersect, we get more information on the different people in town and their vendettas against each other.

As a whole, I did like this book and was intrigued throughout. I thought the ultimate resolution was a bit obvious, but it didn't really matter to me. The way the author crafted the plot was incredibly atmospheric, and to find out in the author's note that this highway (in real life it is known as the Highway of Tears) is actually real and multiple indigenous women have been killed there over the years is sobering. As Stevens' books are kind of hit or miss for me, I was glad to have one that I can put into the "hit" category.

I listened to part of this as an audiobook and part I read in print. The narrators for the various points of view are wonderful and kept me very focused on the story. Listening to the beginning parts with Hailey living with Vaughn gave me a knot in my stomach wanting her to get away from him. The narration was almost too believable!

This novel felt like it was four novellas in one with their own style, genre and plot.

The first portion follows Hailey as she grieves her dead father and tries to adjust to life with her aunt and her step-uncle, Vaughn. Vaughn is a cop who is very aggressive, creepy and controlling. Hailey discovers some secrets about him that cause her to run away. I enjoyed this portion of the novel the best as it actually had me on my seat in suspense. I loved the atmosphere, the characters and the mystery surrounding the missing girls and Vaughn. I also thought Hailey’s grief was realistic and heart wrenching.

The second portion follows Hailey as she lives alone in the wilderness. This portion felt really out of place for a psychological thriller and would be better labeled as a survivalist tale. I lost almost all interest in the novel at this point as I wasn’t invested in Hailey or her struggles. I’m not interested to hear about Hailey’s tales in making Fire or Hailey’s adventures in cleaning a cabin.

The third part contains a new character, Beth. Beth is a murder victims sister and she comes to Cold Creek to grieve for Amber (her dead sister) and find out what truly happened. At this point in the novel I wasn’t invested in the novel anymore, no matter how hard I tried. I also didn’t like her, I know this sounds callous but we already had one grieving female young adult I wasn’t interested in another one.

The last part was the conclusion where all the pieces come together and the murderer is caught. The serial killer came out of the blue with no clues to be had about who it was. This did make a lot of sense though and I really liked how it was done.

Overall this was a disappointing mystery/thriller novel. I seem to be out of the majority though. Great audiobook with great voice actors, I would suggest this version to anyone interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

📖 Story:
Dark Roads is a heavy, intense slow-burn mystery about a stretch of highway where many young women have went missing. Their cases continue to be unsolved. Hailey, a troubled teenager, has run away from home and it is rumored she was taken by the highway killer. Beth, the sister of a murder victim, comes to town searching for answers and threatens to expose Hailey’s “disappearance”.

This is a dark and heavy read with very well-crafted characters. Although I wish the pacing was a bit quicker, I was invested in the mystery. The author excels at ratcheting up the tension in the third act and nailed the ending.

🎧 Narration:
I love multiple narrators and this book featured two of my favorites - Brittany Pressley and Angela Dawe. Both were the reason I wanted to pick up this audiobook and they were excellent. They each captured the main characters and made it very easy to listen even when the story was very dark. There was an echo in the audiobook which made it difficult to hear at times, but that is due to the program I was listening on and will not be in the finished copy.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Narration was quite well done. If not for the audio I would have dnf’d. I found it quite haunting and intoxicating at times.

As for the story?…it dragged on and on and that epilogue, yikes. The whole thing felt very predictable.

I do appreciate that the author based this on a real highway that is haunted by murders. Great setting but mediocre story.