I wanted to like this book, but sadly I could not. Two main problems: the pace was too slow, and the characters were under-developed.

Secondly, I really like this narrator but I've now listened to her in so many thrilled audiobooks with female protagonists and male companions that the characters are starting to blur together for me.

She did. it again I absolutely love this author and all her books and this one is no different she has you looking one direction so convincingly you don't see anything else. She keeps you guessing and thinking the whole time! I love it! Another must read!

Dark Road by Chevy Stevens
Pub date Aug 3, 2021 by St. Martin's Press, Macmillian Audio

Do you know that feeling, when you stumble across that rare author that you've never read before, who is writing thrillers as dark and twisty as your black little heart wants them to be? I'm having that feeling right now about Chevy Stevens. This was the first book I've read of hers, but it definitely won't be the last. I'm hooked and I want more.

The Cold Creek Highway stretches for nearly 500 rugged and isolated miles through British Columbia. It's known as a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling this road have gone missing - motorists and hitchhikers, residents and travelers alike. And no killer or abductor has ever been brought to justice for these crimes. Hailey McBride is a lifelong resident of Cold Creek who was raised by her father as a survivalist. On frequent camping trips we him, she learned to know and love the land, how to respect the wilderness and live off it if necessary. After she tragically loses her father, Hailey is a teen orphan who is forced to move in with an aunt whose overbearing police officer husband is notorious in the area for using his badge to bully and intimidate. He wants to dominate Hailey's every move and forbids her from working or socializing. Hailey is suspicious of his motives and is afraid to continue living under his thumb. She vanishes into the wilderness, hoping everyone will believe she's run away. Rumors spread that she has become yet another victim of the highway killer.

This book was fast paced with tons of action and lots of twists and turns. The POV alternated between several narrators to keep propelling the story forward. I was thinking the plot was headed in one direction, when suddenly everything flipped to start racing in a different direction. The plotting was tight and intense. There were villains that were terrifying and made my skin crawl, and no one was above suspicion. I loved the capability of the independent female characters - they were willing and able to take care of themselves. All the victim-blaming that the female characters experienced felt very real.

The premise of this story is a huge issue in Canada and important topic to tackle. It was inspired by the true story of the Highway of Tears murders. Hundreds of indigenous women and girls go missing every year in Canada without a trace. It's a real life terror that isn't getting enough attention. More efforts need to be made toward stopping the predators, rather than blaming the victims for being alone on a road or enjoying camping in the wilderness. It was a well-written book with a very interesting plot that I enjoyed immensely. I tackled this book as a dual read, simultaneously reading the galley and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley and Isabella Star LaBlanc. It was quite well done and these readers gave real, authentic voices to the narrators of the book. This book is coming out on Aug 3. Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillian Audio for providing me with an advance egalley and audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

THIS AUTHOR!!!
I have only just recently started reading books by Chevy Stevens and let me just tell you...she is for sure on her way to becoming a new favorite author of mine. Thank you to both St. Martin Press & Netgalley for both the audio and e-book copy.

Chevy Stevens has a talent for writing very well and I love how captivating her stories are. I loved that we got more than one perspective throughout the story. One thing to mention is Chevy Stevens writes in such a way that you truly feel for the characters and what they are going through. Although what happens to the characters is disturbing, I never once felt the need to put this book down. I will say the Prologue really sets the tone for what's to come and you're immediately hooked.

I also found out after reading this, that the author based this story on true events. To know that this could have really happened literally sent a shiver down my spine.

I am giving this book 5 stars and cannot wait to pick up this author's backlist and future books.

I flu d the overall storyline to be interesting and captured my attention but the way the author got us there took too long. It was a bit stretched out and repetitive for a three part book and I wished we had gotten to who the killer was slightly earlier.

Based on true events, although in Real Life, the killer/killers have never been revealed or caught. This is a slow burn but once it comes together, it flies. Very realistic and likeable characters, including Wolf.

This was a dark suspenseful novel, a great who dunnit. Just when you think you have it all figured out there is a surprise. The narration was great!

Great book that was full of twists and turns. I loved the story on its own but the narrator brought it to life. She did a really great job reading it and make it a journey.

I'm still not sure what to say about this book. It was a good story, it kept me guessing, so it did it's job as a thriller. However, this book is set in a fictionalized version of my hometown and is a fictionalized version of a rather horrific and ongoing situation where many (80+), mostly Indigenous, women have gone missing/been murdered over the past 40 years. It felt weird to read out it, and to have all of the characters be white (or at least not explicitly identified otherwise). There was mention in the book about the Indigenous women who have gone missing/been murdered, but overall in the book it wasn't discussed very much.
I did appreciate that at the end of the book the author has a note about the real location and how the book is based on it, she also includes resources. Even with that, I'm still not sure if it was enough.
One thing that I can say I did really like was that I thought the author did a good job of writing a queer MC. It didn't feel tokenized, it was just part of the story. Good job.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens may be marketed as a YA psychological thriller, but the voice that the author gives to the young protagonist Hailey has so much depth of maturity to it that you don’t read this without feeling her loss, pain, and fear.

As the main character Hailey, in the first part of the book works through the grief and loss of the death of her father, she can’t help but question the coldness of her uncle who is also the police chief of the small town that they live in. Where are young girls seem to go missing on the dark road right outside their town.

Chevy Stevens, you are a master storyteller, that wrote a hauntingly beautiful novel full of deep suspense and unsettling storylines. And man oh man did you keep me guessing until the end. So many red herring throughout this story that I really did not see that ending coming.I loved each character, but I think Wolf might’ve been my favorite.

For fans of Ruth Ware, BA Paris, and Paula Hawkins, this is a perfect summer psychological thriller

For decades, women have been going missing along the same highway. Everyone in Cold Creek knows they should never be alone outside- especially a night. Newly orphaned Haley is grieving and frustrated by the rules of her aunt and uncle. Her uncle, a police officer, comes across Haley traveling along the highway at night. He picks her up, lectures her, but something is off. Could he have something to do with the murders?

For the last year and a half, I feel like I am disappointed by every suspense thriller that I read. Pair that with the pandemic and the fact the my job has had me working insane amounts of overtime, I've stuck to fluffier books. Every once in a while, I decide to give a thriller a chance. I am usually disappointed. This one did not disappoint.

This is the second book by Chevy Stevens and I enjoyed both. This does not fit firmly into the thriller/suspense genre. It is also a coming-of-age survival story. It feels kind of YA.

I listened to the audiobook and finished it in about 25 hours. Considering that I slept and worked a full shift in this 25 hours, you can tell it held my interest. A lot. (The audio version is just over 11 hours.)

The book is told by the POV of three different characters. Each has a different narrator and all of them did an equally good job. The narration received no complaints from me- clear, well paced, non-annoying voice, etc...

I received a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens is a book that achieves a balance of burning slowly while still feeling like it has a moving plot. It's a gripping book that pulls readers in with the story of the missing girls, interweaving stories of Hailey McBride and Amber Chevalier, but it then takes a turn when one girl's sister comes to town to find out what happened.

It's a tale of the hunt and the hunter, prey and predator. It's a story of violence, but also one of the potential for finding freedom from that violence. The layers of this story are what sets it apart from stories of a similar theme. It's ultimately a story of survival, and Stevens does it well.

As an audiobook, it's all about the cadence, and this one does it well.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this one with me. All thoughts are my own.

Oh this book is so hard to put down! Kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through!

I don’t want to give anything away but Hailey and Beth’s lives are about to crash into each other in horrible ways. Both of them think they know what happened to Beth’s sister Amber but finding out the truth puts everyone in danger.

Great narration by, Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley & Isabella Star LeBlanc.

This book is unputdownable!

Highly recommend it!

Oh and that ending!

4 ½ stars

This book was AMAZINGGGGGG!!!!! It kept me on the edge of my seat! within 3 chapters I had to increase the reading speed so I could listen faster!!!

Shocking, crazy, intense!!!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to enjoy this title!

I enjoyed this book. While I did find myself thinking about the story, I don’t feel like I felt for all of the characters the way the author wanted me to. I just didn’t feel for Hailey like I wanted to. She didn’t seem to grow and change throughout the read. I did, however, develop a relationship with Beth and was determined to see her to the end. The writing itself was great! I would definitely recommend this book to others. 3.5 stars

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens coming out on August 2, 2021. A young teen’s father is killed and a mother who died many years before must live with an aunt and her cop husband. The story is based on the real life events of missing women on Canadian remote highway. The story will have you guessing up until the end. The narration is great! I throughly enjoyed this thriller. Thank you @Netgalley, @MacmillanAudio, @St.Martin’sPress and @ChevyStevens for the advance audiobook copy for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audiobook edition of Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens.

Hailey, a teen girl who has been recently orphaned, is now living with her aunt and uncle during frightening times for the town of Cold Creek. Young women are being picked off of the road, only to be found dead later. Women are cautioned NOT to hitchhike or put themselves in vulnerable positions while the town killer is hunted.

But despite her uncle being a cop, Hailey quickly learns just how unsafe she is. Could her uncle actually have something to do with the murders, or is there something more serious?

Without giving away spoilers, this is a story about two vulnerable young girls, tangled in the sordid web of the Cold Creek killer. But between the two of them, can they bring this unknown person to justice?

Oooooh, this will get your blood boiling, that's for sure! I like a story with complex characters who you are rooting for, but who you also find yourself getting so frustrated with. The town itself was a dark and brooding character, dotted with shadowy suspects. You could feel the fear and apprehension in the citizens. This was a great suspense/thriller.

Thank you macmillan audio for the early audio copy.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens #jaylammreviews

Wow my first book by Chevy Stevens and I am blown away. This was a fast paced, heart pounding thriller!

We start with Hailey; she has just lost her beloved father in a tragic accident and is now forced to live with her aunt and her hard ass cop husband, Vaughn. Things quickly get out of control for Hailey as she finds out that Vaughn is even worse than she expected. She must get away...

The story evolves into much more than Hailey's story but it comes together so perfectly at the end. These characters are so well done...I had actual hate in my heart for Vaughn. He is a vile human and I hate him. Any author that can make me feel this strongly about a character is clearly a great writer!

I listened to the audio book and with two different narrators, the story flowed wonderfully. I like when we have multiple narrators to differentiate the two storylines. Both narrators really brought this thriller to life. I listened to this in 24 hours- I just couldn't stop, the story was addicting.

I can't wait to read more by Chevy Stevens!

This is Chevy Stevens’ most thrilling book yet! I have a number of words to describe this audiobook: gripping, engrossing, suspenseful, chilling, tense, haunting, and intriguing. But the best words to describe it would be riveting and unforgettable. I could not stop listening to this book. You are sucked in with the haunting prologue, and it only gets better from there. The world and character building are fantastic. Hailey, Amber, Beth, and Jonny are so well-written and likeable. You can’t help but become invested in them. Wolf is the best dog ever. Vaughan creeped me out. Chevy Stevens wrote his character so vividly that the parts with him in it gave me chills. Stevens is such a gifted and exceptional writer. The suspense builds chapter after chapter, leading to a shocking and unforgettable finale. This story was emotional and intoxicating!

The narration was exemplary! Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley, and Isabella Star LeBlanc were cast perfectly for their roles. They flawlessly worked with each other, giving us a praiseworthy performance. Chevy Stevens writes in a way that steers the readers emotions where she wants it. That sort of expert writing deserves the best narrator(s) to embrace that. Not only did these narrators do that, but they intensified it. My chills were amplified because they did such a great job bringing this thriller to life.

I highly recommend the audiobook version of this story for a truly heart-pounding experience. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for gifting me the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

5 Intense and Thought-Provoking Stars!
NOLA504NERDS BLOG

Chevy Stevens is one of my go to authors for suspense and thrillers. Being a Canadian, many of her books are set in Canada, with this one set in the Cold Creek wilderness in the interior of British Columbia. Residents have been warned about the Cold Creek Highway where hitchhikers and women whose cars have broken down have vanished never be seen again. Local teen, Hailey McBride, decides she needs to leave home when things become unbearable for her, so she takes to the Cold Creek Wilderness, hoping people will think she has disappeared. At the same time, Amber Chevalier, a waitress that has come to Cold Creek to live, is murdered. When her sister Beth comes to Cold Creek a year later for a memorial, she stays with a plan to find out who killed her sister. She gets a job at the local diner where her sister worked and gets to know her friends trying to solve the case. What she doesn't realize is that her snooping is putting her in danger.

Chevy Stevens has done it again, penning a perfectly-paced thriller. Dark Roads hooked me from the first page and kept me on the edge of my seat until the jaw dropping conclusion. The characters were all well developed. Hailey and Beth were both very brave and daring. Hailey knew how to survive in the wild as her father had taught her well. As we got to know her and her life before his death, it was quite emotional. I felt her pain and sorrow. Amber is a young woman, estranged from her family working at a local restaurant. Amber and Hailey become quite close, so when Amber disappears it’s the last straw for Hailey and she decides she has to disappear. Vaughn, her uncle she was living with was creepy. He was an alpha male who wanted everyone to know that he was in charge and had the power. He was an extremely unlikable character. He was hard to figure out, I wasn't sure if he was trying to protect Hailey, or if he had something else in mind. Jonny is Hailey's friend, a young, good looking guy who works with his dad repairing dirt bikes. Vaughn seems to have a vendetta against Jonny, but Jonny is helping Hailey to hide. Then there was Wolf, Hailey's dog. He was perfect for her companion and protector. They have some close calls with danger throughout the book. There were realistic relationships between the characters but the story really focused on the mystery.

This book has a lot of action and scenes in the outdoors with hiking, swimming, etc. The area was well described allowing the reader to become immersed in the story. This was a well-written and plotted story. I did not figure out who the actual perpetrator was until just before it was revealed. I thought I had it all figured out, but should have known better. There are some exciting action scenes in the second half which had me holding my breath, hoping for a good outcome. With just enough information to keep you guessing, the story held my attention to the end where everything wrapped up well. I enjoyed the author's notes that shared information about the actual highway in Northern British Columbia that this novel is loosely based on, all of the women, mostly indigenous, who have gone missing and their abductors never caught, which was her inspiration for this story.

I did a read/listen with this story and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrators, Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley, and Isabella Star LeBlanc do an amazing job with this story. I read some of the slower parts near the beginning, but listened to most of the second half of this book. I felt tense and anxious, worrying about what was going to happen while listening. I always enjoy an audiobook with a cast of narrators, and this one was extremely well done.