Another win from St. James. This one creeped me out several times as the author builds suspense on drives down the "Murder Road" of the title. It's the classic "innocent people get dragged into a mysterious situation and have to solve the mystery to clear their name" genre, but very well done and with a supernatural twist.
The two protagonists are interesting and likeable and flawed (though we only slowly learn what those flaws are and how they made these characters who they are today. I loved the sidekick characters, the mean policemen, the spooky town. I definitely recommend this book!

I am a fan of St. James and her books, so I was thrilled to get this novel early.

"Murder Road" is perfect for readers who love dark, mysterious, and tense moods and those who enjoy crime/mystery core themes with supernatural or psychological twists.

The paranormal element in "Murder Road" blends emotional stakes with eerie undertones. I would venture to say this novel leans more heavily into horror-forward tropes (ghosts, overt supernatural threats).

This book is perfect for readers in the mood for a supernatural thriller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

Description:
July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

Review:
This reads like an urban legend, which I loved.
Even though the Coldlake Falls police are like most small town police departments; suspicious and stuck in their ways, April and Eddie find help from a few of the towns residents in helping them figure out the mystery and murders on Atticus Line. A spooky good read!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review.
Published: 03/05/24

I've loved some Simone St. James, but I'm finding her twists to be a little repetitive. I want the ghost parts to have more bearing on the books. For me, this read as more of a thriller than a horror and I'm looking forward to more horror from her.

This one was gifted to me via Berkley Besties. Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy. I am not a paranormal book reader, but I’ve heard so much about Simone St James I had to give this book a try. I thought the writing was extremely well crafted and the momentum kept me interested. It will be a book I recommend to other paranormal readers.

Well written twisty story that reminds me never to pick up a hitchhiker on a scar y road. I read this in the dark making it even more scary. Several twists lead to an overall great read.

April & Eddie are traveling on a dark road, it’s seems like an ordinary road, as most do. But this road isn’t normal and what happens next is crazy. They pick up a hitchhiker and, you would think that was the strange part.. but in reality it is the info the iceberg. Turns out she has been shot, speaks just a little bit and when they change their course to get to a hospital, a truck comes from no where and tries to run them off the road. Once at the hospital, the hitchhiker dies and now they are suspects, in a murder. It likens like they aren’t getting to the resort, where they were going to stay for their honeymoon.
Simone St. James, is a master writer of suspense novels. I have read many of her books and I am always guessing how it will turn out. This one is no exception. The town they are in, isn’t going to let them go so fast. The Coldlake police want answers and it turns out this is the first suspicious murder. Could April & Eddie be the criminals they have been looking for? Eddie & April are forced to clear their names and the more they dig, the more bizarre things become. The twists and turns are endless. Could something supernatural be involved? How can they get out of this town? I really enjoyed this read. I was guessing until the end. I want to thank Netgalley & the author for my copy of Murder Road for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. I will always jump at the opportunity to read a new St James book.

Did a read/listen combo thanks to Berkley and PRH audio. I really liked the narration for this one. She immediately grabbed my attention and brought me into the story. Unfortunately the story didn't keep my attention though. I think this author might not be for me. I always get excited to see new books from her, but I never end up loving them. I've seen a lot of positive reviews for this one though, so if you have loved this authors previous books I think its safe to say you will enjoy this one too!

**I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

St. James once again writes a thoroughly entertaining and spooky story that one may not want to read at night. St. James has an amazing way of capturing suspense throughout the whole narrative. In this instance, a recently married young couple find themselves on an isolated road and come across a bleeding hitchhiker. This begins a story weaved with urban legends and dangerous reality, filled with supernatural occurrences and secrets that the young couple hide from each other. These secrets, in turn, may lead to further danger for the young couple.

A great read. Beware of isolated and haunted roads!

#MurderRoad #NetGalley

When the first thing out of my mouth after I finish a book is “Wow”, you know it had to be special. That was my exclamation as I closed the cover to Murder Road, the latest book by Simone St. James.
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Even though I jump at a simple “Boo!”, her ghostly books have always entertained me. I believe this one was spookier for me than any of them, and I couldn’t put it down. I just had to find out what was happening on this deadly secluded stretch of highway and in this tiny town.
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I really liked the young couple who made a wrong turn and ended up in Coldlake Falls instead of the lake resort where they planned to honeymoon, in spite of the secrets each one held. Seeing them persevere in spite of the trouble they found themselves in was pretty riveting. I loved how St. James revealed little bits at just the right time to keep the story moving forward. I did suspect some of the twists, but definitely not all of them.

I first fell in love with St. James via her historical ghost stories/romances ("The Haunting of Maddy Clare", etc.), and when she transitioned into more modern stories told via a dual perspective/timeline, I was initially a bit unsure if I'd enjoy them as much. (I usually don't care for dual POV/timeline stories.) But St. James is so dang good, that I'm still along for every ride she delivers. And as a fan of both true crime and the Resurrection Mary/Woman in White ghost stories, this was SUCH a fun read. (Also the 90s setting; being a 90s kid, a lot of the details here threw me back down my own memory road...) Sure, there's nothing exactly "new" here, but St. James is such a master of handling familiar beats and setups in a way that makes them exciting again. And, as always, there's a couple of truly terrifying moments that made my skin crawl while I read at like 1 AM... A perfect choice for anyone who likes horror but doesn't want too much gore or eldritch body horror stuff.

Newlyweds, April and Eddie Carter are headed on their honeymoon. It is late and a wrong turn off the highway takes them on a strange road known as Atticus
Line. The couple spot a young woman on the side of the road. They stop to offer her a ride. April soon realizes the young woman is hurt. As they head to a hospital the couple realize they are being followed. Unfortunately the young woman dies and April and Eddie are now prime suspects in her death.
Forced to stay in Coldlake Falls by police order, April and Eddie decide to conduct their own investigation.
Full of mystery and intrigue, MURDER ROAD is a suspenseful thriller with elements of the paranormal. I enjoyed reading MURDER ROAD. The characters were interesting and the story unraveled to a satisfying conclusion.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced digital edition of this book.

Simone St. James is one of my favorite writers and yes, I've just now read her latest book, Murder Road. Yes, I'm aware it came out in March 2024. Yes, I'm aware I had an ARC copy of it well prior. I can't explain this, but I will sometimes let books by favorite writers just...sit. Even though I know I'm likely to enjoy them. Why do I do this? Hell if I know. I'm a reader, therefore I am a nut-job.
It's July 1995 and Eddie and April Carter are lost in the middle of nowhere, Michigan. From Ann Arbor, they're 20-something newlyweds on their way to a resort on Lake Michigan for their honeymoon when Eddie gets off the highway and makes a wrong turn. They're on a very desolate, and quite frankly, creepy road in the middle of the night. That's when they see a woman, by herself, no car in sight, walking by herself on the side of the road. Concerned for her, they decide to pick her up. That's when the trouble begins.

After she gets in the car, they realize the woman is seriously injured and bleeding under the large jacket she's wearing. No idea where they are, they rush down the road hoping to find a town with a hospital. Hot on their tail? A big, black pick-up truck. They eventually hit the outskirts of Coldlake Falls, lose the truck, find a hospital, only for the hitchhiker to die. Two strangers in a small town, covered in blood, let's just say the cops set the land speed record for arriving on the scene. Seems that stretch of desolate road, Atticus Line, has quite a history. More than one dead hitchhiker has turned up along that road starting in the mid-1970s. Never mind that it defies logic that Eddie and April would be involved beyond innocent bystanders and witnesses, they're strangers, they're there, and they're covered in blood.

As the cops seem to zero in on Eddie and April, they're stuck in Coldlake Falls. The only way to get out of this mess is to do some snooping on their own. That's when they learn of the other victims and the legend of The Lost Girl, the first victim from the 1970s, never identified, who locals say haunts Atticus Line 👻.

This was a good book. I enjoyed it.

But...

It lacked some of the punch and oomph of some of St. James other books (I think I'm still hungover from The Broken Girls and The Sun Down Motel...). It's pretty slow and methodical to start, with the author laying groundwork on our couple, Eddie, a veteran of the Iraq War with shades of PTSD, and April, a woman who has drifted, unsettled through life until she met Eddie, and wouldn't you know it? They both have secrets that they haven't been completely upfront with each other about. Naturally those half-truths come home to roost with the cops digging into their backgrounds.

Once Eddie and April decide to start sleuthing in earnest is when things start to pick up, and once again St. James has created some dynamite secondary characters to aid in the cause. There's Rose, a widow with a lace doily and Princess Diana obsession who is boarding them while they're stuck in town, and the Snell sisters, two teenage girls with an obsession for true crime and conspiracy theories. Dare I say it, I would have just read the book for these three, plot be damned. Also, as someone who was a young 20-something in the 1990s, I can say the setting, tone and feel of the story were pitch perfect. The author really nailed it.

Of course it all comes careening to a supernatural, Gothic conclusion and St. James ties up all the loose threads at the end. On that subject, the lead detective on the case is particularly terrible and I didn't really buy his scenes with Eddie and April at the end, but it does wrap up some questions, so it works on that score at least.

It kept me engaged and I did like it, but while I'm one to recommend St. James on the regular to other readers, this one isn't at the top of my list.

Final Grade = B

Another hit from Simone St. James. She always writes compulsively readable books. She is so good at teasing out information in a way that keeps you turning pages but doesn't make you feel like misled or strung along. Murder Road features her patented combo of character driven mystery and supernatural thriller. If you've enjoyed her other works, The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls especially, then this will be right up your alley.

This book offers an intriguing premise with a blend of mystery and supernatural elements, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite deliver. While the atmospheric setting and eerie tone are strong, the pacing is uneven, and the characters feel underdeveloped. The plot has potential, but it gets bogged down by predictable twists and a lack of emotional depth. I was not a huge fan.

Thanks Berkley and Netgalley for my copy!

Pretty good mystery/thriller with that dash of supernatural that I've come to know the author for. Not my favorite of her books but still great.

Thrillers usually do not stay with me, but Murder Road is the rare thriller I remember and think about months after reading. A young couple in Michigan are on their way to their honeymoon in a resort town. On the way, they see a woman on the side of the road bleeding and they stop to help her. This gets them involved in a murder mystery plaguing the area that cops have not been able to figure out.

I went into this book without looking to much into what it was about so was pleasantly surprised by some of the supernatural elements that took place. A newlywed couple on their way to their honeymoon make a wrong turn and find themselves lost on a road surrounded by woods. They find a woman on the side of the road and decide to offer her a ride. It becomes clear that she is injured and that a truck is following them. They make a mad dash to the hospital where the woman dies on arrival. Suddenly our newly weds are suspects. The more they look into the mysterious murders taking place on this same road the more strange things start to get.

Simone St. James’ Murder Road is a masterful blend of suspense, supernatural elements, and 1990s nostalgia that kept me riveted from start to finish. The story follows newlyweds April and Eddie, whose honeymoon takes a chilling detour when they pick up an injured hitchhiker on a deserted road, only to become entangled in a series of unexplained murders haunting the area.

The author excels at creating an atmospheric setting that immerses you in the eerie small town of Coldlake Falls. The tension builds with each page as April and Eddie delve deeper into the town’s dark secrets, uncovering a blend of urban legends and real dangers that blur the line between reality and the supernatural.

The character development is particularly compelling. April and Eddie’s relationship adds depth to the narrative, and their personal histories intertwine seamlessly with the central mystery. The pacing is impeccable, with each revelation leading to a climax that left me both satisfied and eager for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Road by Simone St. James is a gripping supernatural thriller set in the summer of 1995. Newlyweds April and Eddie are on their way to a lakeside resort for their honeymoon when they take a wrong turn onto a creepy deserted road called Atticus Line. They pick up a bleeding hitchhiker, Rhonda Jean, who tragically dies at the hospital, making them prime suspects in a series of unexplained murders. As they dig deeper into the town's dark history and supernatural occurrences, they uncover chilling secrets that threaten their lives and sanity. The eerie atmosphere and 90s nostalgia 🎶 kept me hooked from start to finish. The quirky characters, especially the B&B owner Rose and the resourceful Snell sisters, added so much depth and intrigue to the story. St. James excels at creating a sense of dread and tension, making the reader feel the haunting presence of "The Lost Girl" and the danger lurking on Atticus Line. While some plot points were a bit predictable, the overall execution and the spooky vibes 👻 made for an engaging and fun read. Fans of ghost stories and St. James' previous works will not be disappointed.