Twenty-somethings April Delray and Eddie Carter have just gotten married in the hot summer of July 1995. They’ve taken about five days off from their real life in Ann Arbor and are heading to the shores of Lake Michigan, several hours away, for their honeymoon. While driving down a deserted stretch of nighttime road en route to their destination, they see a slight figure walking unsteadily along the verge. They slow down, worried about anyone traveling alone at that hour, and offer the somewhat disoriented young woman a ride in the back seat of their car.

As they keep going to the next town over, they discover that Rhonda Jean, as the hitchhiker introduces herself, has been hurt. While April narrates, military veteran Eddie calmly asks their passenger:

QUOTE
“Do you need a doctor, Rhonda Jean?”

“I don’t know.” Rhonda Jean’s eyes blinked open, and for a second they were unfocused. “I don’t think a doctor will help.”

I let the map slide from my hands, down to my feet. I kept my gaze on the girl in the back seat. Everything became clear and still in my head. I knew now that this was why she had looked at me at first like she recognized me. It was because she did. We’d never seen each other before, but we recognized each other. Women like us recognized each other all the time.
END QUOTE

April and Eddie aren’t your usual all-American couple. Eddie doesn’t like to talk about his time in Iraq though it’s obvious that military service has marked him indelibly. April has a similarly traumatic past that she doesn’t like to discuss either. Despite the odds, or perhaps even because of this shared aloofness, April and Eddie fell in love only six months ago and quickly became a team. So they instinctively know to help Rhonda Jean by keeping her awake and talking as they rush her to the hospital in Coldlake Falls, even as a black truck bursts out of the darkness behind them and gives terrifying chase.

The young couple are thus devastated when their passenger doesn’t survive her ordeal. Worse, the cops almost immediately suspect April and Eddie of having something to do with Rhonda Jean’s death. Turns out that she isn’t the first dead hitchhiker to turn up on that stretch of road known as the Atticus Line. April and Eddie, however, are the only people who’ve ever come close to saving one.

While there’s no concrete evidence indicating their culpability in Rhonda Jean’s murder, April and Eddie are forced by the authorities to stay in town. Unwilling to sit quietly while a case is being built against them, the newlyweds decide to investigate for themselves. With the help of several unlikely allies, they uncover a legacy of terror on the Atticus Line that stretches back decades. Will they be able to lay the ghosts of the past to rest, or will they become the next victims of a murderous rage that cannot be contained by the laws of time or reality?

Murder Road is a smart and deeply humane take on the paranormal thriller. It’s my favorite kind, too, where the supernatural aspects are only there to underscore the evil of all too mortal people. The monstrous force behind the killings is still an innocent compared to the depraved and very human will that created it in the first place, a will that April and Eddie must confront and bring to justice if they wish to free themselves from suspicion and the Atticus Line from its curse.

I very much loved April and Eddie, as well as the team of misfits who come to their aid. Simone St James knows how to write characters who you want to root for, despite them being deeply flawed and sometimes not the most likable people. A newly married couple who’ve only known each other six months and keep important secrets from one another hardly seem like the kind of protagonists to expect heroism from, yet their devotion to one another is unfaltering, as they discuss the next step in their unsanctioned investigation:

QUOTE
“It’s a terrible idea.”

“We’ve had terrible ideas before. At least, I have.”

“Like marrying me?”

The question was a surprise. I’d never given him an inkling that I didn’t want to marry him. Had he wondered about this without telling me? “No,” I said. “Like the time I drank vodka before going to the fall fair and eating a funnel cake. I’ll never eat a funnel cake again.”

His shoulders relaxed. This was how it worked: I eased him down, and in return I got to watch some of the pain leave his body and his face. He’d never met a girl who was willing to put the work in. Well, he’d met her now.
END QUOTE

I was genuinely surprised by how moving I found this mystery, not only because of April and Eddie’s tenacious but tender bond, but also because of Rose, their prickly temporary landlady who has secrets and grudges of her own. As sensitive as it is suspenseful, this is one of those horror novels that seems entirely plausible because of how grounded it is in human emotion. I loved it.

"The things we've seen means the world is crazy. Not us."

Picture this: You just got married! You and your partner have saved up enough money to stay at a motel across the state for your honeymoon...When you take a wrong turn...down an unsettling, empty road. You can't really remember how you got here. And then – you witness a terrible crime...and something you can't explain. Something ugly. Something unnatural. Something evil.

This book is not just a twisty, terrifying road trip horror novel (although that sells me alone).

"In order to survive, you sometimes have to cut and run. Leave people behind. Just go."

It's a story about survival. The choices you make and what you chose to face in life – and how.

“The thought bubbled through my mind, unbidden: I don’t want to do this anymore. I want more. Surviving to tomorrow wasn’t good enough. Not anymore.”

It's about secrets - the ones we keep, the ones that are taken from us, and the ones that destroy us. Past, present, future, and the cold inexplicable things without past, present, nor future.

"You can't run from your demons forever – sometimes you have to walk into them head-on."

It's insanely, wickedly good, smart, sharp, 10/10 storytelling. It gave me the chills, it satiated me with twisty backstories and reveals, fleshed out and lively characters, sinister turns, horrifying images, tense scenes, and strong character arcs. I am now a Simone St. James reader! And will be diving into their past work ASAP.

Highly highly recommend. Can't wait to revisit this one in the fall.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Simone St. James for an ARC of this book!**

"I danced with the Devil, he tried to get my soul
Didn't recognize him on the dead man's road
Oh no, he's dead and cold
Don't go down the dead man's road" - Dead Man's Road, Doc Holliday

It's the summer of '97, and April and Eddie have tied the knot...and now it's finally time for a peaceful, relaxing honeymoon. Headed to their quiet resort town along the lake in Michigan, they can almost hear the lull of the waves and feel the warm sun on their faces already...even though it's nighttime. But when they stray off the beaten path and end up on a strange stretch of road known as Atticus Line...the vibes are a lot less Good Vibrations and a lot more 'Oujia Board on Halloween'. They see a hitchhiker stranded on the side of the road, and despite their better judgment (and the obvious kink in their original plans) they stop to help the young woman out...and it's only then they notice that she's COVERED in blood.

Eddie and April get the woman (named Rhonda Jean) to a hospital...but unfortunately not soon enough to save her. What they later learn is that she's far from the first to disappear on that fated stretch of road...Atticus Line is known for missing hitchhikers, and one particular hitchhiker is known by all of the locals as "The Lost Girl." This Jane Doe has never been found, and with a string of other unsolved murders taking place on this SAME stretch of highway, police begin to narrow their focus onto the two people who just HAPPENED to be there when Rhonda was found soaked in blood: Eddie and April. Desperate to clear their names and get to the bottom of the case, the married duo tap into local resources: the owner of the B&B they are staying at, Rose, and true Hardy Girls in the flesh, the Snell Sisters, who are teens obsessed with the murders and doing a bit of detective work on their own, and attempt to tackle the last 30 YEARS of unsolved cases to find out just what happened to all of this missing wanderers...and if their spirits are still haunting the same eerie stretch of highway. Can Eddie and April get to the bottom of the mystery with all eyes cast upon them? Or does The Lost Girl have her eyes on a NEW victim...or possibly a pair of victims...and won't stop until she FINALLY exacts her revenge?

I have to admit, I've been on the fence about continuing to read Simone St. James' books since my very first. I have always felt like I loved the IDEA of her books more than the finished product itself, and have relied heavily on her fantastic use of atmosphere and her AMAZING ghosts to keep me hooked and hoping for something more each time I pick one up. Oftentimes in the past, her plots have felt very convenient to me, with everything and everyone being in the right place, at the right time for everything to work, with a certain level of suspended disbelief ALSO required just to get me from A to B in terms of plot. I've never felt compelled to keep reading OTHER than to revisit her ghosts again and again, which is a bit bizarre, but just speaks to the quality of her writing when it comes to the paranormal.

But with Murder Road, I am thrilled to say that St. James took EVERY aspect of her writing to the next level...and the result was a thriller that was spooky, dripping in 90's nostalgia, and a TWISTY page turner that kept me EASILY enthralled from beginning to end!

St. James' atmosphere is ALWAYS on point, but as a 90's kid with a soft spot for the aforementioned era, I feel that she absolutely NAILED the essence of the 90s. This cover says it all: it could just have easily been on a Christopher Pike or R.L Stine book from the same era...and I mean that as an ABSOLUTE compliment! There are plenty of references thrown in along the way to remind you of the time period, but rather than beat her readers over the head with them, for the most part St. James slyly tosses them in as background or scene setting material, from TV footage around big news stories of the time to music playing on the radio during one of April and Eddie's many car rides...and THIS is how you do it. Lots of gentle nods, but nothing in your face: she played it JUST right.

There's also a fabulous balance between the mystery and the paranormal elements of the book. This one is equal parts whodunit and spooky ghost story, and the ghost(s) popped in and out enough of the narrative to remain a steady uncertain unknown, but not enough to remove the more realistic aspect of the story. I appreciated that St. James also spent a fair amount of time showing the strong bond between Eddie and April and their more tender moments, as well as full developing the characters of Rose and the Snell Sisters to the point where you hoped beyond hope that THEY weren't involved in the murders somehow...because trust me, you'll be considering EVERY option! While some reveals felt a bit predictable once they occurred, it was the time spent ramping up the tension that made this one feel so special and DIFFERENT from St. James' books.

And unlike the other two St. James books that I've read thus far, one of my other FAVORITE aspects of this one was that it in no way felt like YA. Even when the narrative dealt with younger characters (or younger iterations of characters) it never felt as though the content had been watered down or read as 'young': Eddie and April were very much the adult married couple they were, and the dramatic tension felt just about as developed as I could hope from St. James. The dialogue was never 'off', and this was one of those 'fun' mystery thrillers where I just ENJOYED anytime I got to grab it for a few minutes and flip the pages. A step or two up in terms of quality from a pure popcorn thriller, but it had that 'feel' and I also felt like I was getting waves of twangy guitar like you might hear in a 60's song like Dead Man's Curve...there's something about the spirit of this one that starts with the cover and NEVER lets up until the last page, and it's the kind of book that finally (and I MEAN finally, because I've been craving the feeling for SO long!) that has me chomping at the bit for St. James' next terrifying tale!

(And although it goes without saying, has FIRMLY cemented the fact that I will NEVER, EVER pick up any hitchhikers! I mean...unless something OTHERWORLDLY comes a-calling!)

4 stars

Hauntingly creepy! This book scared the bejeezus out of me. Definitely one of my favorites by Simone St James.

Unveiling the chilling secrets of "Murder Road" by Simone St. James. In this gripping tale, April and Eddie, a newly married couple, find themselves on a deserted road when they decide to pick up a hitchhiker. Little do they know, this decision will lead them down a dark and dangerous path. The hitchhiker ends up bleeding out in their back seat, making them the initial suspects in the murder. However, they soon realize they cannot simply walk away from the situation and are determined to find the real killer.

Simone St. James once again delivers a highly engaging read with well-realized characters and a plot that moves at a lightning pace. Prepare to be captivated from start to finish, as you may find yourself unable to put this book down until you reach the final page. I also highly recommend exploring Simone St. James's backlist, as each title offers a thrilling and enjoyable reading experience.

Creepy to the core!

Thanks NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

This was my first one by Simone St James and goodness! She can write a horror/paranormal thriller so realistically! Despite being someone who believes more in science and less in ghosts/supernatural, I found myself getting goose-bumps, looking over my shoulder and finding it scary to read this after lights out in my bed! 😵

Synopsis –

It’s July 1995. Newly married couple April and Eddie have lost their way while driving to their honeymoon resort and now find themselves in the infamous road known as atticus line. But when a hitchhiker gets into their car, they get entangled in a murder case, which may be linked to a string of horrifying deaths that have occurred along this deserted path. Digging deep into the town’s dark history is the only way to extricate themselves from this mess.

Review –

The author does a great job in bringing out the 90’s vibes. She works with the limited forms of communication and methods of police investigation that existed during the period and constructs a clever plot around the newlyweds, while also giving a hint of darkness to their own past lives and backstories with flaws and secrets.

As what was supposed to be a honeymoon becomes a show of horrors, the eerie tones and references to paranormality are sure to mess with our brains. 🤯 I found it all extremely plausible, despite my belief system.

Although, I knew that what was happening was somehow related to either of April or Eddie’s pasts, there were new and petrifying threads getting uncovered at every step of their quest to get to the truth behind the unsolved murders.

While the truth reveal itself wasn’t overtly mind-blowing, I held onto dear life as I witnessed that ending, blinking in awe at everything that had transpired making me so invested and most importantly terrified along the way.😳

Read this if you love the genre!

I read The Broken Girls and The Sun Down Motel by this author and gave both of them 4 stars. Her last book, The Book of Cold Cases, received 3 stars from me. This book, I'm being kind and giving it 2 stars. I hope this doesn't mean that her next book will be a 1 star. At this point I don't even know if I'll read her next book. This one was boring and didn't really go anywhere. The characters weren't particularly likeable and the reason behind all the murders didn't make sense. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @berkleypub and @prhaudio for my complimentary copy. My thoughts are my own.
#penguinrandomhousepartners

July 1995: April and Eddie are traveling down a dark country road on their way to their honeymoon destination when they suddenly realize they are lost. When they come across a woman staggering along the road, they stop to help her and discover she is bleeding profusely. They hurriedly take her to the hospital but they are too late. To make matters worse the police suspect April and Eddie of the murder. When April and Eddie learn that there have been several unsolved murders along that same dark highway they decide to do some investigating on their own!

MY THOUGHTS: I am not a big horror reader, but I have been wanting to read Simone St. James for a while, and this one intrigued me! The action moves quickly as the story unfolds through April’s perspective. More importantly, the suspense builds throughout the novel to the point where I was seriously worried about the outcome for April and Eddie! April especially makes some crazy decisions that had me on the edge of my seat! Full of ‘90s nostalgia, quirky citizens, and ghostly visits this one kept me turning the pages!

I enjoyed both the print and audio versions and often switched back and forth so I could multitask while I read. The audio, narrated by Brittany Pressley, was well done and she does a great job with the character voices and dialects.

Wow Simone St James dove headfirst into the supernatural in this book and it is a wild rride or sure!!!!!!!!!!! This is a must read for 2024 and an amazing ride you won't regret taking.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Murder Road.

Having read all of Simone St. James’ books, I find myself torn on this one. I definitely enjoyed moments of it (the Snell sisters were fabulous) and it’s perfectly spooky in places, with a satisfying ending, but it dragged a bit and I questioned a lot of the choices made by April and Eddie throughout the book, even though I liked both of their characters. Not my favorite, but fun for what it was.

I think I’ve read everything Simone St James has written, and unfortunately this was probably my least favorite.

St James knows how to set a scene in the eeriest way possible, and that’s as true here as it is in her other novels. But there’s a really contrived feel to this that is difficult to ignore from the outset, and only gets worse as the story unfolds.

Previously St James has done a stellar job of handling supernatural or potentially supernatural elements to a story, but here that element felt out of place and forced, and there’s a goofiness to the whole thing that makes you roll your eyes a bit. Which is a shame, because the bones of this would have made for a great mystery, albeit one that probably needed to stay firmly rooted in the real world.

There are some plot issues to the mystery components of the book as well, most notably some wonky police activity and jurisdictional issues and a cartoonish villain who isn’t even introduced until late in the story, making the whole thing feel unsatisfying in the end.

For the most part I adore St James’ work and will continue to look forward to reading whatever she writes next. Hopefully this one was an anomaly.

2.5 stars, rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in an exchange for an honest review!

Simone St James continues to be one of my favorite thriller authors and this book continued to impress me from the beginning. I always love how St James writes books with many genres mixed in and there always seems to be a romance sub-plot that I adore. I really enjoyed the one in this book.

If you like supernatural thrillers, ghost stories, and murder mysteries, keep out this book and all of the others by Simone St James.

When you hear the word “honeymoon”, chances are, you picture a happy couple walking into a posh hotel suite (complete with artfully-folded towel swans surrounded by a heart made of rose petals, laid out on the bed). Holding hands as they stroll along a sandy beach, pausing for long kisses as the sun sets in glorious technicolor behind them. Clinking glasses of bubbly together while lounging in a hot tub, all heart-eyes between them.

[Basically, what every wedding and travel brochure catering to the newly-hitched advertises in beautifully-printed, vivid colors.]

So, there’s a honeymoon in Simone St. James’ latest novel, too… but darlin’, this ain’t remotely that kind of honeymoon. In fact, you might say that the after-ceremony vacay in Murder Road would more aptly be called a “bloodymoon”…

_______________

It’s 1995, and Eddie and April—the brand-spanking-new Mr. and Mrs. Carter—are cruising along a deserted Michigan road (bizarrely named Atticus Line) late at night, en route to their (decidedly un-beachy, definitely non-exotic) honeymoon destination: an inexpensive little motel in a poky lake town, still a couple of hours away.

[See, not everyone gets to have those über-over-the-top honeymoons to-die-for. The brochures fudge the truth a bit, what can I say?]

April is on radio duty while Eddie drives, trying to find a station (any station) within range to help keep them awake on this lonely stretch of road, made darker by the starless sky. April questions whether Eddie is still on the right path, but there isn’t enough light for her to read the map she fishes from the glovebox.

And then they see it, looming out of the blackness… the shape of a woman, limping unevenly along the road’s shoulder.

With no choice, they stop.

It’s a young woman, incoherent, and April and Eddie suspect she may be drunk.

When bright headlights suddenly appear and the loud roar of a big 4x4 truck bears down on them, though, the woman starts babbling, clearly terrified. April notices blood seeping beneath her jacket, and quickly bundles the injured woman into the back seat.

The pickup chases them down the desolate road, getting closer and closer and closer… until April finally manages to get directions out of their passenger, and Eddie barely makes a sharp turn onto a side road at the last possible second, leaving the truck behind, barreling on down Atticus Line.

The hospital is as small and unimpressive as the rest of the little town that goes by the name of Coldlake Falls, but the startled staff jump to action, rushing the now-unconscious woman away.

Standing in the hospital entryway, sticky with blood that isn’t their own, April and Eddie debate what they should do next. Wait to talk with the police, or drive away without looking back, and forget what was now feeling like a very doomed honeymoon?

The prompt arrival of the police answers that question for them.

And when doctors are unable to save the woman—and the police have two suspicious, bloody, out-of-towners in their hands—well, you see how this is gonna go…

Except… you really can’t. Our honeymooners have inadvertently landed themselves smack-dab in the middle of a whole SERIES of disappearances—and murders—on that very same stretch of Atticus Line.

And the cops? Well, they see a whole lot of things adding up… which means April and Eddie more than have their work cut out for them, if they don’t want this meager honeymoon to turn into a pair of very long prison sentences, spent hopelessly far apart.
_______________

You know how some books you can’t put down, and race towards the ending? Whereas others, you just want to linger on, and savor every word, every turn of the page?

Murder Road, for me, was unequivocally BOTH. I wanted, so desperately, to find out the infamous “5 Ws and an H” (who, what, where, when, why, and how, if that’s a head-scratcher)… but at the same time, I definitely did not want to see the end of this book. (Seriously, it’s That. Good.)

It’s impossible not to root for April and Eddie… two youngish (mid-to-late-20s) lovebirds, with unexpected backstories full of struggle and hardship, and their believable reactions to the messes they keep finding themselves in, here. For reasons best left for you, dear readers, to find out for yourselves, these two characters feel heartbreakingly real.

Somehow, St. James wraps up everything in a way that feels just right … with an ending that has been haunting me for days, now. And you know what? I’d be surprised if you don’t have a similar experience.

Murder Road. Trust me, readers… this is one roadtrip/honeymoon-from-hell you most definitely wanna take.

~GlamKitty

I absolutely loved this book it was creepy and a ghost with plus it takes place in Michigan!!!

“If You See Her, You”ll Be The Next One Dead On The Side of the Road”


In Michigan in 1995, April and Eddie have just gotten married and they are driving to their honeymoon in a small lakeside resort in Michigan. They accidentally take a wrong turn and find themselves heading to a small town called Cold Lake Falls and they are driving on a dark and deserted highway named Atticus Line. This newly wed couple have no idea that on this dark, deserted road has taken the lives of several hitchhikers over the past nineteen years, the first occurring in 1976. As they drive they see a figure walking that appears to need help, this act of kindness will change their lives forever. This hitchhiker name is Rhonda Jean and she’s bleeding, they rush her to the hospital in ColdLake Falls, where she dies from a knife wound , then suddenly April and Eddie become “suspects” instead of the Good Samaritans. Determined to clear their names, April and Eddie begin to investigate the murders that have taken place on Atticus Road, they stumble onto the mystery, of the original Jane Doe found, dubbed “The Lost Girl” a young woman who was the first murdered victim of the infamous road. The Snell sisters, Beatrice and Gracie are both teenagers living in Cold Lake, they have been keeping track of all the disappearances which they share with April. They find a friend in Rose the owner of a B&B they are staying at while the detectives investigate them. Soon They are left with the question could there be a serial killer on the loose? Or is it just urban legend? Is the Jane Doe the Lost Girl claiming victims? This was an amazing paranormal mystery that featured well-developed and characters that I connected with and couldn’t get enough of!!

I love Simone St. James, so I'm always happy when a new release of hers is just as delightful and creepy as the rest of her canon. "Murder Road" is no exception; she brings her signature paranormal twist to a small town mystery. What I love most about it is that it never comes off as too absurd. I was fully on the ride for this one, with no thoughts as to "that could never happen" or "this is ridiculous," even as the otherwordly plotlines are introduced.

Murder Road is another great paranormal thriller from Simone St. James! Both chilling and captivating, I had the hardest time putting it down.

The local legend of the Lost Girl - the first victim on Atticus Line whose identity was never discovered - and the string of unsolved murders on that long, deserted stretch of road was intriguing.

April and Eddie are both well-developed characters with troubled pasts and I couldn’t help but root for them. I really enjoyed following along as they attempted to solve the murders.

With an ominous atmosphere, some twists I didn’t see coming and full of 90’s nostalgia, Murder Road is a page-turner that will haunt you until the very end!

Murder Road is a five star supernatural thriller that has you guessing (who is the serial killer?) of several hitch hikers that are wandering down Atticus Line, a dark, deserted strip of road. A newlywed could is led to this road and have several secrets of their own. The twist at the end was incredibly crafted by Simone St. James, and I highly recommend this book!

Loved this creepy thriller from Simone St. James! We pick up the story in July of 1995 as newlyweds April and Eddie are driving alone a deserted road on their honeymoon. They've taken a wrong turn somewhere but haven't stopped to check the map yet when they come across a young woman walking alone along the dark road. They stop to offer her a ride but once she's in the car they notice she's grievously injured and they're being followed aggressively by a truck. They get her to the local hospital only for her to die moments later, leaving April and Eddie as the only suspects in her murder. What's worse, there is a long string of murders on that road going back years that the local police are just dying to pin on someone. But something is not normal about these murders.

What I liked: the atmosphere was really fun and creepy, the local characters were either wonderfully likable or hatable, April and Eddie's characters had great depth and their characters backstories wove in really well with the ongoing drama.

What I didn't like: I didn't totally understand some of the reasoning behind why the paranormal activities started and stopped. I felt like that was a bit of a plot hole. Still a really fun book though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An inexplicable event crashes a couple’s honeymoon and they are soon dropped into the nightmare of proving themselves innocent for the murder of the wounded woman hitchhiker they brought to the hospital. Simone St. James has captivated me once again with a hair-raising atmospheric thriller set in a rural area of western Michigan.



Murder Road introduces a young pair of newlyweds, April and Eddy. Both had rough pasts, but are reaching for their slice of happiness now. They get lost on their way to their honeymoon spot and come across a fearful, fatally wounded woman along a deserted country road. *cue ominous music*



When the state police decide they look pretty good for the crime, April and Eddy launch their own investigation and discover that a series of murders haven taken place over a period of time along that road, Atticus Line, and there is even a legend about the first hitchhiker casualty ‘The Lost Girl’. They encounter colorful local characters in the wacky conspiracy proposing teenage, Snell Sisters and dear landlady, Rose who was obsessed with Princess Di (the story occurs in the mid-nineties) who lightened this spooky tale. The backdrop of the nineties and this resort area of Michigan were well drawn.



I love how April and Eddy are complex characters with rough edges which would get them arrested if the police dig enough into their individual situations and there is a darker tone as they try to gather facts with past occurrences and the present. April is the sole narrator of the story. I couldn’t figure out why the police were so fixated on strangers as chief suspects particularly after the past history of that road came out, but then again, strangers are easier to swallow rather than the knowledge its someone local. Speaking of locals, that small town and the residents including the police working there are as suspicious and odd as all get out. Poor April and Eddy have landed into a nightmare especially when April is drawn to dangerous Atticus Line.



Like previous reads from Simone St. James, I was tense and found the book unputdownable. It was dark and disturbing until it finally let me go at the end which was unexpected. Those who love spooky thrillers that tease the line into horror should give this one a go.

What a thrilling ghost story this turned out to be. The last thing one expects on the way to their honeymoon is to pick up a injured woman walking on a creepy abandoned road. However this is exactly what happens to newlyweds April and Eddie. Unfortunately for them their good deed turns their lives and honeymoon completely upside down when they are accused of murder. Once the duo is exonerated they cannot help but become obsessed with who actually killed the girl they girl they picked up. Not only that but the mysterious road they were driving on has a sordid history and both April and Eddie can't help but get sucked in to the ghost story. The book retains an upbeat and quick setting that has you questioning whether a murderer is lurking around or if the ghost stories are true!