When I recognized this book as being authored by Simone St. James, I had to pick it up. I had read [book:The Sun Down Motel|45885644] previously and loved it. Also, I like to read stories about crime.

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 be a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker 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.

My Thoughts:
This story held quite a few surprises as April and Eddie's honeymoon turns into a nightmare. These unexplained murders happening on the same road with the supernatural legend surrounding them was creepy. Why weren't any of these murders solved? The story kept me engrossed and flipping the pages to see what would happen. The story has a creepy vibe - especially with the paranormal elements. The characters are well drawn and the plot moved at a good pace. I will certainly be looking forward to the next book St. James creates.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication on March 5, 2024.

I was instantly drawn into this storyline but after a few eye roll moments I knew that I was going to be annoyed if I continued. The repeated "something has happened to me but I'm not going to say what it is" references by the female MC were to frequent. The "this couple has secrets" aspect was annoying too because of course this couple is going to have secrets--they've only known each other a couple months!

this is going to be short and sweet because the less you know before going into it, the better.

It's horror-ish
It's a thriller
It's bingeable (and yes I did binge it in 1 sitting)
and it is creepy AF

THIS is what a thriller should be like when it is marketed as a thriller. Not what I've been seeing lately where it's suspense (and then I get disappointed when I read it)...this is a good old fashion, keep the hairs at the back of your neck up, don't read at night thriller.

Loved it. Best Book I read in February

Chills! Absolute to-the-bone chills!😬

It’s 1995 and April and Eddie are on their honeymoon after a whirlwind romance. They just knew they were meant for each other. Perhaps a bit bent, yet fit together like peanut butter and jelly. They’ve booked four nights at a small lakeside hotel in Michigan. Road trip!

After waking from a nap during the car ride Eddie informs April that they’re hopelessly lost on this seemingly deserted road. No cars in sight. But up ahead is a lone woman walking along the side of the road. Being genuinely good people they cannot just drive past her.

Pulling off the side of the road to check on this mysterious wanderer they quickly realize something is seriously wrong. She’s covered in blood! Can they somehow find a hospital and get her help in time? Is the person responsible still close by?

I love how the storyline takes place in the 90’s. The author adds enough realistic detail to place you in that decade without bombarding you with so much 90’s trivia that it distracts from the story.

As with all books by Simone St James there’s a supernatural element to her storylines.👻Perhaps this book displayed that the most out of all her books. But not to worry my fellow scaredy cats! If I can get through this one you will too! (Just keep the lights on) JK!😉

But seriously, this book did give me spine tingling chills! Hope it does the same for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group

Another spooky paranormal thriller from Simone St. James! And this one was pretty terrifying. I listened to the audiobook and as the narrator would whisper, I would literally get chills. I found when I was home alone I didn't want to go into the basement by myself in case the lost girl was waiting down there! I really liked the main character April and the side characters Eddie and Rose. They all had compelling back stories that affected their current situation. The story was truly enthralling and I read it in just a single day. Highly recommend this one if you've liked Simone St. James previous works!

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for my gifted digital advance reader copy.

Simone St. James is BACK with her new novel, MURDER ROAD, set in the mid-90s. Newlyweds April and Eddie are driving to their honeymoon destination, a remote resort town, when Eddie takes a wrong turn. As they attempt to navigate back to the highway, they discover a hitchhiker and offer her a lift. When the woman gets into Eddie and April's car, they realize she is seriously injured. They bring her to a hospital where she later dies. Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, April and Eddie become the focus of local law enforcement who believe that the couple murdered the woman. Desperate to clear their names, April and Eddie realize that the unnamed hitchhiker is not the only person to have fallen victim to violence on Atticus Line.

Simone St. James books are always a treat, and this one was no exception. This one has it all in spades- mystery, supernatural elements, small town drama, and 90s nostalgia. It's kind of (and I mean no offense to Mr. Sager) everything I wished SURVIVE THE NIGHT was. St. James had me hooked from the start and I raced along to the conclusion, eager to solve the mystery of creepy old Atticus Line along with April and Eddie. I think some of the reveals were predictable, but I was still able to suspend disbelief and enjoy this one.

April and Eddie are just trying to get to their honeymoon spot. But then they pick up a hitchhiker and everything changes in an instant. Soon, they realize the hitchhiker is bleeding, and a mysterious truck is following them.

The Coldlake Falls police immediately suspect April and Eddie, but the couple knows there must be more going on here. There’s a legend surrounding that road, and they are determined to figure out the truth.

I always enjoy St. James’ books-she does a great job of mixing human nature, mystery, and the supernatural and paranormal. This is definitely a creepy eerie read, with a powerful ending. I would recommend this book, and St. James’ other books as well.

Simone St. James once again deliver a thrilling ghost story, this time centering a couple on a honeymoon and ghosts not contained within a house. I love the unusual aspect of a couple who loves each other and works together throughout the novel. The antagonist couples in so many thrillers today is exhausting and played out. Simone St. James gave us something fresh. As a GenX person, I also loved the setting and revisiting not just the aesthetic of the 1990s, but the sense of isolation that came with the extreme independence we had as a generation. We had life skills, but struggled to connect with others or process our own feelings. She captures that so well. Highly recommend!

This was so good and SO creepy!! This book grabbed my attention from the start and held it the entire way through. I was thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading it and couldn’t wait to dive back in when I had the chance. It takes a lot for thrillers to creep me out, but this one did and made me lose sleep. This story kept me on the edge of my seat, had my heart racing, and gave me the chills while waiting to see where it would go. The only thing that kept this from being a 5-star read is that there was one thing I felt like didn’t get answered towards the end.

✨ supernatural thriller that will creep you out and make you want to sleep with the lights on
✨ blending of paranormal elements with reality
✨ complex, multi-layered characters
✨ VERY interesting/unique mysteries that all end up being connected
✨ cold case
✨ a book you can easily binge in a few sitting - fast-paced & short chapters

Simone St. James is the queen of thrillers and I stand by that. Murder road was exceptional, i could NOT put it down for the life of me. I had to know what happened.

I really enjoy Simone St. James’ work. This one felt like a classic ghost story with a little bit of a twist. Eddie and April are on their honeymoon. April didn’t expect to get married but she loves Eddie and doesn’t mind that they are going to a tiny resort in a town no one has heard of for their honeymoon. After taking a wrong turn they come across a woman walking on the road looking confused. They convince her they can take her to the nearest hospital so she gets into their car, and then they realize she has been stabbed and is bleeding badly. The girl dies and April and Eddie are the prime suspects. But quickly they discover this isn’t the first hitchhiker to die and they become obsessed with solving the original murder. I liked that this story was set in the 90’s so there were no cell phones or google so the mystery took some work to get solved. This was a fun story. I didn’t find the twists as twist as I wanted, but the haunted feeling was dead on.

Simone St. James is one of those atmospheric authors of creepy tales that I love. Y’all know I’m the biggest wimp when it comes to scary so she is just about the most I can handle before I’m calling my mama. 😂 This story was no exception. She starts the book off with a bang and I was immediately thrust into terror. 😆 I was pretty much on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was not successful in figuring out the whodunnit but I enjoyed the journey. I did have some questions about the ending but overall this was a page turner!

Murder Road is out 3/5/24 so be sure to pick it up in pub day and let me know what you think! I also recommend the audio of this because the narration contributing to the creepy factor!

Newlyweds on their way to their honeymoon, come across a woman on the side of the road. When they pick her up she has been stabbed and dies before they get her to the hospital. Instantly, Eddie and April become the prime suspects.

The storyline contains a lot of suspense with a few twists and turns. Enjoyed the mystery, not necessarily the science fiction thrown in. Overall, great novel, kept my attention and I couldn’t put it down.

I really enjoyed this story. The chapters were short. The pacing was steady but I did feel some parts in the middle were a little bit slow. I do like the way everything was resolved. I didn't expect that twist at all and I legit gasped. This book would be a great spooky season read.

I think this is the third or fourth title by this author I have tried. They just don't do it for me. The twists seem too obvious and the whole will it be a paranormal cause or not is just wearisome. Almost horror? but comes across more of a caricature of the genre. This author is just not for me.

Who is killing the hitchhikers on Atticus Line and will our honeymooning couple be their next victim ? Or will they solve the mystery and clear their name ?

With a blend of supernatural elements and suspense, this gripping tale with unexpected twists will have you turning those pages late into the night !

I received a complimentary advanced ebook copy of MURDER ROAD by Simone St. James. Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for the chance to read and provide an honest review.

MURDER ROAD follows newlyweds April and Eddie. They are headed to a small resort town for their honeymoon when they get a bit lost. While trying to find their way, they see a woman alone on the dark road and feel that they need to stop to help her. Little do they know she’s severely injured and there’s someone after her. They get the hitchhiker to the hospital, but she cannot be saved. Suddenly instead of a honeymoon, April and Eddie are in the middle of a murder investigation.

this is not the first murder to occur along Atticus Line, but it is the first time that a victim has been found alive and witnesses were left behind. Unable to give a good reason for why they were on that stretch of road in the first place, investigators aren’t sure whether April and Eddie are good samaritans or brutal killers. The pair must try to figure out what evil lurks along this vacant stretch of road to clear their names.

I didn’t know much going into this one, only that I enjoy Simone St. James’ books. I had an overall good time with this one as well! The book started out really strong. There’s something about an isolated country road that really quickly amps up the chilling atmosphere in a story and the race to save this woman and get her help hit all the right notes of tension for the book!

The book did slow down a bit after the initial opening and I had some overall issues with the pacing. I appreciated the investigation that April and Eddie undertook and the back story we start to get on both of them, but the story did hit some slow points for me. Though in love and newly married, theirs has been a bit of a whirlwind courtship and both have secrets the other doesn’t fully know. I did like the way their relationship was shown to struggle but remain strong. I also liked the mental health rep we got through the past traumas both characters have been through.

I thought that this book was a good mix of mystery investigation and paranormal horror and it kept me wanting to read on well past my bedtime!

April and Eddie just got married and are headed to a small resort town for their honeymoon. They must have taken a wrong turn because they are on a dark and deserted road where a hitchhiker appears. The couple picks up the woman but once she’s in the car, they see that she is bleeding…

The book starts out action packed with the hurt hitchhiker but then the pacing slows and becomes more atmospheric. April and Eddie become detectives and are determined to find out what really happened to the hitchhiker. As they investigate the story starts to have a paranormal element, which I enjoyed. Despite the slow pace, I felt the book was still filled with just enough mystery and suspense that kept my interest and it had me wanting to keep reading.

Read if you enjoy
Supernatural thrillers
90’s nostalgia
Cold Cases

Simone St. James does an excellent job at writing modern ghost stories- not gory horror, but the sort of supernatural Twilight Zone-esque stories that have a growing creep factor that sneaks up on you and compounds. This is probably my favorite St. James book so far. The main characters, a couple on their honeymoon, are imperfect but endearing and provide an emotional grounding to the story, which is one part murder mystery and one part campfire ghost story. They are troubled individuals, but doing their best. The setting is a back road in a small town that could be any small town in America. The setup is like a hundred 'girl in the road' local legends I had heard as a teenager, but with some clever added twists along the way. I felt the ending was a little rushed, but very satisfying. I would highly recommend this to library patrons looking for a good thriller, and I feel that it would make a great book club pick. I think it would be pretty universal in it's appeal- it has a lot of tension and is just on the edge of supernatural horror, but I think a large variety of readers would enjoy it and have a lot to discuss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ebook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for my advance copy! I am a HUGE St. James fan and I always read her books. When I found out this one had more paranormal elements (her specialty) I was excited.

I loved the mystery of this one, and I truly did not see the ending. It kept me pushing forward. The mix of horror, suspense and thrilling elements were all wrapped up beautifully. St. James spends time with her characters. You get to know them. They all have a backstory and in this one I think Rose was my favorite character.

My only gripe was it did feel a bit repetitive and I felt like it could have been a bit shorter. That is probably a “me” problem though.