Simone St James has become one of my go-to thriller authors to read. I enjoy her characters and stories that she comes up with. This book was no different. A rather simple storyline, but with some twists and turns that left me guessing what the end would be.

4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley, and Simone St. James for the #ARC in return for an honest review!

Why did I wait so long to read this? One of my favorite authors coming out with another spooky, thriller with true crime elements. It was so good! Beware of your honeymoon adventures...

What did I enjoy?
🚗supernatural twists mixed in with true crime
🚗90's nostalgia
🚗fast paced
🚗unreliable narrators
🚗investigation style
🚗ghost stories

What could have been better?
👻I was a little disappointed by the ending. It felt a bit rushed and knocked the five star rating down for me.

I would recommend!

Murder Road was an enjoyable, tense read. However, I found it less interesting and less captivating than Simone St. James's other books.

A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel.

I think my expectations were a bit high for Murder Road by Simone St. James. The premise is great! Sounds really scary but I found it to be annoying and just not that great. I think I wanted more paranormal than there was.

I am a fan of Simone St James books and couldn't resist when I saw the title and cover.
I loved the premise and the supernatural element in the book.
Fans of thrillers will enjoy this title.

Such a fun and unexpected read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

MURDER ROAD by @simonestjames is out today! Swipe right it to read the synopsis. Thank you @berkleypub for the e-ARC!

I love Simone St. James’ books. I feel like she has the perfect blend of real life issues/mystery and the supernatural. So far, the books I have read from her so far have tackled the issue of violence against women and she does it in a way that’s not overly in your face. You really care for the characters and their stories.

And not to mention that it’s such a fast read because you’re so pulled in! I’ve realized how much I enjoy mysteries that take place before the internet as this book takes place in the 90s. That means no access to immediate information. All the sleuthing takes time and the characters have to rely on strangers and their own selves.

Speaking of the characters, April and Eddie were perfect. They each their own past mysteries hanging over their heads and it really keeps the reader guessing who can be trusted. At one point I feel like I suspected everyone of the heinous acts. 🫣

Would highly recommend this if you want a mystery thriller interwoven with supernatural elements!

I know I enjoyed his book when I read it, but I waited too long to write the review and now I just feel like it wasn’t very memorable. It was enjoyable at the time I read it but it’s not a book that stands out to me. Thank you netgalley for my free review copy

This is the book I chose to read on my kindle during the night when I couldn't sleep. So suspenseful and good!! I really enjoyed the thrilling suspense and liked the. characters. Do yourself a favor and read it in the dark...

This right here is why I love Simone St. James. Her books are just so atmospheric and creepy AF! This one was no exception. The storyline was tight. Characters (mostly) believable. And she even has me feeling like this is real. I even got a little scared a few times. That’s just how good she is! Love, love, loved it! 10/10 will read this one again!

If you're a fan of Simone St. James's atmospheric thrillers and enjoy a healthy dose of the supernatural with your mysteries, "Murder Road" might be a chilling addition to your reading list. This time, St. James takes us on a road trip through a cursed stretch of highway in the 90s, where a young couple's honeymoon detour turns into a nightmare. The story is undeniably gripping, with a classic ghost story vibe and a series of gruesome murders that will keep you hooked. The investigative element is strong, and the supernatural aspects are certainly spooky. If you appreciate a mystery that doesn't shy away from embracing the paranormal, you'll likely find yourself immersed in this world. However, be prepared for a bit of a mixed bag. While the mystery itself is compelling, some readers found the characters' backstories a bit tedious, and the emotional depth might not resonate with everyone. The 90s setting is nostalgic, but it could have been utilized more effectively. Overall, "Murder Road" is a decent supernatural thriller with a classic ghost story feel. It might not be St. James's strongest work, but if you're looking for a spooky mystery with a touch of nostalgia, it's worth checking out. Just be prepared for a few bumps in the road along the way.

My least favorite Simone St. James novel yet. This one didn’t give me the creeps at any point. The only character I ended up caring about was the innkeeper.

This was a really interesting story that kept me engaged throughout! I expected it to be a typical thriller but it felt more like true crime mixed with some paranormal aspects and I loved it! Highly recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers and mysteries

Simone St. James is one of my favorite authors so I'm always excited to read a new book but this one had me glued to my seat. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. St. James excels at the supernatural mystery and this did not disappoint

Our story takes place in 1995 and we are immediately thrust into a mystery when our honeymooning couple pick up a woman on the side of the road who is very badly hurt and bleeding all over the back seat of their car. Like any good person would do, they take her to the hospital where she succumbs to her injuries. Within a suspiciously short amount of time, detectives are there questioning our couple and telling them not to leave town.

Our couple, Eddie and April, are put up into an unusual B&B run but an equally unusual woman only to find that this story is not over and somehow they both are tied to the murders on Murder Road. Eddie and April are both hiding secrets that threaten to put their new marriage in danger. Working together, they investigate to find out who or what is the serial killer and to clear their names.

Excellent mystery with spooky supernatural elements, Murder Road was fantastic. I LOVED all the quirky characters of the town but Rose, the B&B owner was amazing. Prickly on the outside but their real true ally, she was the heart of the story and made them more likeable. I will highly recommend this title to those looking for a supernatural thriller/mystery.

Murder Road was an engrossing read that hooked me from start to finish. I loved the atmospheric setting and the 90s nostalgia.

Simone St. James seems to never miss with me. I've read all of her books and they never disappoint! This one really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Despite living in Maine, home of horror hero Stephen King, for 20 years, I am not drawn to horror when it comes to my reading habits. I am, however, drawn to quirky and mysterious, which is why I was drawn to Murder Road by Simone St James.

It is July of 1995. On their way to a small honeymoon in the mid-west, April and Eddie find themselves lost. Stopping late at night for a young woman who appears to be hitchhiking, they quickly find themselves racing to get her to the hospital, where she dies of her wounds. They find themselves the suspects in a protracted string of murders. Despite this, they still don’t tell the police about the truck they saw following them… or whatever they thought they saw in the back of that truck.

Unexplained murders have been happening along the old Atticus Line for a long time, and April and Eddie are the first-ever witnesses. Unable to leave the town while being questioned, the couple starts to dig into the history of the murders and the history of the stretch of road that locals now avoid. Very quickly things start turning supernatural, and, as April and Eddie try to leave, they find themselves drawn back to the small community in more ways than one.


Images: Penguin Random House
Murder Road was a compelling read, with some interesting character points and a ghost story that was creepy enough to be engaging and subtle enough to not make me want to put the book in the freezer. As usual, I found myself drawn more to the side characters than anything else. The state detective who has been unable to crack this 20-year-old case and the wife of the deceased cop who was sidelined in the department because of his race.



The book centers on a young married couple, each with their own complicated past. April has spent most of her life on the run from an abusive father and from a past that chased her no matter what name she used. Eddie was abandoned as a child and was discharged from the army for some pretty severe PTSD. St James weaves in several other character pairings that balance things out nicely, the aging residents of the town, who know more than they let on, and the teenage Harriet the Spy wannabes who know far more than everyone. Everyone has a piece of this puzzle, and April and Eddie can’t quite let themselves step away without seeing everything to its fullest conclusion. The story starts quickly but then builds itself up with remarkable subtlety. You are about halfway through the book before you realize that the town is a vibrant community and not some ghost town being tortured into oblivion by a specter. Moms are doing yoga and kids are going to the library, but, to begin with, we only see what April and Eddie see.

April and Eddie are a wonderfully put-together couple. Quite frankly several of their conversations reminded me of things that my husband and I have said to each other. While most of their situations are wildly different from my own marriage, the way that they worry about each other but also talk each other down was touching in such a familiar way.



“We’ve had terrible ideas before. At least I have.”
“Like marrying me?”
The question was a surprise… “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.

Sure their life is simple, and their marriage was pretty hasty, but they are an excellent fit. Not without its emotional moments for all the characters, it was hard not to feel deeply for Rose as she told the tale of her husband’s death and how the community has treated her ever since. But it is April’s practicality in the face of PTSD, police over-zealousness, and ghosts that really captivated me.

I had gotten this far in my life by being practical, by dealing with what was right in front of my face without dithering. So now I believed in ghosts. Or at least I believed in this ghost. What do you want? I asked her in my head… If a ghost stopped your car in the road, then she wanted something. It was the only logic that made sense.

The setting of 1995 is mentioned often enough to feel nostalgic for someone who grew up at that time—I myself was 14—but not so often that it impairs the movement of the story. Interestingly enough, the time period actually serves to highlight how little has changed in these small communities where they live, love, and die together. My favorite moment was when April is looking around the guest house for a book to read and stumbles on V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic. I was obsessed with the TV series in my youth, and I remember reading the book several times. Having it just lying around a mid-nineties house is such a perfectly normal thing.

Murder Road is an engaging dive into the myths and monsters we create ourselves in small-town America and definitely a great one to pick up for any road trips you might have planned this summer. Just don’t follow the light on a quiet road and you’ll be fine!

Murder Road was released in March of this year and GeekMom received a copy for review purposes.

✨Book Review✨
Murder Road by Simone St. James
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
.
This book was a decent thriller. You definitely have to be ok with supernatural elements with any of St. James’s books. The story got a little old at times, but for the most part I was engaged and wanted to keep reading.
.
I listened to the audio and enjoyed the narrator.

As usual, Simone St. James does the supernatural like no other. Following along with April and Eddie on their honeymoon unlike any other was...interesting. The book started off strong, but somewhere along the way it lost some steam for me. I didn't enjoy this one as much as Sun Down Motel or The Book of Cold Cases. Some of it seemed a bit too coincidental at the end, but I suppose that's why they ended up taking that wrong turn to start with. Hoping Simone St. James' next book pulls me in a bit more than this one.

This was my first read from Simone St James and I really liked it. The offending highway had a deliciously creepy atmosphere throughout the story and I thought it was a fun premise that Eddie and April got sucked into a crime as they were headed to their honeymoon destination. It was refreshing to read about a couple that genuinely loved one another without any backstabbing or cheating involved. I loved the fact-finding mission they went on and I quite enjoyed paranormal aspect too. The only thing that felt a little odd to me were the parts concerning the police and the big explanation for everything. That part was so-so. But the rest of the book was a lot of fun! I‘ll be reading more by this author, especially in the autumn due to the fun, atmospheric quality of the setting.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for sending me a digital review copy via NetGalley. It was a lot of fun to read, and these thoughts are all my own!