Newlyweds are on a honeymoon from hell as they encounter a young hitchhiker dying from a stab wound. On their way to the hospital they encounter a ghostly apparition set on finishing the job. Local cops are keen to pin the crime on the couple, so they start investigating with the help of two teenaged true crime obsessives and a cranky B&B owner. This story is good for readers looking for a story more on the spine tingling side than the gory side. Simone St James delivers another historical creep fest that also works well as a mystery if you are willing to accept ghosts as possible murder accomplices.

Simone St. James delivers another solid SUPERNATURAL thriller, which might just raise the hairs on your arms…

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

July 1995:

Eddie and April are newlyweds heading to a cabin for their honeymoon-part of a hotel on the shore of Lake Michigan. They had scrimped and saved and had been able to book five nights, planning to swim, BBQ burgers, drink beer, play scrabble and go to bed. Repeat five times and then head home to Ann Arbor where they would go to work all day, come home at five, have a sandwich together, go to bed, and repeat again, forever and ever, secure in their marital bliss.

But, something along the way, made Eddie take a wrong turn onto Atticus Line, a dark, deserted strip of road that has taken the lives of several hitchhikers over the past nineteen years, the first occurring in 1976.

Then, in the beam of their headlights, they saw a figure walking that appeared to need help, and stopping will change EVERYTHING.

Rhonda Jean isn’t drunk- she is bleeding-and although they rush her to the hospital in ColdLake Falls, when she dies, they somehow become “suspects” instead of the Good Samaritans they are!

Caught up in the mystery, of the original Jane Doe found, dubbed “The Lost Girl”, -they try to clear their names, but when they see her, they have to wonder if she IS just an urban legend ?!

WILL ONE OR BOTH OF THEM BECOME HER NEXT VICTIMS?

Fortunately, they will have the help of Rose, the proprietor of the B &B they are placed in by local Police, and Beatrice and Gracie Snell, two resourceful teenaged sisters who are better sleuths than the detectives in charge.

Full of fun 90’s nostalgia, and several eerie, ominous car rides-you will want to scream at Eddie and April whenever they ventured back onto Atticus Line.

Just 👀 look at that gorgeous cover of the oncoming headlights on the desolate MURDER ROAD!

Then, as I flipped the pages on my Kindle, there was a dark line beneath each numbered chapter, which seemed to move as you reached the first page of each new chapter-looking just like the dashed lines you see dividing two lanes on highway at night as you speed past! Creepy!

If you have enjoyed the author’s work in the past, you’ll want to mark your calendars for March 5, 2024, when this is released!

Thank You to Berkley for the very early gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Another great, creepy book by St. James!
This one is a ghost/mystery novel taking place in the mid 90's. As someone who was in high school during this time, I LOVED the time setting!
April and Eddie, both in their mid 20's, are headed to their honeymoon when they take a wrong turn and end up on Atticus Line, a road headed towards Coldlake Falls. On this road they see a woman walking and pick her up, only to see she has been stabbed and is near death.
What follows is a creepy, atmospheric tale of ghosts, urban legends, and family history.
A quick, entertaining read that will keep you guessing!
Recommend!

OH wow, I am apparently in the vast minority here, but I could not abide the writing in this novel, from pretty much page 2. I've been curious to try a Simone St. James book for awhile, and this premise sounded perfect for the Fall/spooky season, but I could not stand the narrative voice and characterization it implied. It's definitely working for others, though, clearly.

Theres a lot to like about this book - short, fast paced chapters, unreliable narrators with mysterious back stories, awesome 90s references and the spooky overtones the author is known for.

I read this book in one sitting. Eddie and April, newlyweds on their way to their Honeymoon get trapped in a Bermuda Triangle-esque stretch of road.

Such a fun and easy read. I love the 90s references - smashing pumpkins and long distance phone calls. I was in high school in the 90s and appreciate the homage to 90s alternative music scene in the book.

Another great read! Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing

This might be my new favorite book by Simone St. James! WOW!!!
And I reeeeally loved Broken Girls and The Sun Down Motel by her. So that’s saying a lot!

Murder Road gave me Harpin Bridge vibes, but it was creepier. Lots of supernatural elements, and horror cliches. It felt like I was watching a new spooky show. I also loved that it’s set in 1995. Such a good nostalgic feeling!

April and Eddie are two broken people with … past. They complete each other, and they’re heading to their honeymoon.

Until they take a wrong turn…

They end up in a dark street, and they notice a person walking slowly by the road. They give her a ride, and she ends up dying in their car.

From then on, the book is simply impossible to put down.
This hitchhiker is connected to a series of murders that go back to the seventies, and Eddie and April apparently have some connections to them.

Simone St. James knows how to write one heck of a scary ghost story and Murder Road is no exception.

A couple on their honeymoon find a young woman walking along a deserted road - when they get her in their car they realize she has been stabbed so they take her to the hospital.
On their way a truck overtakes them and an ethereal woman stares into their car. This is their first encounter with the Lost Girl, a ghost who can take over people and force them to kill young women and then have no memory of it.

The story is spooky and the characters are all well flushed out and quite real. Even the Lost Girl. Nothing is quite what it seems. I read this book in one sitting on a luxurious weekend day.

Simone St. James is usually one of my top five authors. I wanted to love this book, but it fell more in the category of suspense and crime novel, versus her older horror books. As an author St. James has every right to change her style of writing but I still found myself disappointed the supernatural scenes were only a very small part of this novel.

Only Simone St. James can make me believe in ghosts! Or the supernatural….
Eddie and April are newly married and traveling to their honeymoon when they are sidetracked in a strange town, accused of murder, and more importantly trying to figure out of they are seeing things.
Trying to clear their name, hide from their own secrets, and figure out what is going on, they learn more about themselves then they thought they could.

I had to finish reading this with my Kindle plugged in as it had a low battery and I wasn't about to stop.
This book is spooky and will stay with you. As with all her books, the paranormal element is unique and done so well.
Anytime I will travel on a remote road, I will think of this book.

Another great entry from Simone St. Jane. Her paranormal worlds are so easily slipped into by the reader. You believe it all from the very first word, and are fighting along with the heroine the whole time. April and Eddie’s honeymoon is derailed by a murder but finding just who did it will take more than some detective work.

Incredibly creepy and engaging. Loved the setting and the era. This author is hit-or-miss for me, but this was very good and recommendable.

In this paranormal thriller, newlyweds April and Eddie are heading on a road trip honeymoon. On their way to their destination, they find themselves on a deserted road where they spot a hitchhiker. They stop for her, and realize she’s badly injured and try to help her. In doing so, they become suspects in a string of murders that have occurred on the same deserted road.

I have read several books by Simone St. James, and she has mastered the paranormal thriller. This one was exceptional! I absolutely loved the nineties setting and the unreliable narrator. The local urban legend central to the story and the creepy supernatural element added so much suspense that it was hard to put down. Thriller lovers will love the nostalgic 90s horror movie-feel and the suspenseful buildup of the story.

Thank you to Simone St. James, Berkley, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Newlyweds Eddie and April pick up a hitchhiker on their way to their honeymoon. They take her to the hospital when they realize she is injured and later she dies from her injuries. Eddie and April are now suspects and as they try to clear their name, they realize others have died on the same road. Is there a serial killer hunting hitchhikers on Atticus Line or could the urban legend be true about a ghost haunting the road? This was a creepy story at times and not only was I eager to find out who was hurting the hitchhikers, I also wanted to know the secrets April was keeping.

I was very excited for this book, and it did not disappoint! A wonderful read by a wonderful author. I will absolutely be recommending this to all my thriller readers.

Simone St. James wins my heart again in another beautifully written thriller. A must for every thrillers bookshelf.

When April and Eddie Carter pick up a hitchhiker while driving to their honeymoon destination, they get pulled into the world of Coldlake Falls and the string of unsolved murders that haunts Atticus Line. Their decision to stop and pick up the hitchhiker quickly makes them suspects in a murder investigation, and they must take matters into their own hands to clear their names.

April and Eddie come with their own sets of emotional baggage - April with her fraught relationship with her mother and Eddie with his experiences in the Iraq war. Yet they seem to be a perfect match. April muses, "When I met Eddie Carter, I saw someone who was so different from me, yet whose darkness mirrored my own." This strong relationship is what helps them get through the week in Coldlake Falls.

I've read so many thrillers that begin with a chapter that sets up the action before taking you back to the calm where it all started. This is not one of those books. From page one, Simone St. James throws you into the story and doesn't pull you out again like so many authors do. And I loved it. The sense of fear and anxiety that I felt while reading chapter one set me up for the feel of the rest of this book.

Simone St. James doesn't miss. Her combination of mystery, heart, horror, and love is a truly unique thing that she excels at in each of her books. As a public librarian, I've been asked to recommend read-alikes for her books, and it's not easy. Her stories are unique. They're special. One minute, you're crying at a beautiful, heartfelt moment. You then turn the page and are greeted with a description so eerie that you are afraid to turn the lights off. Murder Road is no exception. We are so lucky to live in a world where Simone St. James is writing books.

This is another supernatural winner by one of my favorite authors. Kudos to her for knocking it out of the park again with this creepy, twisty story.

Simone St James best novel yet takes us to some back woods and a small town where everyone knows there are certain roads you don't walk down, especially at night. I love how Simone can make every part of her story so scary and make me feel like I want to jump out of my skin. Her writing is so intense that it feels real and not cheesy like a lot of horror/ghost stories. The twists in this story were mind blowing. Again, in my opinion, this was Simone St James best novel yet. I will be highly recommending this one.