“Red River Road" is a gripping, atmospheric thriller full of unexpected twists and turns. The story is told from the POVs of Katy, Beth, and a teenage boy named Wyatt. It was a bit of a slow burn, but once everything started to come together, I could not put it down. I loved the atmosphere and setting in the remote Australian Outback. It had such an eerie vibe. When the big twist was revealed, my jaw dropped. I wanted to reread the entire story to find the clues I had missed. This was my first Anna Downes book, and I will definitely be reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A road-trip novel that takes readers on a chaotic and nightmarish journey across Western Australia, where we follow Katy Sweeney, a woman searching for her missing sister who vanished a year earlier during a solo van trip. The police have seemingly given up, but Katy is determined to retrace her sister’s steps to uncover any clues. Alongside Katy's story, we are introduced to two additional perspectives: Beth, whose journey soon intersects with Katy’s, and Wyatt, whose mysterious narrative unfolds gradually.

This novel defied my initial expectations in the best possible way. I anticipated a traditional, clue-based mystery but instead encountered an evolving, atmospheric psychological thriller that left me bewildered most of the time, unsure of what was happening.

The novel’s pace is slow, particularly throughout the first 70%, which I didn’t mind. The author's vivid descriptions of the Australian outback and the intriguing character of Beth kept me engaged. However, I struggled to connect with Katy, finding her somewhat standoffish and her investigative methods (or lack thereof) frustrating.

In the last quarter of the book, the pace accelerates with a series of relentless reveals, making it impossible to put down. I finished the book in just a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it. While there was some over-explanation towards the end, the compelling story made it easy to overlook. Overall, it's a captivating and enigmatic psychological adventure set in Australia.

Red River Road is a book I had to walk away from after reading it. I needed to decide how I felt about it. There is something eery about the Australian wilderness. The book is very selfaware on that note. So many of the Australian horror stories, true and fiction, are referenced or paid homage to. And who doesn’t feel for someone looking for their missing loved one?

Katy is out looking for her sister. Phoebe disappeared on a solo van tour up the Australian coast. I have to start with the coast. I want to go there myself. Maybe even get lost for awhile. It is immediately evident that in spite of the beauty, something is wrong here. Katy has lost time. She wonders if every person she meets along the way met her sister. She wonders if any of them followed her. If any of them hurt her. Luckily for her, Phoebe was (of course) documenting all of this on social media. I mean, did it even happen if you don’t post it on Instagram? (Answer:yes, but not everyone knows that. Shhhhh).

Beth is also out on the coast, but for different reasons. She also seems wrong. She is hiding things and running from someone. Katy needs to decide if that will get in the way of finding her sister. Somehow, she is convinced, Beth can help her find Phoebe. She feels it.

There was a lot of bait and switch here. When I finished it felt like the ending tried to do too much. Now that I’ve given it some time to settle, it seems a little less so. We, the reader, are being constantly mislead. That made it unsettling. Do you like to be unsettled?

I really enjoyed this novel and thought the epilogue really tied it all together beautifully. The tension ratchets up as the novel progresses. You experience the story from Katy, Beth and Wyatt's POV. Katy is looking for her missing sister, Beth is on the run, and Wyatt? Well he's lonely. A novel about solo female travel and female safety, memory and how it works (or doesn't), and what family bonds mean, this was a well-plotted read.

"Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Red river road

Phoebe is a social media influencer documenting her trip to Australia when she goes missing. There are no leads, just her social media promoting safe solo travel, that obviously turned unsafe.

Her sister, Katy, takes matters into her own hands as she goes searching for her sister. During her journey, Katy meets Beth. This story is from the POV of Katy and Beth both, which is nice to break up the story and keep pacing going. Beth, disguising as Lily, convinces Katy to let her come on the journey with her to search for Phoebe. Through the journey, Beth’s POV revisits her past and what to share with Katy when she continues to ask about her story and why she is traveling alone.

We also get the POV for Wyatt. Wyatt’s story involves his brother who lived with him in a home where his mother has left the home. Wyatt has hope she’ll return, but is finally told that she disappeared and didn’t abandon them like he thought. It’s unclear when the timeline occurs with the story and his story is the most confusing.

I had an advanced copy of both the ebook and audiobook of this book. The narration was excellent- great expression and intonation.

The audiobook got confusing at times with the same voice for all point of views and flipping timelines. Overall, I feel the book was well paced, exciting, and kept me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy on exchange for an honest review. Out now !

I was impressed with how solid this mystery was. I was a bit worried at the big reveal but it actually felt plausible and I liked seeing how everything fit together.

Out now! Big thanks to the publisher for the early copy to read and review <3

I liked this quite a bit! The setting was stunningly described. The characters are so mysterious. And the whole book has this overarching sense of foreboding as we reach the conclusion.

The descriptions of the Australian setting were beautifully written. I felt like I could see the beauty (and danger) of the Red River Road (lol) and all the places along the way. I also liked the way the characters were presented. There is a sense of "who can I trust/ believe" that propelled the story. First, we want to think Kate is just out looking for her sister but later doubt is cast. And then there is Lily/ Beth. She straight up tells the reader she is lying about almost everything about herself. But why? And is the reason good enough to actually want to root for her? There's a third main POV of Wyatt, a "kid" (I call anyone younger than me a kid, haha, it's the 'old' lady in me) with a rough home life and his relationship with his brother and father. At the very beginning his POV seemed soooo super random. It all comes together.

The big twist was a wild one, so buckle in for that if you choose to read. Over the whole story is this sense of unease/ suspicion/ foreboding as we go along with Kate trying to find out what happened to Phoebe. As we get more answers, more questions, and they get closer to the end of the trip, the sense increases until that final blowout moment where our character's stories cross.

I'd recommend this if you love:
-descriptive and beautiful settings
-mystery of a missing woman on her #vanlife adventure
-mixed media (Phoebe's social media posts and comments)

📱Red River Road📱⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Genre- Thriller. ⁣
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⁣Length- 384 pages. ⁣
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⁣My thoughts- If I had to sum this book up in one word- I’d probably call it weird! ⁣
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⁣Katy is searching for her sister, Phoebe, who disappeared the year before while solo traveling- leaving only her social media as evidence of her journey. On the road, she encounters Beth- a young women on the run from a shady past. ⁣
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⁣On the positive side, I really enjoy books set in Australia. Red River Road felt very atmospheric and creepy. It’s an engrossing story with lots of twists, turns and a few unreliable characters. Unfortunately, this one unfortunately was a bit too much of a slow burn and the end left me scratching my head. ⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Overall, this one is fine. Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Thank you to. @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of Red River Road. It is out now!

Travel addict, #vanlifer Phoebe is posting daily on instagram about her current solo exploration along the coast of Australia. Then as quickly as she started her trip, she disappears. One year later sister Katy follows her sister’s traveled route to find her. Along the way she finds stranger Beth (who’s on the run) hidden inside her van, and they team up to find Phoebe. Narrated by Katie, Beth and Wyatt, whose mother vanished, their stories slowly reveal how each of their fates are interconnected. Anna Downes writes exceptionally well by the great depth she gives her characters passing those same feels on to readers.. 1-you never feel safe, 2-at certain points are scared to death, 3-you can’t trust anyone. The atmospheric setting was perfection. If you enjoy unreliable characters with edge-of-your-seat suspense this is the book for you. It’s one wild ride that ended with many unexpected AND unbelievable crazy twists that I literally had to reread for it to register. I absolutely loved the SHOCKING wrap up (tell-all so to speak) involving ALL the characters. WOW. 4.5 stars — Pub. 8/27/24

I received an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the new book by Anna Downes and perfectly narrated by Maddy Withington. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Katy is looking for her sister, Phoebe. A year ago, Phoebe vanished without a trace while on a solo van life trip along the coast of Western Australia. Using Phoebe's social media as a map, Katy retraces her steps, looking for clues. She meets Beth, who is on the run, and realizes that Beth may help her find the truth.

Whew - this is a great thriller but be patient with it, because all is not what is seems! Told from the POV of Katy, Beth, and Wyatt, along with social media posts, Downes leads you down a twisty path. A look into the dark side of solo female travel, you won't know who you can trust or believe. It's creepy, especially Wyatt's story, and will leave you guessing for sure. Loved the Australian setting!

This was a fun ride! While I do think the pacing suffered a bit through the middle, the beginning was successful in making me interested and the end was so propulsive that I stayed up way past my bedtime on a weeknight because I just could not wait to see what happened next.

There were some good little nuggets that hint at what is going on if you read closely, which I enjoy. But the twists and turns at the end kept coming and the action was enjoyable to read (which isn’t always the case for me). A fun setting, interesting characters, exciting action - this hit the mark for me.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Red River Road by Anna Downes
Red River Road by Anna Downes is an intriguing thriller that follows Katy Sweeney as she retraces her missing sister Phoebe’s solo vanlife trip through Australia. The story weaves together Katy’s relentless search for answers with the struggles of Beth, a woman on the run from her dark past. The novel builds slowly but packs a punch with twists and suspense that keep you hooked until the end.
The Australian setting adds depth to the story, and the exploration of solo female travel highlights the dangers and complexities of the journey. I listened to the audiobook, and Maddy Withington's narration truly brings the characters and setting to life. Her Australian accent and emotional delivery enhanced the overall experience, making it even more engaging.
With tension, mystery, and well-developed characters, Red River Road is a thrilling and immersive read that will keep you on edge until the very last page.

Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

Red River Road was such a moving, thrilling, and scenic book. Reading this book really did give you a feel for Australia.This was a fast paced page turner that kept me up way too late turning the pages. The author did a good job keeping me guessing and wondering who was a liar. This book also bought up the very real issue of solo travel as a female. I loved this book and can't wait to read more from Anna.

Red River Road is Anna Downes best book to date. It’s been a year since Katy’s sister disappeared while on a solo road trip around Australia. Now Katy is undertaking the same route herself with hopes of discovering what happened to her. But her trip gets a party crashers when Beth, a woman on the run, sneaks into her van. This is a tense, fast paced thriller as we continue on Katy’s journey will slowly discovering more and more about Beth. Excellent characters and I have to say I really enjoyed this twisting story. This story will make you rethink taking a solo road trip. Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for allowing me the chance to read an ARC.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-river-road-anna-downes/1143881590?ean=9781250868015&bvnotificationId=2ae139b8-6496-11ef-8686-12ed1a139e4f&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/317581340

2.75 rounded up.

I wanted to like this more than I did! I love thrillers with isolated settings, so a van in the outback sounded promising. However, the 3 POVs felt choppy in this, and honestly the build up to the action/side tangents that the two main female characters went on felt uneventful and dragged out.

I found the direction it ended up going in interesting, but it was a bit too late to fully recapture my attention.

With all the names, locations, and side storylines, everything got muddled.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5
I loved this story and right up to the end. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! This was my kind of book with non stop action. There was so much going on and I loved every second of it. Katy, Beth and Wyatt all had secrets that you were trying to figure out.
If you like a twisty thriller, this one is for you.
Many thanks to the author, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Katy Sweeney is on the road. She is driving The Big Lap, all the way around Australia. She is following in the treads of her sister Phoebe, who had taken the trip on her vanlife journey. Phoebe had been documenting her trip on social media, with lots of bright photos and hashtags. And then she disappeared. Katy is hoping that as she travels to the same places, she can figure out what happened to Phoebe, because the police have no leads.

Beth was traveling around Australia and fell in with the wrong guy. He seemed so great at first, but then he took all her clothes and wallet and phone and got violent. Once she saw her opening, she jumped from his van and ran, despite not even having shoes on. But somehow she found a van by the side of the road. There was no one around that she could see, but the doors were unlocked. She jumped in without thinking and hid on the bed, under the blankets.

When the driver came back, she didn’t notice anything amiss at first, but then Katy saw that there was someone on the bed and freaked out. But Beth introduced herself (as Lily, an American college student). Beth wasn’t sure that Katy could be trusted, and Katy wasn’t sure either, but she could see that Beth was in bad shape, and she agreed to let her stay the night. When Beth hears Katy’s story about Phoebe, she wants to help her. As the young women get to know each other, they realize that teaming up may be the best way to find Phoebe, and to stay safe themselves.

But then strange clues start popping up. Notes are left on or near the van. Other travelers recognize Katy from previous campsites and talk about conversations they had with her that she doesn’t remember. Both women get the feeling they’re being watched, maybe even followed. And as they spend time looking over Phoebe’s social media posts and reading the comments and her direct messages, they find trolls who were posting things that were angry and threatening. Both women feel a sense of impending danger and start to question everyone they come across.

But as they get deeper into Phoebe’s journey, closer to the reason she disappeared, the more confused Beth gets from what’s happening. She knows the answer is there, but she can’t put the pieces together the right way. But when it gets to the point of life or death, will Beth be able to find the answers in time, or will it be too late for Phoebe, Katy, and Beth herself?

Red River Road is the latest thriller from Anna Downes, and it is quite the journey. The author takes a while to start showing her cards, but when those cards hit the table late in the book, the story takes a series of unexpected turns that brings about a satisfying and surprising end. These characters go on such a ride, and we’re just hanging on the whole way. This is an enjoyable story that looks at the vanlife lifestyle and how a single woman traveling alone is treated differently in person and online.

I listened to the audio book for this one, and it’s narrated beautifully by Maddy Withington. She brings the fun and adventure of Phoebe’s journey, the danger that Beth was running from, and the curiosity of Katy’s search for answers all to life through her dramatic choices. And her Australian accent brings an authenticity to the reading that really grounded me in Australia for the whole story. And if that’s not enough for you, the audio also has a conversation between Anna Downes and author Sally Hepworth that was both entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. The audio book is worth it just for that, in my opinion. But listen to the story too. Red River Road is a trip like no other.

Egalleys for Red River Road were provided by Minotaur Books, and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Katy Sweeney is on a mission to find her missing sister, Phoebe, who vanished along Western Australia's coral coast a year ago. Armed with nothing but sheer determination and Phoebe's old social media posts, Katy dives deep into a chilling search. Along the way, she meets Beth, a woman with her own dark secrets.
The setting? Totally eerie. The vibe? Creepy enough to make me rethink solo travel! The author nailed it, creating an atmosphere that kept me hooked.
Switching between Katy, Wyatt, and Beth's perspectives made the story even more gripping. As the chapters flew by, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. By the end, I was on the edge of my seat. Red River Road is a page-turner that screams for a movie adaptation!

The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s got a bit of a creepy vibe that kept it entertaining. It’s a very good thriller.

This one was kind of a doozy for me. I really enjoyed the first 80% and it was setup to be a spectacular slow burn foray into a mental thriller. However, the ending was such a letdown. I think I am still in a state of fugue from it (IYKYK).

Katy is on the road in Australian backcountry looking for her missing sister Phoebe. She also seems to be an erratic mess. She jumps to conclusions, drinks to the point of blacking out, and forgets whole conversations. Despite this she unknowingly rescues and rehabilitates Beth a.k.a. Lily. Both women team up looking for Katy’s sister. Beth may have her own agenda but she finds herself drawn to Katy and her plight. Neither one of them will realize how close their own backgrounds are tied until it is much too late. The camp/van life social media experience may not be safe for most, but especially women traveling alone.