NO spoilers from me for this one. It's got some magnificent surprises ahead for those who persevere through a beginning that might feel a bit draggy or odd. Told by Katy, Beth/Lily, and Wyatt, it's a tense tale of Katy's hunt for her sister Phoebe who went missing while living in her van and driving around Australia. She rescues Beth-who claims her name is Lily-from the side of the road, Lily who is trying to escape from someone. How does Wyatt fit in? The links will slowly become apparent. How reliable are any of these three as narrators? Katy's clearly got some issues, Lily's not who she claims to be, and Wyatt hears noises in his house. Trust me- it will come together. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a well written thriller with interesting characters in a great setting.

**Rating:** ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

**Review:**

*Red River Road* is a suspenseful and atmospheric thriller that had me hooked from the first page. The plot is tightly woven, with well-timed twists that kept me guessing until the very end. The characters are complex and relatable, each with their own secrets that slowly unravel as the story progresses. The author does an excellent job of building tension and creating a sense of unease, making it impossible to put the book down.

What I particularly enjoyed was the vivid setting. The remote, eerie backdrop of the Red River added a layer of isolation that heightened the suspense. However, while the plot was engaging, I felt that some of the secondary characters could have been more developed. A bit more depth to their motivations would have made the story even more compelling.

Overall, *Red River Road* is a gripping read that delivers on its promise of thrills and mystery. I highly recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers who enjoy a good, edge-of-your-seat experience.

An Australian social media influencer living the #vanlife as a solo traveler goes missing, and her sister is trying to solve the mystery while retracing her steps. Sound familiar? It does, and I paired it with another recent release for the "books with similar plots" prompts on the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge. Despite having similar general plots, however, the mystery and all the twisty reveals were entirely unique. Every character had their secrets, and this one kept me guessing where the evil dwelt. What I also liked about this book is that while it took place in western Australia, the author maintained the pieces that made if feel like Australia. Too many times authors set a book someplace that really could have been anywhere. The local wildlife, plants, scenery, and even the KMart references kept if feeling real (and me Googling to learn more!). Who know that my first pharmacy intern employer is still alive and thriving half a planet away??? Definitely check this one out if you like missing persons thrillers and characters you don't know if you can trust.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Katy is on a mission. Her sister Phoebe, a travel blogger, has been missing for a year with no clues as to what may of happened to her. So Katy has decided to retrace Phoebe's journey from her old blogs and do her own investigation. 
    In her travels she meets another woman, Beth, who is stranded. Katy recognizes a woman in trouble and offers her a ride which then evolves into a team search and rescue for Phoebe.
    The other important character is 15 year old Wyatt and how he plays a role in the lives of these women. We hear all their voices individually, throughout the book and not till the end did it all become tied together.             
    In the meantime there were chapters full of mysterious events, puzzling recurrent male characters, deceitfulness, misplaced trust, and past histories that are painful to read about.
    There were many clues that I should have recognized that should have helped me to the ending but I totally missed it.  It lead to a bigger surprise for me.
    I have never traveled in a van but this book had me in the driver's seat, barreling along the Australian coast, meeting new people at stops with spectacular views. I never have to go back.

Red River Road is a thriller which takes place along the rugged west coast of Australia. There are more twists to this story than there are in a curvy coastal road. Three different narrators tell this story and all three have secrets to hide.
I enjoyed reading about Western Australia and the sights along the way. While that part of the story is interesting, the twists are what will keep you speeding through the book and wondering what hasn’t gone wrong! I would rate this book as just under five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you @macmillin.audio @netgalley @minotaur_books #partner for the gifted copies of this eARC and audiobook!

This was a first for me by this author AND set in Australia! I feel like that’s a double bonus because I love new authors and new settings. This one starts off following two women Beth and Katy, who meet in an unconventional way 👀. Katy is retracing the steps of her sister who was solo traveling and disappeared off the face of the earth the year prior. As Beth and Katy dig into her past they realize maybe her posting her travels on Instagram weren’t the best idea. Ya never know just who you’ll meet. 😳 I will say this book has made me think twice about letting people know my whereabouts! Eep!

This book instantly grabbed me because Anna Downes has written a wild way for these two comrades (Beth and Katy) to have met. In no way shape or form would I ever proceed with this friendship but it didn’t take away from my curiosity and continuing to fly through the pages to uncover this mystery! I found the ending of this book to be filled with so many twists…the kind of book that just didn’t stop. I am a huge fan of authors notes in books because many times they talk about where the idea of the book came from. Anna did share her backstory and I found her research source and idea fascinating. That alone made me go down a rabbit hole on google. 🫶Anyway, if you love suspenseful books, love to travel, have met random people during your travel and like Dateline…this book is for you!

I picked up this book without knowing much about it, and it was an incredible experience. The story was refreshingly unique and unlike anything I had read before. From the start, it pulled me in with its intricate and original narrative.

As I read, I found myself grappling with frustration, eager to piece together the reasons behind various plot developments. My buddy reader Marie and I spent a lot of time speculating and trying to decode the mysteries, which added a fun and engaging element to the reading process.

The depth of the story was both profound and emotionally heavy. It explored themes that were deeply moving and sometimes heart-wrenching. The combination of unexpected twists and deep emotional content made for a truly unforgettable read.

It's been awhile since a thriller has had me so engaged, with my mind constantly spinning trying to figure out the twist. Which I did not see coming!! Downes brilliantly weaves a twisty, atmospheric, psychological tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Told from 3 POV's, that are slowly shown how they weave together as the book progresses. While I'm not usually a fan of the unreliable narrator, I really loved how well done Katy's POV was. Everyone is hiding something and you never quite know where the lies are coming from. Interspersed with blog posts from Katy's sister Pheobe, who she is on the road to find, we are provided with a whole other set of breadcrumbs to follow. Trying to find our villain and their motive.

Full of beautiful scenery and chock full of realism, this one will make you think twice about solo travel. And who you trust. Both online and off. If you're looking for a fast paced, entertaining thriller than this is the perfect book to end out your summer reads!

Please take care for TW's such as : domestic partner violence, absent parent, missing sibling, assault, possible drugging, memory loss, just to name a few.

Thank you to netgalley, St. Martins Press, and the author for my e-arc in return for an honest review

"People do not just vanish. There is no 'thin air', no 'without a trace.' Everyone leaves traces; you just have to find them."

A twisty, dark thriller. I think #vanlife hasn't gotten more attention lately and I love that we're seeing more stories with it! A missing sister, a girl just pops up bleeding in another girl's van. And this is just the beginning of our story!

As soon as I started, it was really hard to stop. There were so many questions and clues and the twists kept the tension tight and my heartrate going! It was a race to finish because I wanted answers! This is a great story, I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

When her sister Phoebe vanishes without a trace during a solo road trip around Australia, Katy Sweeney sets out to follow the same route determined to find out what happened to her sister. As Katy makes her way through the route, she runs into another van lifer, Beth, and they decide to travel together.... but neither girl is what they seem.

I ended up really liking this one, but I felt like it dragged a little bit in the middle. I kept wishing the author would take advantage of the stunning setting and really painted a picture. This road trip that Katy & Beth are on is once in a lifetime for most of the world and I didn't really feel like I could picture it the way I picture Ragnar Jonasson's Iceland. That being said, the characters were good, plot was good, and the twist was excellent! Would definitely read more from this author!

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister, Phoebe, who disappeared a year ago, three weeks into a solo trip in a van traveling around the Western Australia coast. Along the way, she meets Beth, and they team up. Beth. with secrets of her own, thinks helping Katy is the best way to hide. But as the twists mount and lies begin to be exposed, both women find they are in danger.

This was the best! I read it all in one go. It was just a wild ride. I was also googline facts about Australia because I invested as if it were real. The author also has a great section after the story where she talks about her inspiration and research. I loved it all!

Red River Road by Anna Downes is one of the strangest books I have ever read. The beginning is slow with me as confused as Katy during most of that part. As the story continues to develop is reads as if it must be true because truth is often stranger than fiction, yet this is fiction. That serves to make it even scarier at times more horror than just suspenseful.

There is very little of the plot that I can give without it being a spoiler, everything is so intwined together. I can say Katy is looking for Phoebe who has gone traveling alone and is now missing. Boy, did I not see how the finding of her would turn out. Original, thought provoking, even keeping me awake at night thinking about Katy, Phoebe and the others, some okay people and some monsters. One that a person must read for themselves.

Story of a solo traveler who encounters a woman and they begin their adventure to find her lost sister. Twist and turns along the way. A psychological thriller, which will leave you guessing until the end. There were parts difficult to track and follow along, however the story came together slowly on its own. 3 star review. Thank you Net Galley and Minotaur books for allowing me to provide this honest review.

*Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I really enjoyed this book until about 75% in. The 3 POVs did a great job at providing tension, between the lies they were telling others and themselves. I liked Beth's perspective best, which makes a lot of sense given the twists towards the end. My favorite part was the setting - Western Australia sounds lovely! I just felt like some parts of the plot were underdeveloped. The bones of this book are REALLY good, I just think it needed a little more editing to tighten it up and really make it tick.

But also what the heck was up with not getting closure on lonewanderer66?

Red River Road brings you Katy, a distraught woman trying to retrace her missing sister's travel route after going missing a year earlier. At the beginning of her journey Katy meets up with Beth, who is running from her own troubles and figures she can help Katy while trying to figure out her own next move. Their stories start to intertwine and you start to wonder who's telling the truth, who's lying and what's going to happen next all while traveling through remote Western Australia.

This one was a little hard for me to get into it felt like the first half was long and you finally got to some twists at around 75% which I enjoyed but I did feel like it wasn't all that shocking. Which maybe says I'm desensitized to a lot these days... I think this would be good for fans of Sally Hepworth or Megan Goldin.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Red River Road centers on a missing van life influencer, Phoebe, who disappeared a year ago. Her sister, Katy, has decided to come search for her by following the same itinerary in the hopes of getting clues. 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 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.

Gorgeous destination setting, mixed media Instagram posts, multiple POVs, and unreliable/morally gray characters made this slow burn thriller a wild ride. My mind kept trying to guess the possible interconnections, but Downes brilliantly weaves a dark and twisty story full of shocking reveals. Narrator, Maddy Withington, did a fantastic job juggling Australian and American accents and even a tween boy’s POV. Her narration also increasingly added taught suspense!

3.75 ⭐️

Red River Road is a twisty and propulsive suspense-filled thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing and second guessing all the way through. I enjoyed it but also started to get a bit frustrated as it started to feel a bit more improbable, but it was still quite entertaining.

Maddy Withington did an excellent and layered job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Anna Downes, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a twisty and wild ride in this mystery thriller about a woman searching to find out what happened to her younger sister who went missing when on a solo van trip through Australia.

Great descriptive storytelling as Katy Sweeney uses her sister, Phoebe’s, old instagram posts to trace her route along the Western Australian coast. Following her social media photos and details into campsites and scenic sites, Katy finds the trail has gone cold. No one knows anything. Katy discovers more questions than answers as she soon realizes that the situation of a woman traveling alone can be very dangerous. What happened to Phoebe and where was she when it did?

Suddenly, the tracking becomes even more convoluted when Katy meets and befriends the stranded Beth. But things are even more strange as they travel together. Someone is following them.

I think it best to go into this without reading too much about it ahead of time. It’s a fabulous narrative with multiple points of view that, initially, is quite confusing. When all is revealed, you will likely shake your head and exclaim at how well the author tied everything together in a shocking climax.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publisher. The narrator did a fabulous job with the different character voices and the Australian accents. The quality of expression and tone by Maddy Withington added immensely to my enjoyment of the story. An excellent production that has the added benefit of hearing the author’s note at the end and a conversation between Anna Downes and Sally Hepworth. Highly recommended.

Katy’s sister Phoebe was a popular #vanlife influencer when she disappeared a year ago while on a solo trip along the rugged western coast of Australia. Although the case has gone cold, Katy follows Phoebe’s route using her social media posts, determined to find out what happened to her sister. Along the way, Katy’s path crosses with a young woman on the run from her own secrets. Together, they embark on a dangerous journey, with pasts that are more interconnected than they know.

This interesting mystery is super atmospheric and would be great for fans of:
• Slow burn mysteries/thrillers
• Multiple POV
• Unreliable narrators
• Vanlife/social media based stories
• Remote Australian settings

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.