This intense thriller I had me second guessing everyone, which is one of the best things for me when it comes to this genre! It was twisty, with multiple POVs and a storyline full of missing girls.

🎧I listened to the audio format which was performed by Maddy Withington.

*many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

The cover 1000% attracted me first to this book and thankfully the content held within delivered ! It was an emotional ride following the protagonists journey to figure out what happened to her sister. This book stayed in my mind for a while after finishing. Would highly recommend.

Red River Road is a brilliantly written twisty thriller. The setting is a character in itself, blending seamlessly with the four POVs in this story.

I could not stop this book once I started, because the need to know what on earth was happening was incredibly powerful.

If you are looking for a thriller set in warm weather, adventure, and puzzling complexity, this book is for you! I highly recommend it!

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was well done by a single narrator who brought the characters and the story to life. While I normally like different narrators for different POVs, I would NOT change this one at all. It was perfect with one narrator. I listened at 1.5x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75x).

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to review this audiobook.

This book was every bit as tangled as I thought it would be. Missing girls, people who refuse to talk, and an unforgiving setting make it the trifecta. I loved the twists that were gradually uncovered and can't wait to recommend it to some like-minded readers!

A taut thriller about Katy Sweeney searching for her sister Phoebe, who vanished during a solo vanlife trip in Western Australia. She teams up with Beth, a woman running from her own dark past.

𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4⭐️
RED RIVER ROAD
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: thriller/mystery
📖 384 pages
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶𝘀: 🇦🇺🚐⛺️🐥🔎🦗🤒🗺️🥾

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
◽️ multiple POV
◽️ camping & exploring
◽️ unreliable narrators
◽️ blackouts & losing time

❤️𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲❤️

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for the #gifted copy!

This book was an intense & twisty journey, told through multiple POV, that kept me guessing. More than half the time, I found myself wondering how the seemingly unrelated threads would tie together. The narrative raises countless questions, & I couldn’t predict where the story was heading.

The plot centers on Katy, who is searching for her missing sister, Phoebe. Phoebe, a travel Instagrammer, left behind a trail of posts filled with detailed tips & her agenda (the book even provides photo descriptions as if you’re looking at them), that Katy uses as clues. Along the way, Katy crosses paths with Lily, though we know her true identity is Beth. Trust becomes elusive, with plenty of red herrings to throw you off. Interspersed are the thoughts of Wyatt, a young boy whose connection to the story remains a mystery for much of the book. These shifting perspectives, paired with the tension between Katy & Phoebe, create a gripping sense of unease & layered motives.

The vivid descriptions of Red River Road & its surroundings add to the immersive atmosphere, & the story’s pace picks up significantly in the final chapters, around 75%, delivering answers to lingering questions, so don’t fret! While the frequent timeline shifts were occasionally disorienting, the payoff was worth it. This was my first book by AD, & it left me eager to explore her backlist. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end—it’s a perfect conclusion to this complex & intriguing novel. I loved chatting with @alwaysreadingrach when I finished & along the way to clarify lots of theories!

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: Katy Sweeney is determined to find her sister, Phoebe, who vanished during a solo vanlife trip in Western Australia a year ago. With no leads or evidence, the police have abandoned the case, but Katy refuses to give up. Using Phoebe’s social media as a guide, she retraces her sister’s steps, uncovering unsettling questions about Phoebe’s journey. Along the way, Katy meets Beth, a woman fleeing her own troubled past, & they form an uneasy alliance. Together, they confront the dangers of this remote landscape in a race to uncover the truth about Phoebe’s disappearance.

Red River Road by Anna Downes is a twisted tale of travel in the Australian outback with multiple mental illnesses mixed in. The story twists and turns to reach a satisfying yet surprising end.

This was a super wild ride and I was totally here for it! I loved all the twists and turns that I didn't see coming. This was my 1st book by Anna Downes but will definitely not be my last. I am adding all of her books to my TBR!

I'm desperate to go camping and visit new areas... but it's winter and cold here... so what's a girl to do? Read Red River Road by Anna Downes, of course!

Let me set the scene: Australia. Missing van lifer. Unraveling plot that gets tighter and tighter as it goes.

Fact one: After reading this thriller, I'll be even more cautious with social media!

Fact two: This one took me a long time to figure out how all the pieces and characters fit together... and it was perfect!

Fact three: I absolutely yelled at both Katy and Beth/Lily for their stupidity and nativity... but I still loved them both!

What else?

I was delighted that the Aussie-isms didn't get edited out for a North American audience!

Maddy Withington does a fantastic job narrating this audiobook! Accents: check! Believable fear and excitement: check! Giving the story air to breath: check!

I'm a big fan of an audiobook with extras, and this one had them in spades: both an authors note and a conversation between Downes and Sally Hepworth!

I might just be sleeping with the lights on after finishing this one tonight! I can't wait to read more from Downes!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I recently read and listened to Red River Road by Anna Downes, and it was an exhilarating journey from start to finish. The novel masterfully combines suspense, mystery, and richly drawn characters, all set against the evocative backdrop of Western Australia’s Coral Coast.

The story follows Katy Sweeney, who embarks on a solo road trip to retrace the steps of her sister, Phoebe, who vanished a year earlier during her own journey along the same route. Katy’s determination to uncover the truth leads her into a labyrinth of secrets and unexpected alliances, particularly with Beth, a fellow traveler harboring her own hidden past. As they delve deeper into the mystery, the line between reality and deception blurs, culminating in revelations that are both shocking and thought-provoking.

Downes’s writing is both atmospheric and gripping, capturing the vastness and isolation of the Australian outback while maintaining a taut narrative that keeps readers on edge. The characters are complex and relatable, each grappling with their own fears and motivations, which adds depth to the unfolding drama.

Red River Road is a compelling read that I highly recommend to fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the exact kind of book I would enjoy. However, for some reason, I did not. This felt slow and I just didn't care.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced preview audio book. I just love getting advance copies! This one lives up to the hype!

This book takes place in Australia on a road trip in a camper van. It follows two women - Katie, who is looking for her sister (Phoebe) who went missing on this same road trip trail, and Beth, who has gotten herself into some trouble and is trying to figure out her next move in life. Katie takes Beth in and together they try to retrace Phoebe’s steps in a hope to find her or at least what happened to her.

I love that this book was written in multiple POVs. For a long time the reader has no clue why the third POV is a young boy named Wyatt.

The author really led me around to where she wanted me to go in this mystery. Sure, I had theories. I always do. But I never saw the ending coming. The book was well done, had great character development, and a good mystery to solve. And it was set in Australia which is a place I’ve never been so that was a lot of fun!

If you’re looking for an adventure and some mystery, with female friendship mixed in, pick this one up!

This story just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t bad, but it was hard for me to get into it. In fact I did initially DNF this and restarted it. I really wanted to find out how it ended so I stuck it out.

I really loved the concept and storyline of this book. I was so excited to give this one a listen but it was hard to relate to the characters.

The writing and scenes ready description were really well done and if Australia didn’t have human sized spiders I would be on my way there

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Adventure and female solo vanlife traveler, Phoebe, disappeared over a year ago. She had been posting videos to her social media of her stops as she circled Australia but one day in early June they just stopped and she and her van were never seen again. Her sister, Katy, has been desperately searching for her, so as a last ditch effort she decides to recreate Phoebe's journey piece by piece looking for clues or someone who may have seen her. As her travels begins she runs into a stranded woman, Beth, who has been ditched by her abusive boyfriend. The two form an uneasy partnership as they set out on the road in hopes of finding answers. However there would be twists that neither woman ever saw coming.

This is a twisty multi POV mystery that left me questioning every character and at times wondering what was going on. I liked the beginning of this story because we are introduced to Phoebe through her previous social media posts and the remaining characters in present time. The social media posts was a nice addition to the portrait. The story is a very slow burn and does drag in the middle, with more description than real action. Since there are a lot of characters and names and screen names the story gets a bit muddled and causes some confusion. There is a big plot twist near the end that clarifies some of the early confusion and explains character choices. I think there was too much jammed into the ending. That being said overall it was a pretty good mystery and I did enjoy Downes style and would like to read more of her work. Her notes at the end of the story were very interesting and helped with a lot of context.

I had the audio version read by Maddy Withington who I thought did an excellent job. She was enjoyable to listen to. She does a very good job of handling at least 3 POV characters but I think the audio book really could have used at least one other narrator.

This was my first book by Anna Downes and it was a solid thriller! I will definitely be adding her to my list of authors to read again.

I'll admit that the book was a bit slow in the beginning and I wasn't sure where it was going, but that mimicked the road trip setting of rural Australia featured in this story. It focuses on a female main character who is determined to retrace the steps her missing sister, a free spirit who disappeared while living #vanlife. I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys multiple POV thrillers with strong female protagonists and psychological plot twists. Lastly, I appreciated the author narrating her note at the end, explaining what inspired her to write this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for honest review!

It’s clear from the very first moments that Anna Downes’ RED RIVER ROAD has all of the ingredients for a page-turner: a secluded, unknowable landscape, a missing woman, and secrets abound. Told through alternating perspectives, the plot is centered on a woman’s desperate search for sister who disappeared during her solo exploration of Western Australia. When Katie finds Beth, bewildered and confuses, along the way, the search for her sister becomes more complicated. It becomes clear along the way that everyone we meet has something they’re searching for - and something they’re keeping buried. That includes teenaged Wyatt, one of the narrators, who seems inconsequential but has an important role to play.

It was a bit slow for me at first but once the threads of the plot began to unravel, I was very much in. Some parts didn’t quite resolve in a way that made sense for me but that’s okay.

Content warnings for intimate partner violence.

If you’re tempted by wanderlust and the call of #vanlife, this will be a perfect read for you. If you like your suspense with a hint of feminism, this is also for you.

I deeply appreciated the author’s note at the conclusion of the book and it’s worth the read/listen. The audiobook is well narrated with excellent pacing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC. All opinions are entirely my own.

Another twisty, exciting psychological thriller from my new favorite Anna Downes. This was outstanding on audio and the narrator is amazing. An Australian woman who is searching for her missing sister meets another young woman who is hiding deep, dark secrets. It was very easy to get engrossed in this plot. I loved the descriptions of Australian van life. The characters were multilayered and unreliable. The surprise ending was intense and completely unexpected. For fans of Jane Harper and Liane Moriarty.

Man, what a rollercoaster ride! I really enjoyed this book! I read it as a mix between audio and kindle, which worked great for me. I didn't see the end coming at all, and that is the true mark of an excellent thriller! 5 stars!

Red River Road by Anna Downes
Narrated by Maddy Withington
Published: Macmillan Audio
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers, Women's Fiction
Published: August 27, 2024

Red River Road is a standalone novel by Anna Downes. This was such a unique story, and it felt so real. This book has such an intensity woven into it; you can still feel it even after you’ve reached the end.

The narration by Maddy Withington was incredible! She does an incredible job giving each character a voice and bringing the story to life!

I can’t wait to see what Anna Downes creates next! I really enjoyed this book!!!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.