A well narrated dark creepy story. Katy is determined to find out what happened to her sister Phoebe. She disappeared without a trace while on a solo road trip and Katy is desperate to find anything along the path she traveled that the investigators may have missed and may help solve the mystery. It was a bit of a slow start for me, but ultimately picked up with pace. This is a well crafted complex tale with a cast all with questionable motives and that had me with so many questions along the way. A terrific listen.

While this book isn't the kind that starts out with a pace at breakneck speed, it DOES grab your attention and hold on to it for the entire ride. When you get to the ending, you're going to want to force yourself to slow down and PAY ATTENTION. There's a lot that seems to happen all at once and it's so wild you might miss something.

The audio version was great (no weird breathing or mouth sounds that I noticed at 2x speed) and included an interview with both Anna Downes and fellow author Sally Hepworth.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio (ALC) and St. Martin's Press (eARCH) and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Love me an unreliable narrator. And this one had one. You think. It was one of those books that you spend much of the time wondering what was going on and who to believe. And that's what I loved about it. I was engrossed from the first chapter and couldn't stop.

Katy Sweeny is looking for her sister, an influencer and single female traveler in Australia. Phoebe vanished into thin air a year ago and Katy is determined to follow her route and hopefully find some clues to the whereabouts of Phoebe. When Katy’s path intersects with Beth, another traveler running from a dark past, Katy embraces the company and the two set out to discover just what happened to Phoebe. Downes leads us on a wild adventure leaving the reader unsure of what’s really happening along the way, what’s real and what’s not and just who the reliable narrator is. The twists and turns are done very well, but the book was just a tad bit slow and confusing on the uptake, but after that it was well worth the read. As a dual read/listen it was voiced very well by Maddy Withington. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

Unfortunately this book was removed from my NetGalley shelf app and now I am no longer able to give feedback. I was sincerely looking forward to reading it and am disappointed that for whatever reason, the app is malfunctioning.

I do not want to take a hit on my review ratio simply because the shelf app deleted the book. I will give five stars for the sake of the author not being docked for my experience.

It’s kind of a whodunit but it’s a whereisshe.
A little creepy, a lot happening to capture attention.
I liked it well enough !

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review! Note: I received this pre-publication, but it is out!!

Synopsis: In Red River Road, Katy is on a mission to find her sister Phoebe, an Australian van lifer who suddenly went missing. Using Phoebe's social media posts to guide her travels and investigate what might have truly happened to her, Katy decides to set out on her own van life journey to follow the path along the Western Australian coast that Phoebe had set out for herself. Along the way, she runs into a grifter named Beth who tags along for the journey and, reflecting on her past and using her prior experiences as a van lifer, provides her own insights to Katy's search. We not only get to hear the story through both Katy and Beth's perspectives, but we also hear from another more mysterious character named Wyatt (whom I will not spoil their involvement).

If you're a true crime girly who also enjoys fictional crime, or a he, she or they who just generally enjoys crime thrillers, this is for you!! This psychological thriller kept me guessing at every turn! I personally felt that it was very well paced and was often surprised by the twists. I really enjoy multiple POVs, and this book certainly delivered on that front! Each of the main characters was well developed and had a unique and interesting hand in the situations at play here.

In relation to the audiobook format specifically, the speaking is clear and easy to understand, even when sped up – not too slow or too fast at 1x speed (just right), and sounds good! There could have been a bit more variation in voice between the different POVs as I sometimes found myself confused if I didn't catch whose chapter was who's at the beginning, but Maddy Withington's voice is nice and cozy and made the listening experience enjoyable!
Also in relation to the audiobook specifically, I will say that some of the chapters include Phoebe's social media posts, which might be better read in physical or eBook format (or doing a combination of physical + audio, which is what I often like to do when I read) if you want to actually see the pictures and posts in their visual/print format. That said, the narrator does a great job of describing the posts and comments in a way that is easy to understand!

Overall, a great read and I highly recommend it!!
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TW: domestic abuse, sexual assault, violence

3/5

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

The premise of this book was super intriguing, and it started out pretty strong! While I was hooked from the start, my interest level wavered throughout this one. I don't love unreliable narrators, and Katy's drinking/black outs made me instantly suspicious. There were some really great twists in this one, though! The setting of Western Australia was pretty cool, too, and really set the scene. I think this book could have been a bit shorter but I'm still overall glad that I finished it!

SYNOPSIS --

Katy Sweeney's sister, Phoebe, disappeared just over a year ago while on a solo van trip across beautiful Western Australia. Now, with no leads in the case, Katy is taking matters into her own hands. While following along Phoebe's path via her social media, Katy runs into lone female traveler Beth, who is utterly determined to escape a mysterious past. The two join forces to find out what really happened to Phoebe, and to keep themselves safe along the way.

I've seen a lot of positive reviews for this one, but I personally did not like it. I thought it was too long, too trite, and just overall sort of blah. Not my favorite.

A full travel thriller set in Australia. Very immersive, very complex. I listened to the afterward from the author and definitely saw inspiration they drew from in the story, prior to hearing that's where it came from. Some fun Fight Club references without giving much away!
I appreciated the depth that the author examined missing women and the partner violence that often plays into that. Downes mentioned the story of Gabby Petito (which definitely sparked in my mind as I read this as I am from the US and it was major news here) and how that partner violence hides from so many people. That violence can intensify in travel as it is such a small and intimate space and there are not consistent people around to see how all the small things add up to a big problem. Without being pushy, this is a novel with a message.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy of this audiobook

While definitely full of suspense and plot twists that prompted me to keep on, this book was heavily filled with profanity keeping from rating it higher. The narrator did a great job.

I enjoyed this read very much. The pacing is the only reason that I did not give this one five stars. I felt that this one did get quite slow at times. Other than that, this was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. Loved it!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audiobook review copy. #macaudio2024

'Hi everyone! I'm Phoebe and I'm a travel addict and van-lifer. I'm about to take me, myself, and I off on the adventure of a lifetime - the big lap of Australia. Only two more sleeps to go. And before you ask, no I'm not scared. The first thing people say when I tell them I'm traveling alone is "Be careful." Don't even get me started on my parents' response. But the world is full of magic, and solo travel offers way more rewards than risks. It's just that the bad stories get told way more often than the good. . . .'

Katy’s free-spirited sister, Phoebe, disappeared without a trace on a solo van trip along the coast of Australia. The case has gone cold with no witnesses, DNA, or a trace of evidence, but Katy’s just can’t stop looking. Desperate, she uses Phoebe’s Instagram feed as a map to recreate her final days, hoping for a clue.

This was a trippy, twisty, and addictive story that kept me on my toes the entire time. Told from three unique POVs, Katy, Beth, and a 15-year-old boy, Wyatt, whose mother is also missing, I couldn’t stop listening. The audiobook narrator was exceptional, producing different accents and genders to help me follow the story easily.

If you’re fascinated by Australian scenery, van life, solo female travel, the perils of social media, or just love a well-executed thriller, you will enjoy this ride!

I did enjoy this book and was interested in the plot, but struggled to keep things straight at times. The varying narrators, alternate names, locations, and past/present wasn't always made really clear. Maybe this element would have been easier reading rather than listening?
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC

#vanlife! Phoebe wanted a career as a travel influencer when she set off on a road trip along the western coast of Australia. She illustrated her trip with photographs and diary entries. It is those that her sister Katy follows now, hoping to find a trace of her missing sister who disappeared a year ago. From her first day on the road, Katy seems to be a troubled young woman. Soon, after Beth hides in Katy’s van, there are two troubled young women on the road. Beth is fleeing from something and neither telling the truth about what happened nor where she is from. She and Katy bond to search for Phoebe and the story alternates between their narratives and Wyatt’s. Wyatt, a boy who lives in the area, may know what happened to Phoebe.

Red River Road is a suspenseful but slow moving mystery/thriller. I listened to the audiobook, read by Maddy Withington. She was an excellent reader but it was hard to add excitement to this unhurried plot. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Anna Downes and Maddy Withington for this ARC.

Great book for crime lovers! Fast paced, attention grabbing thriller. Lots of twists I didn’t see coming.

TW: domestic abuse, sexual assault, violent assault.

A very enjoyable psychological thriller. I liked the twists and turns in this story a lot, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good confusing (in the best way!) read. I enjoyed the journey with these amazing characters, and loved the viewpoint shifts. These characters were lovely to get to know, and the really deeply twisting story had me guessing for longer than most.

The only critique I had was specific to the audiobook, the voices sometimes sounded quite similar and I forgot who's POV we were in. That said, that's mostly a me problem, and for a large part of the book they do have different accents.

I love Anna Downes and I'm always quick to pick up her books. Red River Road had a unique premise with Katy on a mission to find her missing sister Phoebe who disappeared a year prior while trying to make it as a van life travel influencer. The novel bounced around a bit with posts from Phoebe, the present day story with Katy and a grifter Beth, Beth's past, and a mystery narrator. There were subplots, mixed timelines, and overall just a lot going on.

Between all the subplots, various narrators, and fake names, it was easy for me to get lost. There were times I wasn't quite sure who was who or how they fit in though everything did come together without any loose ends. The plot was definitely unique and fairly exciting, but I wanted more of the van travel life and less of the jumping around to other stories.

I listened to this novel on audio and enjoyed the narrator. It kept me interested and the accents were really well executed.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I don't think it'll be super memorable for me. I'm still eager to pick up more by Downes and excited to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur and MacMillan Audio for the copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free advance copy of Red River Road by Anna Downes in exchange for an honest review. Note: I received this pre-publication but it is out now so you can - and should - run to get it!

Red River Road is a propulsive psychological thriller that reveals itself in layer upon exciting and surprising layer from beginning to end. The story takes place in Western Australia and follows a few main characters: Katy, who is tracing the camper van journey of her missing sister, Phoebe; Phoebe, whose Instagram stories and the inevitable comments provide clues to Katy; Beth, who is running away from her abusive boyfriend; and Wyatt, a sickly young teen who loves horror movies and his older cool brother in equal measures.

As the story lines converge, more questions than answers emerge as the reader tries to figure out what’s going on and what happened to Phoebe.

I raced through this one in a few days and switched back and forth between the ereader copy and the audio book; both were excellent (I’m a sucker for an Australian accent). I’ll be heading to the author’s back catalog shortly; she is a superb writer and the pacing on this one was just tremendous. Five enthusiastic stars.

Katy is trying to find her missing sister who disappeared during a van trip around the coast of Australia. She is using Phoebe's Instagram postings to visit each site on her sister's journey. She meets Beth, who has many personas, trying to escape a bad situation. The two team up but the trip is anything but smooth. There are many twists and turns in this book. You will at times wonder what is going on with these two women. There is also Wyatt, a young boy, who had been leaving DM's for Phoebe. How is he connected to everything?

This book will make you wonder how safe it is to travel alone. Who can you trust in any camping situation and who are your friends? I was caught up in the story and was trying to figure out what is going on? The police do not seem interested in the disappearance so Katy feels she has to do it on her own. In this book Katy is an unreliable character and Beth is also not to be trusted. What an interesting and thrilling read.