Murder Road ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 I want to preface this and say I did enjoy this book, it was not a bad book at all!
However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped, purely because I was going in expecting something a bit different. I went into this hoping for a bit more horror and got a lot more of a thriller. Which is completely fine, but inevitably I felt a little disappointed when I didn’t get as spooked as I was anticipating!

“If you see her, you’ll be next”

It’s 1995 (the year I was born, woohoo!). Newlyweds April and Eddie are driving along a deserted road in the middle of the night, en route to their honeymoon at a small, affordable lakeside resort - when they find a young woman, stumbling along the roadside and covered in blood. They pick the girl up and rush her to the nearest hospital they can find – but soon find their good deed leads them to becoming key suspects in a murder. But there’s more to this murder than meets the eye.

Murder Road is fast-paced and thrilling, with a drizzle of the supernatural. Simone St. James did a fantastic job at creating a tense atmosphere throughout, and I found all the characters to be endearing and intriguing, all with their own secrets to share, including the main couple.
Despite the disappointment I felt by not quite getting the scare I was looking for, I still really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend picking it up. I know lots of thriller fans who will enjoy this 100%.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy & to Penguin Books for a hard copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's 1995 and April and Eddie are on their honeymoon, driving to an idyllic lakeside hotel in Michigan. But, they're not going to make it to their destination. Instead, they take wrong turn and end up picking up a hitchhiker on the deserted Atticus Line.

What they don't realise is that the woman they've picked up is bleeding out from a stab wound and, despite doing what they can and racing to the local hospital, she will die. And the newlywed couple will become embroiled in a decades-long small-town murder mystery as the prime suspects in the case.

To unravel the mystery surrounding their hitchhiker's death, the two have to look to the past; to the original Jane Doe found dead on the same road. The Lost Girl. She was the first, but she's making sure she won't be the last. And, "If you see her, you'll be next."

This is the first I've read from this author, although she's been on my radar since her popular release The Sun-down Motel. And, now I can see that the hype is real. I really like the blend of genres in this story; it's a murder mystery at its heart but it's sprinkled with just the right amount of supernatural horror and psychological drama as the flawed young newlyweds reveal their own secrets along the way.

The characters feel authentic, the era is nostalgic and the claustrophobic setting of a run-down B&B in a small town is oppressively sinister. Plus, the sightings of The Lost Girl herself are spine-tinglingly creepy. "She was a dark, cold hole in the fabric of reality, punched through with a naked fist".

Murder Road is a solid, exhilarating ride with plenty of twists and turns along the way. It delivers on everything it promises, and readers of paranormal thrillers are sure to enjoy it. I'll be looking at this author's backlog now!

I liked the sound of this book, it had a spooky vibe to it which really appealed to me. The book started well meeting newlyweds, April and Eddie. They are travelling on their honeymoon when they come across a young woman in the road in the middle of the night, covered in blood. When she dies in hospital, they find themselves being prime suspects in a murder enquiry.

I enjoyed meeting April and Eddie, the opening scene of them finding the woman in the road was scary and thrilling. When they are held as suspects and they find more out about the town they are staying in, and the rumours that the road they travelled on was haunted. I thought the first third of the book was good and held my attention well. However as it moved on I found the storyline slowed considerably and I struggled to keep connected with the story or the characters. It had the premise of being a good ghostly thriller, but it just didn't work like that for me.

Newly married Eddie and April are driving down a deserted road after taking a wrong turn to get to their destination for their honeymoon stay but all of a sudden things take a bad turn when they find a young woman in the middle of the road covered in blood. Rhonda Jean is in desperate need of help, they drive her immediately to the local hospital. Unfortunately Rhonda Jean passes away from her injuries and from there Eddie and April become suspects in a murder investigation.

While staying in town, they hear rumours of the road being haunted and that there is a murdered victim from the 70's, 'Jane Doe' is said to haunt the road and anybody who sees her will be the next one to die. April and Eddie decide to investigate the unsolved murders and to finally found out who Jane Doe is and why she is haunting said road.

April and Eddie both have secrets and a troubled past that they don't go into too much detail until later on in the book and i was constantly intrigued about April's backstory and what she was running away from. I also enjoyed reading about Eddie and again wondered why his walls were high. Despite everything i enjoyed how the couple investigated the murders and tried to find out what also happened to Rhonda Jean. Despite everything the couple were likeable and felt real, it was nice how they actually worked as a team and you could feel the love they had for each other. I also really enjoyed the other characters, each one was unique in their ways and i liked how everybody were helping each other in their own ways.

A few times my heart was quickening in some scenes the couple managed to get themselves into and i rooted for them when they was getting more close to finding out the backstory of Jane Doe. Simone St James has a very likeable and unique way of writing that creates a suspenseful scary atmosphere and as you go along you feel the hair on your arms sometimes stand up. From the beginning it is instant fast pace and doesn't stop until near the ending when everything finally comes to blow which i enjoyed.

Murder Road was an amazing book and i enjoyed every second of reading it. Suspense, mystery, creepy and so. much more in summed up into the book and i would definitely recommend to fellow book readers. A must read. 5*

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the copy of this arc in exchange of my full honest review.

This is the first book I have read from this author and I was not disappointed.

This book starts with many mysteries that remained so until towards the end of the book which just ramped up the creepiness of the story! The more I went into the book the more I had to keep reading just to keep uncovering the twists that came before, and even had to leave the light on 1 night after the part where they finally meet The Lost Girl, a sign of a good thriller for me!

I very much enjoyed the characters in this book too, the 2 damaged people who met each other and just found solice together, even the supporting characters were fully fleshed, Rose who came across as mean but actually had a heart of gold, the 2 Snell sisters whose curiosity nearly ended them in a sticky situation and Quentin who you think is an asshole but turns out to have been switched on the whole time.

Thoroughly enjoyable read and well written, kept me captivated!

A book written in true Simone St James style. Set in the 90s, recent newlyweds, April and Eddie are on a road trip for their honeymoon, however, they end up taking a wrong turn on to Atticus Line. Here they encounter a young woman walking alone. They stop to give her a lift only to discover she has been fatally stabbed. April and Eddie become the prime suspects in this ghost story of missing hitchhikers and the legend of ‘The Lost Girl’.
I really enjoyed the unfolding of this story and getting to learn about the events that April and Eddie lived through and ultimately how they have come together. I wouldn’t say this was a scary ghost story but it did have its tense moments. There were some slow parts to the story but I was hooked enough to keep going. Some of the subplots were a little predictable, however, some of the twists I didn’t see coming.
Overall, a hugely enjoyable book that should be added to your reading list.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/03/07/murder-road-by-simone-st-james/

My Five Word TL:DR Review : Absolutely Loved It. Deliciously Creepy

I went off track a little and decided to pick up Murder Road a little earlier than planned. I couldn’t help myself, I’ve been wanting to read this author for so long and in fact have previously purchased at least two of her other titles but not yet managed to pick them up. Anyway, I was excited and sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants so I just went for it. And this does not disappoint. This was so wonderfully creepy. Believe me when I say those other books I already own – yep, they’re getting bumped to the top of the TBR. I love this combination of dark horror and supernatural elements all swirled together in such an intoxicating fashion.

So, Murder Road. Starts with a couple of newlyweds on the way for their honeymoon. I immediately cottoned onto these two. They have a relaxed vibe with each other that belies the fact that they only met six months ago. In a nutshell they feel right together. Anyway, they’re lost. They’re driving down a very dark road, hemmed in with trees and not another soul in sight. At this point, they’re not particularly concerned, maybe they’ll turn round and backtrack. Just as they’re making plans to go back the way they came they spot a lone woman on the road. They can’t just drive past without checking she’s okay, which upon closer investigation she clearly isn’t. Taking the young girl on board they drive to the nearest hospital – all the while being chased down by a mysterious black truck. By the skin of their teeth they make the turnoff and deliver the injured woman, only to discover within short order that she has died and they seem to be the prime suspects for her death.

The couple find themselves almost under arrest and taken to Coldlake Falls by the police, their car impounded and not so politely requested to stay at a local B&B until required for questioning. They are staying put and the honeymoon is just a distant dream.

Right. What did I like about this.

As I mentioned I really liked the central couple. The story is told by April and she has such a great voice that I was almost hypnotised. Eddie is also a great character, he has a certain strength that just radiates from him, he’s polite and people seem to immediately warm to him. Both of them have an inner strength that has been earned through bitter experience but in finding each other it’s as though they’ve found their own ‘home’. I just really liked them if you can’t already tell. The way they’re being treated seems so unfair but it soon becomes clear that this isn’t the first death on this particular road. Atticus Line has witnessed a number of murders over the years and it feels like our hapless couple are about to be scapegoated.

I also really liked Rose. She runs a local B&B although she never seems to have any customers and the locals make her life miserable, accusing her of murdering her husband, a wild accusation that the police simply smile at and make no attempt to counter. She’s a quirky character, a bit abrupt at first but she soon softens and helps the couple to start their own investigation. If they’re going to be under a strange form of ‘house arrest’ they might as well make the most of their time and try to clear their names.

I felt like this was perfectly paced and really well plotted. It’s a chilling ghost story that really did make me look over my shoulder on more than one occasion. When I’m reading I sit with a window at my back and sometimes, if it’s a particularly scary book, I get the horrible feeling that I’m being watched, it gives me the goosebumps.

The setting was also really good. You have this small town vibe, I think the residents themselves lived in a form of suspended horror – which felt almost inevitable with this creepy road where death so frequently occurs. There’s a local urban myth that the road is haunted by a particular ghost, and if you spot her, she’ll be the last person you ever see. And yet still, young people travel the road alone, hoping to hitchhike their way to the nearest beach.

On top of this our two central characters are being slightly cagey about their own pasts and inevitably these secrets are going to reveal themselves.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really couldn’t put it down. The writing is really engaging. The dialogue flows well. The plot is intriguing and there are some wonderfully spooky elements that gave me a serious case of the shivers.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Newlyweds Eddie and April pick up a young woman in the middle of the night while driving along a deserted road. Things take a turn when they find she is covered in blood..

I love a book where you only have a small idea of what it will be about. What you know about Murder Road happens at the very start of the book and from there you have no idea what to expect from the plot. I really enjoyed this because it made for such an unpredictable experience.

Simone St. James has done an incredible job creating a tense atmosphere throughout the story. There were moments so completely chilling that I found myself holding my breath.

Having already read and loved some of Simone St. James' other books, I had high hopes for Murder Road and I was thrilled to find that this was also a brilliant read.

If you enjoy thrillers with more than just a hint of terror, you will love this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars ⭐️

Newlyweds Eddie & April are heading towards their honeymoon when they spot a girl in trouble on the side of the road. Rhonda Jean is bleeding and needs help, so they do the right thing by taking her to the local hospital. Unfortunately when Rhonda Jean doesn't make it through, Eddie & April become suspects in a murder investigation.
There has always been rumours in the town of a Jane Doe haunting the road, known as 'The Lost Girl'... and the couple are determined to get answers- and thats all I'm going to say in case I give anything away!

Firstly, I must say there were times that my heart was thumping. The way that Simone St James creates such a creepy unsettling atmosphere is amazing! The first part of the book was super fast paced and I got sucked in however I found it slowed down in the middle until the last 20%.

The characters, Eddie and April were likeable and I enjoyed learning about their relationship and loved the fact they were portrayed as a team. I would have liked to learn more about the relationships they have with their families but that's just my opinion as I found the mentions of their family dynamics really interesting.

In general, I can never work out if enjoy paranormal aspects in the books I read but I think this was done well and wasn't too far-fetched.

Overall, a fun and atmospheric read and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

(Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy)

Come for the ghostly page-turner but stay for the surprising love story.

Murder Road by Simone St. James may be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. The creepy premise caught my attention from the get go and I couldn’t wait to get started. The 90’s setting is really well depicted and the narrative is gripping and darkly atmospheric. The plot is well paced and immersive, it had me hooked from start to finish, it’s such a cliche but I was literally on the edge of my seat. This story does not fall into the trap of becoming more and more far-fetched as we head towards the finale but manages to maintain the intrigue and the stakes feel really high. I really admire the way St. James combined the horror and thriller aspects so well.
The most surprising aspect of this story for me was how much I loved these characters. While April and Eddie are flawed and may not always make the right decisions, I found them so relatably human. Their quiet and natural interactions throughout this book had me gripped just as much as the big plot points. Both are dealing with difficult pasts but their relationship feels built on genuine love and mutual support. They rely on each other and each have different strengths. While many horror stories fall into the same old tropes, this felt fresh and unique. Eddie is the antithesis of toxic masculinity, April is a strong and capable woman and I was rooting for them both from start to finish.

Thanks to Michewal Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Road by Simone St James
I give this book 4.25 stars.

April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn.
They're on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble.
They stop and pick her up. It's only once she's in the car that they see the blood.
And then they see the headlights, and at last, the woman speaks, her voice faint. "I'm sorry, he's coming."

“If you see her you’ll be next” ……..The honeymoon from hell is about to begin!
I was drawn in from the start by the atmospheric narrative, the intriguing murder mystery of Atticus Line hitch hikers and the local legend of the haunting lost girl.l loved the 1995 creepy small town setting and the paranormal twist mixed between reality.Told from Aprils pov they find themselves caught up in trying to prove their innocence and strangely unable to leave Cold Lake Falls. Add into the mix quirky Rose who owns the b&b they stay in, the Snell sisters crime busting duo and Detective Quentin from the local police department. Are the past unsolved murders related, are April and Eddie keeping secrets,what does the lost girl want? You need to read it if you want to find out!
With thanks to Netgalley,Simone St James and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my chance to read and review this book.

3.25 stars
I've had Simone St James' books on my bookshelf for a few years now and have been intrigued by all of them. But as soon as I saw that Murder Road was available to review, I quickly dropped everything to start reading it.
It started well, with a good bit of tension as a truck appears to be chasing them after they pick up an injured hitchhiker. But it does slow down considerably thereafter.
Then, I found April to be rather insufferable throughout. There's only so many times that I could listen to her describe herself as pretty but not too pretty and to keep repeating that they were on their honeymoon.
The cops, as expected, weren't much better. But my favourite two characters had to be the Snell sisters, who added some gutsiness and interest to the story for me.
There were some interesting spooky elements, however, they could have gone further. I can only imagine how good this would have been had it been a bit scarier.
I also felt like the eventual reveal of who the original killer was a bit of a let down too.
And why did no one contact Trish to ask her to be tested for brain cancer, given that every other person possessed by The Lost Girl had brain cancer?!
I'm also not sure if it was just my copy, although I've seen other reviewers mention it now too, but having any 'ff' missing the whole way through did take me away from the story as I tried to work out what letters were missing from certain words.
I am still excited to read more stories from Simone St James, especially as I have her three last books sitting on my bookshelf as we speak. Maybe I will prefer those more.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's always a delight to delve back into St James' world, and I was especially excited to sink my teeth into a supernatural thriller, one that asks the question of whether these crimes are human in nature, or if there's really something more than meets the eye in Coldlake Falls?

If you like an element of mystery in your books, then Murder Road should tick that box for you. Not only is there the question of who - or maybe what - dunnit, but there's also many questions surrounding the protagonists, as well as inhabitants of the town. St James dripfeeds just enough information to keep you hooked, the 'one more chapter' feeling kicking in every time another piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

For me, the final motive didn't quite pay off as I hoped - it felt a little basic, but it did work in the wider context of the story. It just seemed thin as an underlying reason. I've also seen people say they found our main couple somewhat unlikeable. That wasn't my experience, I enjoyed spending time with them just fine, but it may be something to keep in mind if you need a story to have protagonists you immediately fall in love with. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that they weren't perfect, and that they may have their own skeletons buried deep in the closer - especially when they start threatening to come to light.

Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any fans of the author, or the sub-genre generally. While it doesn't quite hit the heights of The Sun Down Motel for me, it grabbed me from the start, and I found myself unable to stop reading. St James is quickly becoming someone who's books I can't pass up, and one that hasn't let me down yet.

Newlyweds April and Eddie are on their way to their honeymoon destination. They turn onto a road, its quiet, dark and eerie. They come across a girl walking along the road, they stop to offer help. The girl is injured so April and Eddie take her to the nearest hospital in Coldlake Falls. Unfortunately the girl dies, now the newlyweds are murder suspects.

So the couple decide to investigate to clear themselves. They come across murders, secrets and the supernatural.

For the first few chapters I wasn't impressed, there is no depth to the characters so I didn't care what happened to them. The bungling detectives seem to be one step behind in the investigation and the cops are just so unrealistic in their speech and manner.

But it started to get darker about halfway and I really started to enjoy the ride, it turned into a pageturner for me and I enjoyed this one and would recommend to thriller fans.

Murder Road is a supernatural thriller that takes place in the 1980s and follows a newly wed couple, April and Eddie, en route to their honeymoon. But things take a sour turn before they reach their destination and they find themselves at the heart of a string of unsolved cases that took place on Atticus Lane, a place where hitchhikers have been murdered under mysterious circumstances for decades.

This one sounded really intriguing but I’m sad to say that it didn’t do it for me. I usually really enjoy St James’ work, favourites being The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, but I found myself feeling extremely apathetic about this one. I didn’t feel invested in the main characters, and I found the plot both predictable and painfully slow.
If you like Simone St James and supernatural thrillers this could be one you enjoy, but it just didn’t tick many boxes for me personally.

Thank you to both @netgalley and @michaeljbooks, Penguin Random House, for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I received an advanced copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't previously read anything by Simone St James but after reading this I can't wait to read some of her other work. The writing was addictive and fast paced. I liked the cast of characters and the plot. This novel held my attention from start till end and I loved the direction the story went. It didn't feel like a standard thriller and had me guessing the whole time. It feels like the perfect mix of murder mystery, thriller and horror.
The only reason I don't feel like I can give it 5 stars is some aspects of the conclusion felt a bit convenient and not entirely satisfying but with this type of story I think that was maybe the point.
Overall a really enjoyable read and an author I'll continue to read. I would definitely recommend this book.

4⭐️

A murder mystery with a supernatural element.

April and Eddie were on route to their honeymoon destination when they took a wrong turn. This turned out to be the catalyst of disaster.
They met a woman on a dark isolated road, they offered her a lift to soon find that she was badly injured so rushed her to the nearest hospital.
As she didn’t survive her injuries the couple soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the police.
April and Eddie start investigating only to find that this is only one in a string of murders.

I really liked April and Eddie, even knowing they were holding on to secrets. Despite both of them having darkness in their lives the tone of the book is quite light and easy going.

They team up with Beatrice a tenacious 16 year old, I loved her plucky inquisitive/obsessive attitude.

I found the switch to some of the past memories felt a little awkward.

I enjoyed this, and would like to read another by this Author

I’ve not read anything by this author before. I was excited to read this book.

I found this book an interesting read. I loved the idea of the story and the plot. I would describe it as a murder mystery with a spooky background vibe running through it. I wish it had been pre read a little bit more as I noticed some inconsistency in the book and some grammar issues but apart from that it was an enjoyable read.

I felt it was a slow start book but when it got to the good bits I didn’t want to put it down. The characters grew throughout the story and developed.


Overall I would recommend the book but would love it if it was a super spooky book!

Oooh this is a good one - the author and the genre, modern spooky paranormal thriller, are new to me and I am thrilled to have discovered them both. This is the perfect book for a wet weekend; light the fire and hunker down for a rip roaring read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending a copy in exchange for a review.

Sadly this one just wasn't St.James' best work. I've read all of the authors backlog, and this one was just not good in my opinion.

It wasn't as spooky as I think it wanted to be, the main character was annoying and kept repeating about her honeymoon, and I just felt like the plot was too predictable and boring.