Review: Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

Being addicted to ID Discovery shows about murder and mayhem, I was instantly intrigued by Chevy Stevens's newest novel, Dark Roads. I vaguely remember watching a special about a Canadian highway that was the last known location of a lot of missing women and is believed to be the hunting route of a serial killer. So when I read the synopsis of Dark Roads, about a similar stretch of highway through the dark Canadian wilderness where women from all walks of life, especially indigenous women, disappear never to be seen or heard from again, I knew I needed to add it to my TBR pile.

The story is narrated by two young women who experience first-hand the evil that can lurk in the dark. Hailey was recently orphaned when her father died in a tragic accident and now has to live with her aunt and uncle. Her Uncle Vaughn is referred to as "The Iceman" by the kids in town because of his strict demeanor. He is always nagging Hailey about not walking or biking at night along the Cold Creek Highway. An apparent control freak, Vaughn and Hailey do not get along well under the best of circumstances, so it's no surprise that things come to a head when Hailey discovers that Vaughn is keeping a dark and dangerous secret. Fearing for her safety, Hailey runs away to live off the grid in an attempt to free herself from Vaughn's control. It doesn't take long for the town to assume that Hailey too has become a victim of the Cold Creek Highway.

One year passes and the story picks up with Beth, a young woman who drops out of law school after her sister is found murdered in a ditch along the infamous highway. Beth is struggling to come to terms with her sister's death and the fact that the police don't seem to have answers about the monster who destroyed her family's lives. She decides to visit Cold Creek herself and steps into the life her sister lived, waitressing at the same restaurant and living out of a motel before deciding to set herself up at the local campground. When Beth accidentally crosses paths with Hailey, the two girls must work together to stay out of the clutches of a ruthless killer who is watching their every move.

This turned out to be a completely different story from what I had been expecting, but I still enjoyed it. Dark Roads started off really strong. I flew through the first part of the book where Hailey was the only narrator. Stevens did a wonderful job of developing characters and building the 'creep' factor. Her ability to create a realistic setting is quite impressive. Unfortunately, the novel really slowed when the narrator switched to Beth and took quite awhile to pick back up again. Having read the whole book now, I would say this is just a minor flaw considering the intensity takes back over for the last 20% of the book. There were times I considered not finishing it because I was bored of Beth's day to day life in Cold Creek, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because what followed was action-packed and exciting! There will be a few spots you'll have to trudge through in order to get to the thrilling ending, but it really is worth it! If that sounds like something you can handle, go check it out!

My Rating: ★★★★☆

At the time of this post, this title is set to be released on August 3rd, 2021.

*Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!