I LOVED this book. This is the first novel I have read by Chevy Stevens and without a doubt it will not be the last.
This book is about a highway where women tend to mysteriously disappear. The story is told by two women, one escaping a terrible living situation and letting people believe she has been abducted and another coming into town looking for answers. I don’t want to spoil anything for future readers.
I really liked how this book was written, being told separately by the two main characters and then switching.
Normally I have an idea of how the story might end, but this one had me guessing quite a few times. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Plus it’s by a Canadian author, so that’s a bonus!
Looking forward to reading more of Chevy’s books in the future.

This is my first Chevy Stevens experience and after finishing Dark Roads it will surely not be my last. The storyline and imagery that is built will have you intrigued and disturbed simultaneously. If you love the feeling of suspense, this book will not disappoint. Also, Wolf is amazing and I love him. If you know, you know.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 3, 2021
Chevy Stevens is back! I am so happy to welcome my favourite Canadian author back into my reading life, with her new novel “Dark Roads”. Based on Canada’s Highway of Tears, where over a dozen young women (particularly Indigenous) have disappeared over forty years, “Dark Roads” is tense, gripping and, yes, dark.
For decades, women and girls have been warned against hitchhiking on the “Cold Creek Highway”. The stories that tell of women who disappear off the face of the earth, their cold, dead bodies uncovered months and years later, if they are discovered at all. Hailey McBride has lived in Cold Creek her entire life and, desperate to leave her living situation, she hatches a plan to run away, making it look like the “Cold Creek Killer” was responsible for her disappearance. Beth Chevalier’s sister, Amber, was declared missing over a year ago, and, now jobless and homeless, Beth decides to visit the place where her sister was killed. When Beth gets a job at the local diner, she starts to hear the stories of the “Cold Creek Killer” and the suspicions and rumours that the locals have about who is hurting their women. Desperate for answers, Beth sets out to determine what caused her sister’s death, and realizes that more than one person has a secret to hide in Cold Creek.
I expected a dark, psychological suspense when I picked up “Dark Roads”, as has been Stevens’ genre of writing with her previous novels (“Still Missing” and “That Night” are two of my favourites) and although “Dark Roads” definitely has the suspense factor, it sways just a little bit from the usual Stevens’ fare. “Roads” features two young women, both of whom have been victims of the “Cold Creek Highway” in one way or another, however this novel has a bit of Jack Kerouac or Cheryl Strayed in that it plays heavily into the forest exploration/survival aspects. Hailey disappears to live in the woods, and a lot of time is spent detailing this solitary explorer life, with only her dirt bike-riding best friend, Jonny, as company.
Right from the beginning, the reader is given a possible villain, but those familiar with this genre will know that the first one is never the “doer”, and that also proved to be the case here. The ending provided quite a bit of satisfaction for me. Stevens’ knows how to tie up loose ends!
The characters are likable (and those that aren’t simply are not meant to be so!) and the plot is well developed. Props to Stevens for bringing attention to missing and murdered Indigenous woman and Canada’s (unfortunately) infamous “Highway of Tears”. Although this story had a happy ending for the most part, many of “Highway of Tears” tales do not. I cannot tout Stevens’ work enough, and she is always the first author I recommend to friends, and “Dark Roads” will definitely be yet another one I eagerly talk about!

Numerous young women have vanished along with Cold Creek Highway over the years. Hailey McBride, still reeling from her father's death, has been warned repeatedly to be careful there, especially by her uncle Vaughn. Beth is in Cold Creek on the one year anniversary of her sister's disappearance. When she starts to look into her sister's case, Beth finds it be much more dangerous than she'd ever imagined.

This is a well-written thriller that kept me guessing til the end. Beth's storyline was definitely more emotional as she is still lost in her grief at losing her sister. There is a good cast of supporting characters, but not too many to be overwhelming. I really liked the pacing and flow of this story. Don't miss this when it comes out!

For decades, women have been going missing along the Cold Creek Highway. Local girls and women are warned to not go out at night alone and to stay away from the highway and the nearby lake. None of the cases seem to get solved, and the bodies are rarely found.

When Hailey McBride loses both her parents tragically, she is forced to live with her aunt and her tough talking, abrupt uncle Vaughn, the local cop. When the living situation becomes untenable, Hailey strikes up a plan with her friend Johnny to run away and hide until she turns 18. She also believes that she knows who the highway killer is, and fears for her safety. Meanwhile, her friend and romantic interest, Amber, is murdered, and the murder remains unsolved.

A year later, Amber's sister, Beth comes to Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the missing women. She instantly finds a connection to the community and decides to stay. She sets herself to finding out the truth about her sister, and as she does so, she becomes pulled into Hailey and Johnny's orbit.

Told through alternating narration of Beth and Hailey, the strands slowly begin to weave together to discover the truth.

I was really looking forward to reading Canadian author Chevy Stevens latest offering, as I am a fan of her work. I was not disappointed to read about a familiar topic for Canadians, one that deserves more attention. Based on true life stories of missing women along the Highway of Tears in Canada, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement, Dark Roads hits hard and does the movement justice. The characters are complex and relatable, tough and determined. The plot was well woven and filled with suspense. A few moments were a bit predictable and hard to believe, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. Thanks to Chevy Stevens and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Dark Roads was one heck of a ride!! The book comes from the perspective of two young women, Hailey and Beth. Hailey already lives in the town of Cold Creek, which homes the infamous highway that several women have disappeared from. Hailey runs away from a terrible living situation and into the wilderness of Cold Creek, while Beth is the sister of one of the Cold Creek victims that arrives in Cold Creek hoping to find answers about her sister. One thing I loved about this book is how the story lines connected to each other, which leads to the ending making perfect sense. You get a backstory on both of them helping you to relate to each of these characters. The story comes to a climax in a way that I would have only half predicted and I was left feeling shocked. I loved the twists and turns of this book and couldn’t find myself able to put it down once I started it. I highly recommend this book! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chevy Stevens does it again and has written another compulsively readable novel that had me up until the early morning hours so I could devour every last word while simultaneously entrenching me in the gripping fear felt by the town discussed in Dark Roads. The story follows four characters and is almost cinematic with its visceral and haunting plot line. I love a story that keeps me engaged and guessing until the very twisty end and this DELIVERED!

Chevy did it again. I was so consumed with this book, I couldn't put it down. Immediately you feel Hailey's fear from Vaughn, I was turning pages, anxiety growing. There was a bit of a plot twist towards the end that completely blindsided me. Definitely wish I could give this 10 stars!

A Northern community is cast under a bleak shadow . . . young women are being targeted and hunted along Cold Creek Highway. Women tracked down like the vulnerable forest creatures that dwell in the lush areas nearby.

For decades small monuments are placed beside the road, reminders of the missing and the murdered. Every cross, flower, or trinket stand as a warning to others who may dare to travel the highways alone.

Who is the killer? Who is the next victim?

An entire community gripped by caution and anxiety, fearful for their daughters, leery of their neighbors. Chevy Stevens grabs you on the first page and you can’t look away or turn the pages fast enough in this thriller.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Dark Roads.

This is the first book by Chevy Stevens that I read. I will definitely look for more of her books. Dark Roads involves four young people: Hailey, Beth, Jonny, and Amber. In typical Chevy fashion, she has created 4 characters that are so real that it is hard to leave them at the end. The plot builds to cinematic crescendos that come at you in terrifying waves. You won’t be able to put it down, and you’ll never guess the villain. I loved it. I started this book in the morning and ended up staying up until I finish it. #netgalley

I'm at a loss for words! This is most definitely my favorite Chevy Stevens book to date! I devoured this book as fast as I could. Literally had me hooked from the prologue and from that moment on its all I could think about!! This is a fast paced thriller that has you internally screaming at the characters and their choices! Definitely some surprises along the way, up until the end! I love how Stevens grabs your attention and then takes off running through the entire book and never lets go!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh how I love a good thriller. Years ago I read Still Missing by this author and still think about it over ten years later. As you can imagine, I was waiting with great anticipation for Dark Roads. Although I did enjoy this book - and it was definitely a good read – it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

What I Liked

✨Dark Roads is based loosely on real events. We’ve all heard the stories of the dark stretches of roads where hitchhikers disappear. Some of them are real, and that’s what this book is based on.

✨The characterization. The only character I truly liked was Wolf, the dog. I loved Wolf. The other characters were all unlikeable to me, but I feel they were purposefully written to be flawed – and the author crafts this masterfully.

✨The action at the end was exciting.

What I Struggled With

✨Many of the clues felt obvious, and the resolution was a bit anti-climactic in my view.

✨Some of the plot felt unrealistic. There were extreme decisions made by otherwise intelligent characters that seemed forced to me.

✨I felt that some of the descriptions of violence were unnecessarily graphic.

✨The descriptions and explanations of dirt biking seemed excessive, and I found myself skimming those portions.

I really wanted to love this one, but it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I still recommend it as an enjoyable thriller and rate it 3.5 stars. I will definitely continue reading books by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This will be in stores on August 3, and you’re going to want to grab your own copy.

Who goes hitchhiking on a road called Cold Creek Highway?? That just sounds like a horrible idea. But we learn who and follow the stories of two girls who did exactly that. The book was well-paced and went back and forth with the perspectives quite well. A very quick read, perfect for a commute or pool side reading.

This mystery/thriller is first told from Hailey’s POV. Her parents are both dead so she’s gone to live with her aunt and her aunt’s husband, Vaughn. Vaughn is overprotective of Hailey because of the Cold Creek Highway killer and she’s suspicious of his motives. With help of a close friend, Hailey decides to run away from what she thinks is an unbearable situation.

The story then switches to Beth’s POV, who is connected to Hailey through Amber. Amber was a waitress of the local diner, a love interest of Hailey, and a victim of the Cold Creek killer. As Beth searches for answers, she develops friendships and relationships with several key characters. In part 3, she get both POV’s and see Beth’s capture from and escape of the killer.

This story was intriguing, but I just had a hard time getting into the story and connecting with the characters. I enjoyed the plot, setting, and twists of the story. However, the only feelings I felt towards the characters was Vaughn because he was an overbearing asshole. I don’t feel like I really got to know any of the key characters. Oh, Wolf was a super cute character and I really enjoyed his bits of the story ;).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Another really good mystery/thriller by Chevy Stevens! The first half of the book had me reading as fast as I could, waiting for the next shoe to drop. The second half slowed down a bit in intensity, but ended strong. Stevens develops some great characters (although not all of them are likeable!) along with a loyal companion dog, Wolf.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This book started out at a slower pace, but it built up really well. Told from the perspective of two different people to take you through different stages of the story. I'm not sure why women would stay in this town with a long-term serial killer on the loose, but they do. The fact that the concept is based on a real life mystery makes it all the more disturbing. I definitely recommend.

This tale was dark but excellent. It did not turn out as I'd expected, or even how my Scooby Doo-trained brain predicted. The only down side to this book was the lack of continuance. There were a few spots in the book where I had no idea when Beth went from one place to another, or when Hailey had a thought that turned into a week later. It wasn't once, I felt like this multiple times. The story was creepy AF, in a good way, and I thoroughly recommend reading it. Trigger warnings: drugs, murder, assault, abuse.

This was the best book that Chevy Stevens has written in years! When Hailey’s father dies, she’s forced to live with her aunt and her aunt’s new husband Vaughn. After a discovery that makes her feel like she’s in danger, Hailey decides to take matters into her own hands and disappears into the mountains of Canada. Meanwhile, her girlfriend Amber is murdered and Amber’s sister Beth, comes to town to find answers. I didn’t see the ending coming and thought Stevens dealt with it quite nicely. Definitely a great read that will keep you turning the pages!

What a ride! This thriller was a fast-paced guessing game that had me questioning everything til the last pages. The writing was excellent and was a lot different than most thrillers these days. Definitely a stand-out of 2021!

I would like to thank net galley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of Dark Roads in exchange for my honest review.

I love a book that has you rooting for the underdogs! And speaking of dogs, Dark Roads has one of the most lovable animal characters I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time. Hailey, is an orphan and ends up in a bad living situation that she has to get out of and soon. She and her best friend Johnny fake her disappearance and make it look as though she has become another one of the Cold Creek Highways victims. Young girls are known to go missing, or are found dead along this stretch of road, lots of them.

I enjoyed the character development, not all of them were likable, but they were believable. Very well written, descriptive novel that will leave you wanting more. Chevy Stevens definitely has a gift!