Australian crime fiction, road trip novel about a young woman on a solo vanlife trip who meets up with another young woman who is in trouble. One is searching for her missing sister, the other escaping from an abusive relationship, but they are both hiding something. The descriptions of the settings were lovely and really added to the story, but there were some plot threads that got lost - there was a lot going on. I normally don't mind multiple points of view, especially in thriller novels, but something was off with the tense in this book that kept throwing me off and made some of the story hard to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for a complimentary copy of this novel!
This is another awesome thriller to be released by Anna Downes. I’ve enjoyed two of her previously released novels, so when I saw she has a new one coming out, I was thrilled...no pun intended... 😉 to have a chance at reviewing it!!!

Katy Sweeney’s sister, Phoebe, goes missing a year earlier while she is on a solo van life Instagram trip in Australia. Now it is up to Katy to try and find her. But with absolutely no trace of Phoebe or her van, it is proving a bit difficult. So, using Phoebe’s Instagram posts, Katy uses them as a map to hopefully be able to find out what happened to her sister. However, all is not as it seems in this novel! Along the way, Katy meets people who may or may not be friendly. One such person is Beth. She’s trying to escape her sordid past. As Beth and Katy travel together, Beth begins to realize things are not quite adding up. With strange messages and possible stalkers popping up near where they stop to rest, the journey begins to get nerve-racking and frightening!! Will Beth’s past catch up to her? Will Katy get the answers she is looking for regarding her sister?
Look for this edge-of-your seat thriller AVAILABLE August 27, 2024!

The way I started out thinking this was going to be a 5 star read, but this story slowly lost its mystique as the events unfolded. While I do respect a good plot twist, and applaud the use of unreliable narrators, I just can't get over how disappointed I was by the end of this book. I felt that there were just too many elements thrown at the reader that caused the end to feel like a letdown rather than a "wow that was insane" moment.

Another lovely, twisty Anna Downes read. It took me a little bit to get into this gem of a thriller, but once I started to weave pieces together, I was hooked. I really like how the story, as the parts unfold, is told from 3 different characters. I honestly did not see the twists coming and found myself frequently wondering where she was going with each tiny detail that popped up. I don't want to share too much, other than simply read this book. It was a solid quick read and definitely recommend.

last year it was all about the podcasts, this year it will all be about van life and solo female travelers. this is the 3rd book i have read with this theme in the past 2 months. they are starting to blend together honestly.
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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. This is the kind of thriller that I enjoy reading.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #AnnaDownes, and #MinotaurBooks for a copy of this book.
#RedRiverRoad

Thank you to netgalley for the chance to review!
This story explores the Australian coast through three narrators: Katy, a woman searching for her missing sister in the outback, Beth, a woman on the run who happens upon Katy and decides to team up with her, and Wyatt, a young man with a troubled childhood and strange happenings in his home. It's unclear right away how these three stories overlap (although they do eventually quite flawlessly), and the story is filled with creepy encounters and some really stunning twists. Downes manages to keep the reader questioning what's happening while not completely abandoning believability. As someone who HATES an unreliable narrator this did a really good job of duping the reader without having the narrator straight up lie to you.
I loved that we got snippets of Katy's missing sister Phoebe through her instagram: I love epistolary elements and this really made you dig in and try to 'catch' the twists that were being left as breadcrumbs.
This also had a great deal of difficult subjects blended quite seamlessly with the thrill factor: sexual assault, mental health, domestic abuse, abandonment issues: you name it, this covered it.
Some of the final twists I saw coming while most left me completely blindsided which is really exceptional. I never felt like I was cheated in the story and I thought the propulsion of the drama at the end was really well done. The beginning lagged a bit (this is really long) but I think its worth it to stick it through to the end!

Katy is desperate to find the sister who went missing on a solo road trip around Australia's outer loop. She's following in her footsteps in hopes of finding clues missed by the police. She ends up traveling with another woman who is hiding plenty from Katy. Revelations occur at ever-increasing speed, and I was kept guessing right up to the end. Fans of psychological suspense will devour this.

The story was uninteresting and confusing, especially at the beginning. The different character narratives made it difficult to truly connect with a character. It just seemed to muddle the story even more. The unexpected twist and creepy atmosphere wasn’t enough to save this book.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on August 27, 2024.

Synopsis: A woman is on a camper van adventure through Australia to find her missing sister when a stow away joins her on the trek. Nothing is quite as it seems as the journey unfolds.
Pros and cons: I’ll be honest, the beginning of this story didn’t quite grab me and I was a bit confused by the multiple perspectives and what was going on. But I can say that there are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and I didn’t see a single damn one coming! If you enjoy a twisty mystery you should definitely check this out when it’s released next month!

First things first: vanlife AINT for me!! But I absolutely loved that element of this story.
I was hooked from page one. Downes knows how to get her teeth into you and not let go until long after the last page.

This was a missing person's story and I was SO HERE FOR IT.

Is there anything more entertaining on a hot, humid July day than getting lost within the pages of a story with unreliable characters, plenty of hidden motivations, women in dual timelines embarking on solo road trips into beautiful and wild Australia, a disappearance, and then efforts to find the missing? If there is, I don't need to know about it because I was glued to the pages of this compelling psychological thriller. I love mysteries about disappearances, and Red River Road didn't disappoint. 

I loved the setting! This story being set in a land that seems untamed, dangerous, and undeniably beautiful added an extra element of intensity and intrigue that helped take the mystery to the next level.

Once this story pulled me in, it didn't let go. The further I read, the more confounding the mystery became and the more puzzling the connection between all the different, seemingly unrelated story threads. This book ventures into some dark places and had me constantly questioning what was really going on, who was being truthful, and who was being deceptive. The ending made sense, was satisfying, and most definitely unforgettable.

A missing vanlife travel influencer, a sister determined to retrace her path and find answers, and a mystery woman whose path intersects the search all set against the wild beauty of western Australia made this a perfect summer thriller and another winner from Anna Downes.

Thank you St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
At first I was not sure about this one because in the beginning I disliked the unreliable narrator; however, my feelings changed as the story progressed. This is a suspenseful, tense, twisty, and atmospheric read. I enjoyed the three different POVs from three characters, even though they all seemed to be unreliable sometimes-each of them grew on me. The story starts off with building up the tension and suspense, and Downes does a fantastic job at keeping this built up until the very end. I loved the setting and the atmosphere throughout this book, and really enjoyed the creepiness and eerie vibe that Downes creates. For a woman who has traveled on her own (and loves to do it) and plans to do it in the future, this had me second guessing that 😆 Downes leaves you wondering who you can really trust. This is a fun, entertaining read which plenty of tension which all comes together with a bang in a fantastic ending that I did not see coming. If you love your thrillers with plenty of secrets, lies, twists, suspense, and which leaves you feeling claustrophobic at times, then definitely check out this up-coming thriller as I am sure you will not be disappointed!

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦Unreliable narrators
✦Different POVs
✦Suspense, twists, tension, secrets, and lies
✦An ending that you do not see coming
✦Mixed-media (Such as letters and texts)
✦A book that keeps you guessing until the very end
✦A book that creates an unsettling, creepy, and eerie feeling

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5/5

A riveting thriller! With multiple character perspectives, the author keeps the reader guessing throughout the book. I also love an unreliable narrator; but it is up to you to figure out who it is. Highly recommended to all readers!!

This was a pretty twisty thriller with some interesting turns. I did find the first half to be a little slow, but the last part more than made up for that with how action filled it was. Katy is searching for her sister Phoebe. Just over a year ago Phoebe took a trip and posted constantly about vanlife. But when she disappeared no one seemed able to find her at all. Katy has decided to get her own van and follow her sister’s path to try to find some clues the detectives missed. Beth is running with no belongings, no money, and no id. She hides in the back of Katy’s van and begs for help. Soon Beth is helping Katy try to find her sister, but there are all strange things happening. Beth has been keeping some secrets and as she realizes the monster she’s running from may have a connection to Phoebe she panics. I definitely enjoyed this one and recommend it if you like a twisty story.

I think this may be better as an audiobook, listened to on 2.5x speed, because it progresses so slowly i wanted to scream.

Told in POV from Katy, Wyatt, and Beth. Katy is looking for her sister, Phoebe. As she looks for her, she meets Beth. Beth is hiding from her past. Katy believes Beth might be able to help her locate Phoebe. Phoebe has been missing for over a year, she used an Instagram page to document her travels.

The setting in Western Australia is amazing. Katy experiences many things during her search for her sister. This book is a slow burn and keeps the reader guessing. There seems to be danger at every turn. Both Katy and Beth are hiding stuff and encounter struggles along the way.

Creepy, Suspenseful and Dark! 3 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 8/27/24.

Whoa! Never saw that coming!? I LOVED this book. Having read THE SAFE PLACE back in 2020 I knew I loved Anna's writing and once I saw it was about a vanlifer, I was hooked, having lived vanlife myself. It also takes place in Australia, and while there were a few words here and there that I admit I didn't get (being American), I have a deep love and interest in Australia, so it added to the charm of this book for me. 

The story follows Katy, a girl whose sister, Phoebe, disappeared while traveling around the Western Australian coast in her van and Katy is re-enacting her sister's trip in order to find clues to her whereabouts and try to find out what happened to her. Katy uses Phoebe's Instragam posts from her travels to follow in her footsteps where she looks for clues, talks to locals, fellow vanlifers, anyone who will listen to see if they remember Phoebe passing through. 

One day in her travels she is stunned to find a strange woman in her van, begging to let her travel along with her and very seemingly on the run from something she isn't talking about. Realizing she could use the help, being very much on her own and feeling out of place on this trip, together they team up to retrace Phoebe's footsteps as they continue following her previous path. 

This one came from out of nowhere! You know that moment in a book where you find out the twist and it just makes you want to re-read the entire book at that exact moment!? THAT was this book for me- I just finished and I already want to restart it!? I love the cover, the twists, and the locations! A story about brave, solo-traveling women, I was sucked in from page one and was blown away by the ending. Highly recommended!

Great thriller - held my attention from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley aan the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.