I consumed this book in two sittings. The short chapters, the multiple POVs, and the incredible twists kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, a timely message behind it all. Anna Downes has become one of my favorite suspense authors. Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for my copy.

It has been a year since Phoebe disappeared three weeks into a solo trip by van on the road that encircles Australia. Her blog, pheebsinwonderland, describes her stops leading up to her disappearance. Now her sister Katy is using the blog to retrace Phoebe’s route, hoping to discover what happened to her. At one of the stops she becomes uncomfortable around one of the men at a gathering. She had been drinking with the group before driving off. Needing sleep and time to sober up, she finds a place off the road to stop and sleep. There she encounters Beth, who has snuck into the back of her van to hide. She had run from an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Lucas with none of her possessions or identification. In exchange for a place in Katy’s van she offers to help her find her sister. As they travel, they stay in the same locations as Phoebe, hoping someone will remember her. When Beth suggests searching Phoebe’s social media one of the names that comes up is Lucas. Someone has been following them on their trip and Beth is afraid that he has been tracking them. While she was with him they were involved in a series of robberies. Beth is afraid that if Katy learns the truth she will strand her. On one of their stops, Beth is approached by a reporter who is hoping to get a story. When he gets her alone he warns her that Katy is not who she seems and may even pose a threat to Beth. One of Phoebe’s pictures offers a clue to her last location. It is located in Lucas’ home town. Their arrival leads to a confrontation with a major twist and a murder. Told in alternating points of view, this story progresses slowly, with little progress on the search for Phoebe. The earlier disappearance of another female vanlifer is noted at several of Katy’s stops. Anna Downes’ ties this mystery to Phoebe’s story as she brings Katy’s search to its’ conclusion. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for providing this book.

I loved following Katy and Beth as they searched for clues around the Big Lap of Western Australia. The claustrophobic setting of the van added so much tension. Short chapters and alternating POVs kept the story moving at a steady pace. Beth’s past and current traumas added a secondary storyline that I cared about just as much as Phoebe’s disappearance. Every woman in this story was keeping secrets and you don’t know the real story UNTIL YOU KNOW THE REAL STORY. I would definitely recommend this thriller if you enjoy a missing person story with a unique setting and a good twist.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I was all in on Katy trying to find her sister Phoebe who disappeared while living life on the road.
Beth’s character was confusing because the reader is given hints but nothing concrete until well into the book.
And then Wyatt was thrown in which I didn’t understand what his connection was until almost the very end.
I also found the premise of Katy’s issues to be questionable although it’s fiction.
Don’t travel alone to remote places.

Katy is in search of her sister Phoebe who disappeared while exploring the Australian Outback. I loved the setting for the book! The van life was interesting to read about. Katy encounters another woman Beth who is escaping a hidden past. I was enjoying up until the end reveal. I always feel like that's the easy way put to wrap up a "mystery".

Loved it!! If you happen to come back to your van and find some random person sleeping in your bed, what do you do? I would have been so scared and freaked out. I would think they were there to murder me and throw my body to the dingoes to eat. Katy invites her to come along on her trip. Beth was lucky to find Katy because her relationship with Lucas was terrifying. The Big Lap van life seemed fun and scary at the same time, especially if you were traveling alone. Anything could happen to you without anyone knowing. Hence, all the fliers for the missing women. I really just wanted to know what happened to Phoebe. All the weird things that were happening to Katy and Beth, seemed like it might be the person who harmed Phoebe. Why is the detective so mad with Katy calling him? I had so many questions. Why was Wyatt always sick? Was someone making him ill or was he really just poorly? I knew there had to be something shady happening in the shed, why else would it be locked. Honestly, I really thought Wyatt's dad had a women locked in it. I was certain Phoebe would be chained inside waiting to be rescued. With Wyatt constantly hearing noises in the house, I thought maybe they were hiding someone in the attic. There were so many twists and turns. The story had me constantly guessing. Was Phoebe going to be found alive somewhere or were there just bones? I'm really not sure about the ending. I would have never predicted what was really going on. How did people not know? I never suspected anything. At times I thought maybe Katy was Phoebe's stalker. It was just so crazy. Australia sounded beautiful. Some of the spots the girls stopped at sounded amazing.

Definitely recommend the book. It was a great mystery/thriller. Loved the characters, writing style and story. This was the first book I read by the author and I look forward to reading more. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

When you read often you’ll find that not every book is for you, and this one wasn’t for me. It took me quite a while to finish because I just never got drawn in by the story or the characters. I found the plot very hard to follow because it seemed like it was all over the place. There was too much going on and it felt like it couldn’t decide which thread it wanted to follow at any given point. Generally, I like a good multi-plotline/multi-pov story but if you’re going to do both you have to give enough background to either the plot or the characters themselves to keep the reader engaged. I often found that I just didn’t care what was going on because there were just a lot of holes where information should be to make the story make sense but that information was never delivered. I wasn’t huge on any of the characters; none of them seemed particularly likeable. Which again, isn’t an automatic dealbreaker for me, but they weren’t particularly interesting either, they were just sort of there. Mostly I wasn’t so much interested in the story but I did become very interested in visiting Australia. I do feel like there’s been a recent uptick in the van life plot premise but I don’t know that I’ve seen it done super well as of yet which is unfortunate because I think there’s a lot to work with there. For me the best part of the book were the descriptions of all the locations visited. Overall, not necessarily something I would recommend.

Three POV that all feel kind of secretive and unreliable and yet it comes together nicely. All the elements come together nicely. The tension on the road, the secrecy, the friendship (despite being built on lies).

I liked all the different pieces of the story and the way they all come together. There’s a lot of things that aren’t what they seem and the reveals aren’t totally surprising bc the clues are there, but they are satisfying and make for a good story.

Atmospheric, tense.
Keeps you guessing: Who to trust?
Slow, choppy, but fun.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I write haiku reviews but am happy to provide more feedback.

Gasp! I knew going in that anything Anna Downes wrote would be pretty darn good. And let me tell you, Red River Road managed to meet my expectations and then blow them away. With an evocative setting, immersive plot, and mixed media format, I was won over hook, line, and sinker right from the start. After all, the addictive, finely layered storyline wasn’t the only strength to this story. Oh no. There was an underlying message that proved to be both thought-provoking and utterly stunning even if it was somewhat heavy and pockmarked with just barely there triggers. All together, it was a dark, wild ride.

Told via multiple POVs that were composed of distinctly clear cut identities that helped heighten suspense, each persona waffled between unreliable and trustworthy. Combined, they took a well-plotted storyline and made it seem like I was peeling an onion until all was revealed. And oh what a storyline that it was. Rife with misdirection and jaw-dropping twists, this was far more than just another reinvention of the missing person trope. Instead there were secrets piled upon lies, all of which came together to build a downright chilling, spine-tingling thriller.

All in all, with a purposeful slow burn plot that felt like an expertly orchestrated mystery, I was duly impressed. What made it even better, however, was the fast-paced, explosive climax and near-constant palpable tension. Ratcheting higher and higher with each deft reveal, the foreboding made me look over my shoulder as I fully expecting eyes on me as well. Just know that you need to pay CLOSE attention to what’s going on. Maybe that way you’ll pick up on the deftly obscured clues that I personally missed. But then, I was just as happy to remain in the dark throughout this unguessable, binge-worthy novel. Rating of 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Anna Downes and Minotaur Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I read this gripping work of suspense and it was captivating, a slow burning mystery that will just get into your head. Set along the natural beauty of the west coast of Australia, the beautifully written setting is a huge part the story - i have never been to Australia but I looked so many spots up on the internet because they sounded so magical... without the uneasy feeling this book provides, of course.
This is the story of Katy, who after the police investigation into the disappearance of her sister Phoebe basically fizzles out decides to get a camper van and follow her sister's trip up the coast. She uses Phoebes Instagram page as a guide, determined to find out what happened a year ago. Where is her sister and why can't the police find her? Along the way she picks up a fellow female traveler, Beth, who is travelling alone for her very own reasons that she is not sharing.
With danger at every turn, I was engrossed - listening, glued to my book. Both women are deceptive.
The people they encounter along the way, the struggles for women travelling on their own, it was all very realistic and very far away in Australia at the same time.
And that ending so very clever, I am still thinking about it but don't want to spoil it for you.

It took me a long time to get into this book, but once I hit about 75 percent in, I got really invested in the story and wanted to figure out what happened. It had some interesting twists that I didn't see coming.

"Red River Road" by Anna Downes captivated me with its stunning portrayal of Western Australia’s landscapes. The exploration of the potential dangers of Van Life felt particularly timely and relevant. The pacing kept me engaged throughout, and I loved the narrative structure told from three different perspectives. It’s a gripping puzzle that had me guessing their connections, with plenty of twists that I thoroughly enjoyed. A compelling read!

A woman sets out to find her sister, Phoebe, an influencer and solo van traveler, who supposedly vanished the year before, leaving no trace or clues. Along the way, she picks up another woman, traveling alone and running from bad circumstances.
Together, the two follow Phoebe's itinerary, hoping to find some explanation as to what happened to her, without realizing the answer is much closer than they realize.
This was engaging and quick-paced.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this #arc of #redriverroad by #annadownes in exchange for an honest review.

I was very intrigued with the premise of this book and enjoyed reading my library copy. I thought it could have gone another way as the story unfolded. While this book wasn't for me I think other readers will enjoy it more. Told my sister to give it a try I think she will really enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

A thriller that leaves you guessing to the last page. This was such a fun read and the perfect summer thrill!

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.

Red River Road, by Anna Downes, is a complex mystery set in the Australian outback with unreliable characters and a puzzle-piecing plot. The entire plot has a veil of secrecy and a sense of foreboding, as things are revealed, bit by bit. It’s shocking, enthralling and entertaining.

Katy is searching for her sister who went missing while embarking on a social media quest featuring solo van life. She is retracing her sister’s Instagram posts in hopes of finding her sister Phoebe, or at least some answers. Beth is a girl who shows up at Katy’s campsite one night, bruised and beaten from a car accident, fleeing an incident. She’s using an alias and clearly hiding something. She agrees to help Katy search for her missing sister, because truly, she has no other option. Our final character is Wyatt, a teenager whose mother abandoned him years earlier and joins the girls on their quest.

This story is a bit confusing and even choppy at first, but as the plot progresses, elements fall into place. There are darker, heavier topics weaved into the plot, but it’s a gripping, atmospheric story and one you won’t want to put down!

This book wasn’t horrrible until about 80% when you find out what’s really going on. Too all over the place