I was entertained by RED RIVER ROAD, which has an unexpected twist, and the characters don’t really fit together until the end (something I enjoy in a good thriller/mystery). The beginning captured my attention immediately, but I felt that the story lagged in the middle before picking up again at the end. My main takeaway, however, is that I really should put Western Australia on my must-see list because Anna Downes’ descriptions of the area are stunning.

RED RIVER ROAD is about Katy, a solo traveler who’s retracing her missing sister Phoebe’s steps. The investigation into Phoebe’s disappearance the year before has stalled, and Katy believes if she can put herself in Phoebe’s shoes, she’ll be able to find her. She encounters another female solo traveler, Beth, and the two form an alliance. There’s a third point of view in the story, too: that of a teenage boy who seems to be keeping a dark secret.

I liked that I was kept guessing throughout the story and the psychological suspense of being out on the road alone really got me. I also enjoyed the blog posts that were interspersed throughout the story, and the book’s final line was the perfect cherry on top.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur, as well as NetGalley for an early digital copy of RED RIVER ROAD in exchange for my honest feedback.

Solo traveller Katy Sweeney is traveling in a campervan along the Coral Coast of Western Australia, following in the footsteps of her intrepid sister Phoebe who disappeared a year ago. Phoebe was a free spirit who loved travelling solo in her small van, meeting people and exploring new places, however three weeks into her trip she disappeared.

Phoebe wrote a popular Instagram blog about her travels so Katy is able to follow her route, visiting places Phoebe stopped at and asking people there about her. Female empowerment and the right of women to be able to travel alone without fear of violence is close to Phoebe’s heart and very much a theme of the novel. Along the way Katy acquires a passenger - Beth, a young woman who is clearly running from a dangerous situation but is cautious in opening up to Katy.

This Aussie outback thriller brings alive the joys of travel on the open road, being free to where you will, enjoying the spectacular scenery and able to stop whenever you find that perfect campsite. The beautiful and rugged landscape of the West Australian mid north coast is vividly described along with the atmosphere of freedom and friendship Phoebe experiences and may make you want to plan a trip to the Coral Coast (although after finishing the book you may not want to go alone).

A dark, sinister undertone creeps in to the novel as the thrill of solo travel and discovery collides with darker forces and an innate fear of being alone in the unknown. As Katy travels further north, disturbing notes and unsettling comments creep into Phoebe’s travel blog, gradually raising the tension. Along the way, we also hear from Wyatt, a fifteen year old boy who lives on the Coral Coast. His mother also disappeared without trace and

Travelling vicariously through Phoebe’s and Katy’s eyes made this a very engrossing novel. Particularly as it becomes creepy and disturbing. It becomes clear that both Beth and Katy are holding back secrets and do not fully trust one another. Not all the narrators are reliable, however, all the characters are written with depth and have authentic voices. The jaw-dropping twist towards the end of the book was very cleverly done and one I didn’t see coming. Recommended for all those who enjoy a slow burning mystery with the tension and creepiness gradually rising to a terrific ending.

What a ride!! Holy cow, this was so great! Adrenaline pumping and at 70% in I still had no idea what was going on, which was very refreshing to have a book that was so unpredictable. Definite Wolf Creek vibes. Phoebe is embracing the female solo van life. She likes to update her social media feed along the way, but you never know just who’s watching. Cut to Katy searching for her missing sister, making sure to travel the same exact route her sister was on before her disappearance. But will this get her closer to answers or will she also suffer the same fate? And then there’s Beth, the stranger she stumbles upon during her search. You really don’t know who to trust in this one, and just as soon as you think you’re close to figuring it out, things get shaken up again and you’re left as lost as when you started. Well done!!

3/5

Thank you Minotaur Books for the advanced reading copy!

The premise of this book was super intriguing, and it started out pretty strong! While I was hooked from the start, my interest level wavered throughout this one. I don't love unreliable narrators, and Katy's drinking/black outs made me instantly suspicious. There were some really great twists in this one, though! The setting of Western Australia was pretty cool, too, and really set the scene. I think this book could have been a bit shorter but I'm still overall glad that I finished it!

SYNOPSIS --

Katy Sweeney's sister, Phoebe, disappeared just over a year ago while on a solo van trip across beautiful Western Australia. Now, with no leads in the case, Katy is taking matters into her own hands. While following along Phoebe's path via her social media, Katy runs into lone female traveler Beth, who is utterly determined to escape a mysterious past. The two join forces to find out what really happened to Phoebe, and to keep themselves safe along the way.

I went into this book a little fearful because of the reality of the dangers of women traveling alone. At first I thought it was about a woman's search for her missing sister, but then another woman gets thrown in to the mix and she is bold- hiding in the back of a strangers van? Phew. I think this was an absolute thriller, I was constantly thinking I knew what was going to happen next, and I totally didn't. I think this would translate well into a TV series, because it was that good, great imagery, unique plot line and the crazy part is that it is so realistic!

The ending of this book is sooo good! The entire time I was wondering what is going on?! I had so many guesses but also no clue. Katey is looking for her missing sister Phoebe, who was a vanlifer and traveling the coast. Nobody knows what happened to her. While katey is out of her van. A woman, Beth, sneaks in to stay there. Katey lets her stay. But what is Beth also running from?

It was a slow start to this read but once the story started going I was so drawn in. Why were the cops not wanting to talk to Katey? Why was she not looking into more details and just going on nothing? The story of what happened to phoebe is really wild. This book is original and one I haven’t read before. Once you find out what’s happening your jaw drops.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a copy.

Ok, I spent about 90% of this book having no idea what I was reading. I had no idea which narrator to believe. Am I reading a serial killer story? A twisty solo female traveling mystery? A social media blog that lured a creeper? A supernatural nighttime snatcher?

I don't want to give away what the book actually ended up being - it's revealed at the very end - because that's the true fun in the story. Just a heads up - you have to be okay with the frustration of being in the dark for a lot of the book. Stick with it!

Bottom line: Unique thriller that will (maybe) make you grab an AirStream and backpack the Australian outback.

"Red River Road" by Anna Downes totally captivated me! I'm a sucker for a thrilling story about serial killers and mysterious disappearances, especially when it's set in a vast and beautiful wilderness like Australia. The author kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I couldn't predict where the story was heading. This book is definitely going to be one of my top reads this year!

Thanks to Minotaur Books/Macmillan Audio for allowing access to the ebook and audiobook ARC copies via NetGalley and EW. I love the flexibility of switching between them - it adds to the excitement!

Anna Downes is a new author for me, but after this amazing read, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for her future work. If you're into nail-biting thrillers with jaw-dropping endings, you have to give this one a try!

#RedRiverRoad #AnnaDownes #NetGalley #Edelweiss #MacAudio2024 #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #MinotaurBooks

I don’t recommend starting Anna Downes’ Red River Road late at night just before bed. The opening epigraph from Lewis Carroll warns readers: “’Take care of yourself!’ screamed the White Queen, seizing Alice’s hair with both hands. ‘Something’s going to happen!’ And then (as Alice described it afterward) all sorts of things happened in a moment.”

Preceding Chapter One is a social media post by Pheebsinwonderland, introducing herself to new followers as “a travel addict and vanlifer” setting out on the Big Lap of Australia. Adding that the first thing people say to her as a solo traveler is “BE CAREFUl,” and she mentions gathering safety tips online, each of which she will follow every day. For those unfamiliar with the Big Lap, it’s a full circle around the Australian coast, typically following Highway 1, the longest highway in the world, slightly more than 9,000 miles.

Chapter One opens with Katy falling asleep at the wheel of her van and wondering what Phoebe would have to say about her carelessness. Having consumed most of a bottle of wine, Katy vaguely recalls suddenly leaving a campground because a man had made her feel uncomfortable. As she tries to convince herself, he was just a friendly fellow camper, she turns on the radio and hears talk of the search for a missing vanlifer named Vivi Green. Suddenly, feeling she is being followed, Katy takes a sideroad. She pulls over to sleep, waking up to a noise outside. Against her better judgment, she gets out to look around. Seeing a woman dressed in yellow, she calls out, “Pheebs? Is that you?” The woman vanishes in the darkness. With memories of Phoebe, Katy walks back to her van and returns to the main highway. She hears an echo of her own breathing, looks into the review mirror, and sees the covers in the back of her camper van breathing.

Chapter Two, narrated by Beth, opens with the realization that sneaking into a strangers van was one of the stupidest decisions of her life, a split-second decision when she heard the other van approaching behind the empty, parked one. From here on, the majority of chapters alternate between Katy and Beth, two strangers who end up traveling together. A few other chapters are from the point of view of Wyatt, an adolescent in Ningaloo, who lives with his father and older brother Lucas since being abandoned by their mother.

Katy tells Beth that she is trying to find her missing sister Phoebe, using Phoebe’s social media posts to recreate her route. Slowly, Katy’s and Beth’s stories begin to merge with Wyatt’s as each keeps secrets from the others. New characters also enter the picture, including Wyatt’s father and brother Lucas and several fellow campers.

Anna Downie will captivate readers with her creepy, ever-changing new thriller likely to make late-night readers spend a restless night or two.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader egalley.

A good thriller that definitely keeps you guessing the whole time. I love an unreliable narrator, but this felt like everyone was potentially unreliable, making it very hard to figure out where it was going. The end dragged on a bit, but overall an enjoyable read.

3.5 This one started out strong for me and then went a tad off the rails. Katy is searching for her sister Phoebe, a van-lifer that went missing a year ago. She is using her social media posts as a map to find clues and people she may have met. Her path crosses with Beth and she joins Katy on the search, but Beth is keeping secrets. And this is where everything gets a tad wonky. It was entertaining enough to keep me going.

Thrillers are my favorite genre to read so now I find myself not being as easily enraptured by them... UNLESS it;s a good one and this books was one of them!

From the very first page, I was immersed with the story. I really vibed with the author's writing style. This was well written and had likable characters. The mystery was slow burn but boy when it comes to a boil IT REALLY BOILS!! That ending?? That was jaw dropping... it'll go down as one of the most memorable ones I've ever read and let me tell you something, that's some a high praise. I don't typically reread but this one I will have to just to get the hints and clues that I missed on my first reading.

So good and am so thankful to Affirm Press and NetGalley for giving me an ARC to read! Now I'm off to the bookstore to buy a physical copy!

In RED RIVER ROAD, Anna Downes takes readers on a tense and unsettling journey through the vast, desolate landscapes of Australia, where danger lurks around every corner.

The story follows Katy, a Sydney schoolteacher on a desperate quest to find her missing sister, Phoebe, who vanished while traveling solo around Australia. With only a few cryptic social media posts as clues, Katy sets off in her van to retrace Phoebe's steps. Along the way, she encounters Beth, a mysterious woman with a dark past. As the two women form a tenuous bond, their shared journey becomes increasingly fraught with tension and danger.

Downes expertly weaves suspense into every chapter, building an atmosphere of creeping dread, while the expansive and often unforgiving Australian outback serves as the perfect backdrop for this psychological thriller, amplifying the isolation and vulnerability felt by the characters. The novel's minimal cast adds to this sense of claustrophobia, with the women often encountering only suspicious and potentially dangerous men along the way. Yet the real intrigue comes from the relationship between Katy and Beth, as the layers of their respective pasts are peeled away, revealing hidden motivations and secrets that threaten to unravel them both.

What sets RED RIVER ROAD apart is Downes’s ability to delve into the psychological complexities of her characters while maintaining a fast-paced, thrilling narrative. Both Katy and Beth are damaged in their own ways, and their stories of loss, guilt, and survival resonate deeply as they navigate not only the physical dangers of their journey but the emotional scars that haunt them. Downes balances these intense personal struggles with edge-of-your-seat suspense, creating a novel that is both character-driven and action-packed.

With its atmospheric setting, layered deceptions, and high-stakes tension, RED RIVER ROAD is a riveting read that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.

EXCERPT: 'Hi everyone! I'm Phoebe and I'm a travel addict and van-lifer. I'm about to take me, myself and I off on the adventure of a lifetime - the big lap of Australia. Only two more sleeps to go. And before you ask, no I'm not scared. The first thing people say when I tell them I'm travelling alone is "Be careful". Don't even get me started on my parents' response. But the world is full of magic, and solo travel offers way more rewards than risks. It's just that the bad stories get told way more often than the good. . . .'

A year earlier, just three weeks into her solo vanlife trip, free-spirited Phoebe disappeared without a trace on Western Australia’s remote beautiful Coral Coast. Katy Sweeney is now determined to find her sister and figure out what made her disappear. Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map and clues. Katy starts to retrace her steps, searching for the clues that the police have missed. The police said with no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case is cold. Katy’s path collides with Beth, a young woman on the run from her own dark past. Katy soon realizes that Beth may be her best and only chance of finding her sister. Soon the two women form an uneasy alliance but just how how do their fate connect them? With danger at every turn will she find the answers she desperately seeks? Or will she disappear like her sister.
It became apparent that both women were hiding things and there is more that meets the eye. This book showed the struggles for women who travel on their own, it was very realistic and I felt like I was in the van with them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy. Red River Road follows Katy as she is traveling throughout Western Australia looking for her missing sister. Along the way she meets Beth, a stranger who is desperate for help. They both have their own secrets. Wyatt is a fourteen year old boy who has unexpected ties to both Katy and Beth. I enjoyed the different character perspectives. There were a few points in the story where I was confused. I debated putting down the book, but I ultimately decided to finish it. I found myself more interested around the 30% mark. I thought I knew where the book was heading, but I was wrong. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it!

I love Anna Downes and I'm always quick to pick up her books. Red River Road had a unique premise with Katy on a mission to find her missing sister Phoebe who disappeared a year prior while trying to make it as a van life travel influencer. The novel bounced around a bit with posts from Phoebe, the present day story with Katy and a grifter Beth, Beth's past, and a mystery narrator. There were subplots, mixed timelines, and overall just a lot going on.

Between all the subplots, various narrators, and fake names, it was easy for me to get lost. There were times I wasn't quite sure who was who or how they fit in though everything did come together without any loose ends. The plot was definitely unique and fairly exciting, but I wanted more of the van travel life and less of the jumping around to other stories.

I listened to this novel on audio and enjoyed the narrator. It kept me interested and the accents were really well executed.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I don't think it'll be super memorable for me. I'm still eager to pick up more by Downes and excited to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur and MacMillan Audio for the copy.

I’ve enjoyed AD’s previous books ever since her debut novel and I did enjoy this one too! I will say it was a slow burn, but once it picked up and the twists came in, After reading the authors note at the end, it added to my like of the book. To hear where and how this story came about helped me to understand the travel aspect of the story. The end of the story picked up for me and pulled everything together and made more sense of the slow burn of the story. That happened about the last 25%

Thanks to NetGalley for the free advance copy of Red River Road by Anna Downes in exchange for an honest review. Note: I received this pre-publication but it is out now so you can - and should - run to get it!

Red River Road is a propulsive psychological thriller that reveals itself in layer upon exciting and surprising layer from beginning to end. The story takes place in Western Australia and follows a few main characters: Katy, who is tracing the camper van journey of her missing sister, Phoebe; Phoebe, whose Instagram stories and the inevitable comments provide clues to Katy; Beth, who is running away from her abusive boyfriend; and Wyatt, a sickly young teen who loves horror movies and his older cool brother in equal measures.

As the story lines converge, more questions than answers emerge as the reader tries to figure out what’s going on and what happened to Phoebe.

I raced through this one in a few days and switched back and forth between the ereader copy and the audio book; both were excellent (I’m a sucker for an Australian accent). I’ll be heading to the author’s back catalog shortly; she is a superb writer and the pacing on this one was just tremendous. Five enthusiastic stars.

Red River Road follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback. With twists, you won’t see coming and realistic portrayals of characters, this book is utterly addictive and deliciously dark.

Highly recommended for anyone that loves a twisty thriller with somewhat unreliable narrators. It also has fantastic detail and descriptions about the Australian setting. Truly one of the best and most unexpected novels I’ve read recently.

I liked this. I definitely realized pretty early on that this wasn't really my cup of tea thematically and what not, but I still thought that it was well done. The characters were compelling, the setting and mystery were both interesting. Definitely a solid story!