Psychological thriller set in Australia
When Phoebe goes missing while traveling solo through Western Australia, her sister, Katy, decides to follow her trail using her social media posts to find her. Along the way, she meets another lost woman, Lily, with a mystery of her own. The writing is suspenseful and atmospheric. I loved the descriptions of the scenic places Phoebe is visiting along her solo journey. The beginning is a slow burn but it does pick up more towards the middle. There are definitely some unlikable characters along the way. The story alternates between three characters
Katy, Lily, and Wyatt and it is unclear how they all tie together until closer to the end. Overall, this was a tense suspenseful thriller with an interesting twist at the end.

Thanks to Minotaur books for an advanced reader copy.

Red River Road is a slow burn, character drama mystery that surprised the ever living socks off of me - twisting in ways I never saw coming.

Anna Downes knows how to create the perfect simmering tension, characters that are unreliable and yet hugely intriguing, and plop them all in a setting that is ripe with intensity. From the very first chapters right through the absolutely WILD ENDING, I was entirely hooked on this plot and could not set this book down to save my life.

From the very start you know something is just not quite right, and that there is an evil lurking just out of sight. The moving character POV's created the most intense suspense build, and I spent the first two thirds of the book trying to figure out how these three character perspectives were going to tie together.

I then spent the last third of the book on a massively entertaining rollercoaster ride of twists, reveals and omg moments that had me frantically reading forward to see how it would all play out.

No spoilers, but holy crap was it good.

Don't sleep on this one - this is must have reading for this autumn, you won't regret it.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy!

From one unreliable narrator to another, Anna Downes’ latest novel trudges down the Red River Road. The premise of a solo female van-lifer missing and her sister anxiously looking for her is great. The odd encounters on the road interspersed with Instagram posts by the missing woman and the creepy responses from followers sets the tension and eeriness to high right from the start.

The story is told by three narrators: Katy, Lily and Wyatt. Wyatt’s one off chapters are odd at first and grow increasingly creepy as increasingly creepy things keep happening to Katy and Lily on the road. Lily’s narration gives away her entire story—at least to the reader. Katy on the other hand, is fairly guarded and fixated on her sister Phoebe’s Instagram posts, so her backstory is limited. As Katy gets closer to the area where Phoebe last posted anything, her reliability as a narrator becomes questionable.

While I did not find any of the characters engaging, I was engaged in the story. The big twist is a bit of a surprise, and it made for an intense story climax. While I found the denouement to be questionable, I did appreciate how the story wrapped up for the characters who made it alive to the last page…

This book kept me awake on a long red eye trip to Aruba. I literally could not close my eyes! The star of the show for me was the setting - I had no clue that Australia was the place where bloggers highlight their travels, especially single women. The premise of women traveling alone are disappearing with their travel vans was so very eerie. I enjoyed Katy’s persistence in tracking her sister, Phoebe, one of the women who have disappeared, but her weird behaviors had my mind whirling…and then along came Beth. So many predictions dashed to the side of the road along the way. Loved Anna Downes’ use of multiple points of view as it contributed to the eerie mood the setting evoked. And those piles of rocks kept me wondering. As each character becomes a suspect more and more connections are revealed until the unforgettable ending which had me gasping in shock, much to my husband’s dismay as I was grasping his arm and ended up waking him up.
My sincere thanks to Anna Downes, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for affording me the absolute pleasure of reading an arc of this book, published on August 27th. If you love reads that leave you guessing as details are revealed only to have to continually put the clues together in a new scenario repeatedly that ends with a spectacular conclusion then this is the read for you. Four and a half stars.

A thriller that starts with Katy, who is looking for her sister that went missing a year ago. Her sister was enjoying the vanlife traveling around the outside of Australia. She was posting updates on where she was and where she was going but suddenly disappears. This story had several twists and turns that left me wanting to keep reading to see what the final outcome would be.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. My first from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is phenomenal. The plot and story beautifully laid out. Kind of a slow burn, but a really good domestic suspense.

I think I’ve read too many stories lately about missing women who set out on road trips. I struggled to feel connected to anyone in this story and even though it had some clever twists, it ultimately fell short for me in comparison to the other similar stories I read.

A very twisty thriller! The book kept me engaged and I didn't want to put it down. I really was pulled in to the mystery of what happened to Phoebe. There were so many links and surprising twists. I found it well plotted. The pace of the story picked up at a good speed. I really didn't know who or what to believe. I really kept trying to put the pieces together and was really surprised at how it all did fit. I will look for more from this author. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

One of the better thrillers I've read in a while!!!!!!!!! Anna Downes has done ii again!!!!!!! A thrilling mystery that keeps you guessing until the last page.

Red River Road by Anna Downes was a twisty thriller that takes the reader down a path of uncertainty throughout the entire book.

Katy Sweeny is on the hunt for her missing sister, Phoebe, in Australia where she went missing while on a solo road trip in her van. During the hunt she runs into Beth aka "Lily" with plenty of baggage of her own. Together they set out to seek the truth about Katy's missing sister. Throughout the journey there are many obstacles that take them in various directions.

The story is somewhat all over the place. One minute I'm thinking on thing and the next another. It was such an inter-tangled web of characters and at time hard to keep them straight. I was anxious to see how it turned out which is why I kept on but yet a bit annoyed at the same time. I felt like the story took me down various paths and the author maybe tried a bit too hard for get the "shock factor" from the reader.

Story was mostly likely very thought out and I really liked the two female main characters but had a hard time because I didn't know who to trust thought out the story. This is how I felt throughout the entire book. I kept waiting for the ball to drop since it had so many times throughout the story. Just kept me on edge but not the way I like. The ending was unsettling as well.

Overall just an okay read for me.

Red River Road by Anna Downes was fast-paced and twisty. Katy is looking for her sister, Pheobe, who vanished without a trace in remote Australia. Katy travels the same path with the same itinerary with the hopes of finding out what happened. She meets Beth, who was running from her own past. It was totally creepy and really tense.

Stories with unreliable characters are so fun - and this did not disappoint! Multiple POVs are Katy, Beth/Lily, and a boy named Wyatt, a 15 year-old boy whose mother is missing. Check the trigger warnings. Very surprising ending - I only guessed a bit of it!

This was a captivating, slow burn mystery paired with travel tips for the wanderlust. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives and clues that were slowly revealed, although it took me awhile to see where the storyline was going. About midway through, the pace picked up where I began to form some predictions but was still surprised until the end! The premise of this book describing van-life was surely unique and atmospheric which made for a solid reading adventure!

Australia: One year ago, Phoebe was taking a solo trip in a camper along the coast. She posted on social media often stating where she was, what she had seen and where she would be next. Three months into her trip the posts stopped and Phoebe hasn’t been heard of since. Katy decided she would trace Phoebe’s posts and find out what happened to her. Early in the trip she discovered a disheveled frightened girl hiding in the camper. Between them, they believe they can help each other, though they each have secrets.
Soon, strange things begin to appear in and around the camper. Katy thinks it has to do with the disappearance of Phoebe. Beth, her passenger, believes the stalker is looking for her. They both sense danger.
This novel is told in alternate voices of the two girls. It is a twisted book about 2 damaged girls.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers

So...you want to be an influencer, describing every bit of your itinerary with selfies and next destinations, in real time?

Don't be like Phoebe. Phoebe is an Australian van lifer, with, an infectious smile, traveling solo around the coast of Western Australia, when all of a sudden who social media goes dark. Her parents haven't heard from her and her sister Katy is worried. She gets a van and sets off to follow her sister's trail, from starting point to the last place she was seen.

Along the way, Beth, who is running from something or someone stumbles across Katy and her van. The two make an unlikely pair, each with their own secrets, trying to solve the mystery of the missing Phoebe.

Clues are left throughout the book, each one scary in its own right, but Katy is secure in her lockdown checklist. That doesn't keep the stalkers and fans away, and the way that Downes has several threads converge into the final reveal is masterful!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy.

Red River Road - Set in WA, this Australian story is interesting, intriguing and a bit confusing. After reading a bit, it was easy to follow the story without being confused. Characters with multiple names, flashbacks and a different but well done writing style. Lots of mental problems, some out there, some hidden but the underlying causes and effects made the foundation of this story. A variety of characters ranging from psycho to likeable. Good story lines; a bit wordy but still immersing. Source: Netgalley. 4*

Anna Downes' Red River Road is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that plunges the reader into the wild beauty and lurking dangers of Western Australia’s coastal highways. The story follows Katy Sweeney, whose relentless search for her missing sister, Phoebe, takes her on a perilous journey through both physical and emotional landscapes. Downes skillfully captures the isolation and vastness of the setting, which mirrors Katy’s own desperation and determination. The tension builds steadily as Katy, using Phoebe’s social media trail, uncovers unsettling clues and confronts the chilling possibility that Phoebe may have crossed paths with someone dangerous.

What makes Red River Road stand out is the complex relationship that develops between Katy and Beth, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. Their uneasy alliance adds depth to the narrative, as both women are forced to confront their own fears and the secrets they’ve been hiding. Downes excels at creating suspense, weaving in twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end. While some aspects of the plot may stretch believability, the novel’s strong sense of place and the emotional resonance of Katy’s quest make it a compelling read that lingers long after the final page.

Red river road by Anna downes is a missing person story with some unique flairs to set it apart. The story takes place in the Australian outback and follows the culture of van lifers-a group of people who live out of their vans and travel around to new sights. Katy is on the hunt for her missing sister-phoebe. Phoebe was a van lifer and exploring theAustralian outback when she goes off the grid. Fearing the worst, Katy uses her social media account to retrace her steps and see if she can find what happened to her. Katy’s path crosses with that of Beth, a woman with a past who is also on her own mission. Beth and Katy also notice they are being tracked by another man with mysterious motives. The novel jumps between Beth and Katy’s povs and with that of a boy, Wyatt, who is seemingly unrelated to these two, but whose story dovetails with theirs as his mother has also gone missing in the outback.
The story builds slowly and starts as a slow burn, as the we get to follow the three main characters and there are hints of supernatural elements at play and a serial killer possibly in the background. However, the story picks up throughout the last half and the twists begin to come furiously as it is revealed as the plot and truth behind these missing women become clearer.
I enjoyed this book and appreciated the slow burn pacing (even though, I personally at times, wanted it to pick up just slightly). The denouement also leads to some
Deeper themes and discourse and adds another layer to the early pieces of the plot.
Overall, a solid psychological thriller that should please downs fans and fans of thrillers.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The dangers of women travelling alone come to a head in Anna Downes latest, Red River Road. Although are these dangers real, or imaginary? Themes here include domestic violence, multiple personalities, and dissociative identity disorder. Kate's sister Phoebe is a well known social media influencer, host of # vanlife. When she mysteriously disappears without a trace travelling around the outskirts of Australia, Kate decides to follow her tracks to see if the police and detectives missed any clues. She soon meets Beth, a woman on the run from something or someone, who teams up with her to help, all the while constantly looking over her shoulder.

The problem for me is that I already read this book, and it was called, 'The Nature of Disappearing' by Kim Cunningham Grant. There are a few differences, obviously, the girlfriend of the main character goes missing in that one and it's set in Idaho. The main character there even has the same hashtag-#vanlife and is travelling solo around the US living out of her van when she disappears.

Similarities aside, the author insinuates here that some of the events have a supernatural nature, when that turns out not to be the case. Many people are not who they seem and keeping track of all the lies becomes a challenge for Kate and Beth as they get to know each other throughout their journey through the Australian outback. We have quite a few unreliable narrators here, so you're not sure who to believe, and who not to, and who is who, so that makes for some good tension and suspense. Noone can be trusted until the truth comes out, and when it does, I thought it was a bit of a let down as it seemed quite implausible, but I suppose it could have happened.

Well written and engaging and amazing what these two women go through to survive in the unforgiving nature of rural Australia.

A young woman on a solo van trip has disappeared

Phoebe Sweeney, a beautiful and free-spirited young woman, decided to live “the van life” and sets off solo to do the Big Lap, traveling around the edge of Australia. She sets off from Perth and begins posting about her adventures on Instagram under the name “pheebsinwonderland”, with photos of the beautiful sights, safety tips and bits of wisdom shared with her followers. And then she vanished. With the year-long investigation into her disappearance closed due to lack of information Katy Sweeney is desperate for answers and decides to recreate Phoebe’s trip herself, asking questions and looking for clues along the way. Her trip gets off to a less-than-auspicious start….an encounter at a campsite with a strange man has frightened her and sent her driving off into the night, after consuming perhaps a few too many glasses of wine. Her memory is foggy, and she knows she probably is in no state to drive. Then a vehicle seems to be following her and she evades them by going off the road. She leaves the van briefly, sure that she saw something or someone (could it be Phoebe?), and when she returns to the van and gets back on the highway she realizes that there is a young woman in the back of her car….a young woman who is disheveled and bruised and clearly frightened, who begs Katy to take her along with her. She introduces herself as Lily, although the reader will discover that her name is really Beth, and Katy decides to let her stay and help her in her search for Phoebe. It turns out that Phoebe is not the only young woman to go missing in the area….is there a serial killer on the loose? Who is Beth really, and from what (or who) is she running? Giving your trust to the wrong person can be the last mistake you make on the road, and both Katy and Beth may discover the truth of that the hard way.
For the record, even before reading this book I would never be the type of person who would set off on a solo adventure like this….and nothing I read here would change my mind on that score! But there are so many people who would, and do, just that, drawn to the adventure and the sights and in this day of social media influencers the prospect of drawing a following. With the real-life US case of Gabby Petito very much in my mind, I read the Insta posts of Phoebe and the thoughts and plans of Katy with a tinge of horrified fascination. As Beth’s backstory becomes clearer, and a connection between that and (maybe?) what happened to Phoebe becoming a possibility, what has happened and what dangers are in store also start to make their presences felt. What can a missing adventurer and a teenaged boy named Wyatt have in common? The reality of violence against women is a sad truth and one that has been around for a long time, as are the effects that the violence can have on others in the victim’s orbit. With everyone a suspect and an unreliable narrator in Katy, there is more than one mystery going on. As much as I wanted to shake some sense into Katy and even Beth, I could not stop hoping that the truth would come out and that they would survive the process and carve out a better future for themselves. Perfect for readers of Sara Ochs, Araminta Hall and Rachel Hawkins, Red River Road will take you on a nail biting trip into the world of van life and the desire to break free from the chain of fear. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me early access to this dark thriller.

Australia has always been on my bucket list but I could never solo travel there. I think I have always seen Australia as an isolated wasteland and this thriller kind of gave me that vibe. Missing women, a sister traveling to try to find her sister, and another woman attempting to escape her life. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It had quick chapters and all of my guesses were 100% wrong. As the story unfolded, I couldn’t put it down. The audiobook helped because I really liked the narrator. While I liked the audiobook, I think I would have enjoyed reading it a bit more because there were quite a few characters and POVs that may have been easier to keep track if I read the physical. Overall, a great way to end summer and start spooky season.