The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens

3 stars

384 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: October 7, 2025

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Women’s Fiction (Adult), Kidnapping, Travel

Tom and Alice have just begun their RV trip from Seattle, Washington to see the 1976 Olympics in Canada. They see a young couple and offer them a tent and some food. Their trip takes a drastic turn with Tom and Alice held captive in their own vehicle.

The book was very slow, and parts could have been eliminated. The characters were somewhat developed, and it was written in the third person point of view. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. This one just did not resonate with me.

Alice and Tom have bought an RV and have planned an epic road trip to reconnect with each other. Alice has longed to have a baby but after miscarriages she is sad that she won’t be able to be a mother. Tom doesn’t fully grasp the pain she is going through.

The run into some young hitchhikers Ocean and Blue. Tom invites them to dinner and gives them a tent for the night. The next day Alice thinks they will be on their merry way when Tom invites them to travel along with them to next town.

Once they stop at a grocery store Alice realizes they aren’t who they say they are but are on the run as they are suspected of murder. She tries to warn Tom but they become kidnapped and help captive. Tom gets severely injured in a fight and she worries how are they going to get out of this.

Simon is out of control and Jenny is pregnant. Simon has hurt so many people. This epic road trip has turned into a fight for survival.

The ending was just beautifully poetic and turned everything around.

I loved Chevy Stevens and am so glad she is back writing. This story is dark, but has many layers with the characters.it is well written and keeps you hooked from page 1. As a reader, the characters are easy to identify with and you feel involved with them
5 stars

I was so happy to see a new Chevy Stevens book! This one is a wild ride. The Hitchhikers starts out like a sweet little story and then very quickly turns into a nightmare that you can’t turn away from. The plot was great and not overdone (or ever done that I’ve read). The book was easy to read and moved fast. It had me holding my breath multiple times throughout. I don’t think that the twists were very shocking, but it didn’t take away from the book at all, in my opinion. Highly recommend if you’re looking for an edge of your seat thrill ride.

First time reading this author. Remember your parents telling you to never pick up hitchhikers? This is the story of a couple that did...much to their regrets. Turned out that Ocean and Blue were really Simon and Jenny...wanted for the murder of her parents. Alice and Tom are kidnapped by them, made to participate in various bad moments, etc. The story of a long trip across Canada, and how they were finally stopped

The Hitchhiker - Chevy Stevens
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
I’m a long-time fan of Chevy Stevens, so when I saw she had a new book coming out in October 2025, I jumped at the chance to get an ARC. Thanks, Netgalley and St. Marten’s Press, for the advanced copy.
Alice and Tom are driving across Canada on their way to the Montreal Olympics when they come across Ocean and Blue, a seemingly young, carefree couple. They quickly figure out they are not who they say they are and, in fact, are Simon and Jenny, a couple on the run for murdering Jenny’s parents. This was definitely a slow-burn psychological thriller. I prefer my thrillers to move a little quicker. I still enjoyed Stevens’ writing; she draws you in, but at times I just wished it moved a little quicker. Some elements I enjoyed were her exploration of Western Canada in a motorhome. Also, the element of it being the 1970s really does make the journey more lonely and less accessible to help when travelling this way. You forget how desolate things were when there was no technology, and people really only had landlines as a form of quick communication.
Stevens was able to pull it together at the end with her twist. It wasn’t the most shocking twist, although I have to say I don’t see it coming. It was worth pulling through the slow burn of this novel. I don’t think the very end will come as a surprise to anyone, but I did enjoy the ending myself.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Was it the most exciting psychological thriller I’ve read? No. Did it have a good story with some plot twists that were unexpected? Yes. Would I recommend you check it out? Yes.

This was really good and easy to read. The pace was great, the characters well-written, and the setting was always interesting. There was so much action - I could see this being a great movie - and a lot of twists. I’d definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chevy Stevens for allowing me to read The Hitchhikers. This book starts off with a great story line, unfortunately I quickly lost interest in this book. I thought both the beginning and ending were good but mostly the story really dragged on with little incentive to keep me interesting. Chevy Stevens is one of my favorite authors and all her books prior to this one, I would rate 4.5 to 5 stars each- this one just didn't resonate well for me.

This was the first book I've read by this author, Even though I have several of them in my tbr. After reading this I'm bumping them to the top. I loved the authors writing style and read this in a day. It was a quick and easy read that I couldn't put down. It would be a good book that easily could be turned into a movie. A big thank you to net galley and the publisher for this arc.The book realises this upcoming October.

I absolutely love Chevy Stevens, but this book fell so flat for me. The story started off okay, and but about 20% into the book I had to force myself to keep going. I almost immediately saw in my own head how the story could have played out better. I was really hoping for a good ending, but Stevens didn’t even give us that.

I've been eagerly anticipating a new Chevy Stevens novel, and THE HITCHHIKERS absolutely delivered.

Fair warning: this is a dark and violent story—very much in the vein of a Karin Slaughter stand-alone. There’s blood, brutality, and death, so if that’s not your thing, this might not be the book for you. But if you’re up for it, what you’ll find is a masterfully crafted thriller with deeply layered characters and relentless suspense.

The story kicks off with Tom and Alice, a couple traveling through Canada in their new RV, who decide to give a ride to two hitchhikers: a visibly pregnant young woman named Ocean and her boyfriend, Blue. What begins as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a nightmare. Blue and Ocean aren’t who they claim to be—they’re actually Simon and Jenny, fleeing the aftermath of a gruesome crime. Soon, Tom and Alice are taken hostage, forced into a horrifying journey where Alice becomes the unwilling driver of their getaway RV.

Despite the graphic violence, this is ultimately a character-driven novel. Stevens does a remarkable job exploring the emotional complexities of her cast. Alice’s struggles with infertility add a painful layer to her interactions with the pregnant Jenny, while Jenny and Simon’s traumatic pasts slowly come to light. The dynamics between the four become increasingly intricate, especially as Jenny begins to question Simon’s escalating violence—and what it means for her future as a mother.

Though I found a few elements of the ending slightly predictable, it didn’t take away from the overall impact. THE HITCHHIKERS is a taut, emotionally resonant thriller that hooks you from the first page and doesn’t let go. It’s a gripping blend of psychological depth and high-stakes terror that will leave you breathless—and thinking, “What would I do in their shoes?”

This is the first book I have read by Chevy Stevens, and I will be reading more. Well written, great character building and story telling. There was some uncertainty in what was written but as you got closer to the end it was defined. This book is both terrifying and an emotional rollercoaster.
The setting, 1976 in Canada a young married couple Tom and Alice are trying to save their marriage so they embark on an adventure. He bought an RV and they are going to travel the Canadian territory, along the way they pick up two hitchhikers Ocean and Blue ( real names Jenny and Simon). A kind gesture turns into a nightmare, but for whom does the nightmare want?

Going to stop there, as you read there are plenty of twists and turns, things that will pull at your heart strings or terrify you beyond belief, please read the trigger warnings.

Great book! Classic tale of picking up hitchhikers gone wrong. As usual Chevy keeps you engaged with a unique way of writing. Loved that it was set in the 70s

The story started off so nice trust then turns to a nightmare. Great lead into the crszyness of the hitchhikers or many one of them. I enjoyed this book. And the ending was nice.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

First let me start by saying that Chevy Stevens is one of my favorite authors. I was so excited and honored to read this book. Now for the book. I think the idea of the book is great and it started out well, I love the idea of Blue and Ocean hitchhiking and catching a ride with Tom and Alice and the story unfolding, but then it just got lost for me. After reading 40% of the book (and it took me 8 days to get there) I just got bored. It seemed to drag for me unlike all her other books. There were also a lot of grammatical errors that made it difficult to get past. It was my first Chevy Stevens book that o DNF’d. I just couldn’t get into it.

Twisty little read set in the 70’s in British Columbia. Alice and her husband pick up a couple of young hitchhikers while on a camping trip. What starts out as a nice, quiet trip quickly turns into the road trip from hell. The hitchhikers are not who they seem to be and Alice must try to use her wits to get herself and her husband to safety.

This was a very quick read. On the whole an entertaining book, but I did find myself super irritated with Alice. I really wanted her to push harder to try to find a way out.

After reading this book, doubt if you would ever even consider giving a hitchhiker a ride. This book is compelling, heartbreaking, sad and happy at different junctures in the story, Be prepared for quite a lot of violence. The story evolves around Jenny and Alice, the different hardships they each faced and how it shaped their lives. They form an unlikely but reluctant bound which changes the path of their lives forever. A bittersweet tale. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary, honest review.

Trigger warning.... loss of a baby. I struggle with this, personal trauma. I really enjoyed the book, Tom and Alice are reeling from the loss they suffered and have set out to try to heal. Along the way they meet two young hitchhikers who turn their perfectly planned trip upside down. It is a gripping drama that keeps you turning the pages to see who will survive.

I love Chevy Steven's books and she hasn't had one in quite a while. This story line was a little boring and predictable. I look forward to her next book, maybe a little more exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook arc :)
This book was like junk food. Not amazing but so very bingeable! Leaves you wanting to keep reading and reading and reading. I stayed up later than I should have several nights to see what was going to happen next. I didn’t think there was really going to be a plot twist at the end of this one but there was and I didn’t see it coming. When I got like halfway through I was worried it was going to drag out and get boring and couldn’t see where the story could possibly go for that much longer but it stayed entertaining the whole way through. Definitely and enjoyable read