Murder Road

Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Thriller, Supernatural
339 pages
Publisher: Berkley Publishing

Synopsis
July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to be a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
Midnight Jones is an analyst trained to understand the human mind. But everything changes when, in the course of her work, she discovers Profile K’s file – because K stands for killer, and she knows that someone more dangerous than she could have ever imagined walks among them. Midnight knows what Profile K is capable of before he even commits his first crime. But as the news rolls with the brutal murder of a local woman, no one believes what she tells them: that he is capable of so much worse.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

My review
Murder Road by Simone St. James falls somewhere in the middle for me. This was my first experience with St. James’ work, and I had high hopes after reading numerous reviews suggesting a chilling, supernatural element. Unfortunately, for me the story failed to deliver on that front. While the premise showed promise, I was looking for the eerie, haunting atmosphere characteristic of supernatural thrillers, which seemed to be lacking in this book.

I found the main characters to be quite likable, and while I appreciated the depth of their backstories, it seemed to detract from the eerie atmosphere of the story. The narrative largely centered around their relationship and personal histories; however, it was the minor characters, the sisters who acted as amateur sleuths, that truly captured my attention. They were engaging, quirky, and fun! I could easily envision a spinoff series centered around their adventures.

Overall, Murder Road proved to be a quick read, thanks to St. James’ straightforward and accessible writing style. While her prose is engaging, the plot itself fell short of my expectations, lacking the tension and haunting atmosphere typical of supernatural thrillers. Although one particular supernatural segment was well-crafted and intriguing, it alone was not enough to propel the plot into a truly thrilling or memorable territory. I’ll give another one of St. James’ books a chance. This particular one just didn’t quite satisfy me as a reader.

My recommendation: skip it!