A Haunting Trip Down Memory Lane

Some books sit on your shelves for so long that you almost forget why you wanted to read them in the first place. And then, when you finally pick them up, you find yourself wondering what on earth took you so long. That is exactly what happened to me with Murder Road by Simone St. James.

I received this gorgeous edition in my Illumicrate Evernight box over two years ago, and while I was intrigued by the premise, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this particular story would be my cup of tea. Well, apparently, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Because once I finally started reading, I was hooked almost immediately.

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A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel.

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 a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

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.

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Opinion

One of the things I absolutely loved about Murder Road was its setting. The story takes place in July 1995, and being transported back to the 90’s was surprisingly delightful. No smartphones, no GPS telling you where to turn, no instant access to information at your fingertips. Instead, we have cassette tapes playing in cars, photographs that actually need to be developed, and the unsettling realization that getting lost on a deserted road could become a genuine nightmare.

There was something wonderfully nostalgic about all of this. Having grown up in a time when technology wasn’t constantly attached to our hands, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting an era when people couldn’t simply Google their way out of trouble. And honestly, that lack of modern technology made the entire story even more atmospheric. When something goes wrong, there’s no convenient little device waiting to save the day.

What impressed me most, however, was Simone St. James‘s writing style. There is something remarkably calm, almost unruffled, about the way she tells this story. She doesn’t rely on constant action, exaggerated descriptions, or one shocking revelation after another to keep her readers entertained. Instead, she allows the tension to build quietly beneath the surface. And that worked incredibly well for me!

The atmosphere is unsettling without becoming overwhelmingly terrifying. There’s always this lingering feeling that something isn’t quite right, even during seemingly ordinary conversations or situations. It’s the kind of subtle eeriness that creeps into your thoughts without announcing its arrival.
I also really enjoyed the combination of paranormal elements, mystery, and those deliciously creepy little horrorHorror ist ein Teilbereich der Phantastik, dessen zentrales ... More moments scattered throughout the novel. While I wouldn’t necessarily describe Murder Road as a particularly frightening read, it certainly knows how to create an uncomfortable feeling when the situation calls for it.

And then there are the characters!
April and Eddie, newlyweds whose honeymoon takes a rather unfortunate turn, find themselves entangled in a mystery that stretches back decades. What begins as an attempt to help an injured hitchhiker quickly spirals into something far more sinister. Suddenly, they’re not just witnesses to a possible murder but suspects themselves.

As they try to uncover what has been happening along Atticus Line, they encounter an assortment of wonderfully peculiar characters. Some are suspicious, others downright strange, and a few left me wondering whether I should trust them at all. I loved how these encounters contributed to the mystery without making the story feel unnecessarily complicated.

Another aspect I appreciated was how the paranormal elements were woven into the investigation. They didn’t feel like an afterthought or something thrown in merely to make the story more frightening. Instead, the supernatural presence becomes an essential part of the mystery, gradually revealing just how deeply the past continues to haunt the present.

Now, you might be wondering why I didn’t give this book the full five stars, especially considering how much I enjoyed it. Well, there’s one little thing. I managed to figure out a rather important piece of the puzzle quite early in the story. And while I certainly enjoy putting on my imaginary detective hat and trying to solve a mystery before the characters do, I also love being completely blindsided by a clever revelation. Unfortunately, recognizing this particular detail so early took away a little of the suspense for me.

However, and this is where Simone St. James deserves some serious credit, the identity of the actual killer still managed to catch me completely by surprise! So even though I had correctly connected some of the dots, the author still had a few tricks up her sleeve. And I absolutely appreciated that. After all, what’s the fun in reading a murder mystery if everything unfolds exactly as you predicted?

Conclusion

Murder Road by Simone St. James turned out to be such an unexpectedly entertaining read, combining a nostalgic 90’s setting with an eerie atmosphere, intriguing characters, supernatural mysteries, and just the right amount of horror. I particularly loved that Simone St. James didn’t need an excessively dramatic writing style to create suspense. Her quiet, almost understated storytelling made the unsettling moments even more effective, allowing the darker elements to creep up on me rather than constantly demanding my attention.

Although figuring out one significant aspect of the mystery earlier than intended cost the book half a star, the final revelation still delivered a satisfying surprise. 4.5 out of 5 stars for a wonderfully atmospheric paranormal mystery that made me question why I had allowed it to gather dust on my shelves for over two years.
And one thing is certain: The next time I come across a book by Simone St. James, I definitely won’t be quite so hesitant to pick it up!

About Simone St. James

Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A BOX FULL OF DARKNESS, MURDER ROAD, THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, THE SUN DOWN MOTEL, and THE BROKEN GIRLS.

After years of writing and collecting rejections, Simone’s debut novel, THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. AN INQUIRY INTO LOVE AND DEATH was nominated for another Arthur Ellis Award.

Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside Toronto, Canada, with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat. She is addicted to sushi, rainy days, coffee, and My Favorite Murder.

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