My Five Word TL:DR Review : Absolutely Loved It. Deliciously Creepy

I went off track a little and decided to pick up Murder Road a little earlier than planned.  I couldn’t help myself, I’ve been wanting to read this author for so long and in fact have previously purchased at least two of her other titles but not yet managed to pick them up.  Anyway, I was excited and sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants so I just went for it.  And this does not disappoint.  This was so wonderfully creepy.  Believe me when I say those other books I already own – yep, they’re getting bumped to the top of the TBR.  I love this combination of dark horror and supernatural elements all swirled together in such an intoxicating fashion.

So, Murder Road.  Starts with a couple of newlyweds on the way for their honeymoon.  I immediately cottoned onto these two.  They have a relaxed vibe with each other that belies the fact that they only met six months ago.  In a nutshell they feel right together.  Anyway, they’re lost.  They’re driving down a very dark road, hemmed in with trees and not another soul in sight.  At this point, they’re not particularly concerned, maybe they’ll turn round and backtrack.  Just as they’re making plans to go back the way they came they spot a lone woman on the road.  They can’t just drive past without checking she’s okay, which upon closer investigation she clearly isn’t.  Taking the young girl on board they drive to the nearest hospital – all the while being chased down by a mysterious black truck.  By the skin of their teeth they make the turnoff and deliver the injured woman, only to discover within short order that she has died and they seem to be the prime suspects for her death.

The couple find themselves almost under arrest and taken to Coldlake Falls by the police, their car impounded and not so politely requested to stay at a local B&B until required for questioning. They are staying put and the honeymoon is just a distant dream.

Right.  What did I like about this.

As I mentioned I really liked the central couple.  The story is told by April and she has such a great voice that I was almost hypnotised.  Eddie is also a great character, he has a certain strength that just radiates from him, he’s polite and people seem to immediately warm to him.  Both of them have an inner strength that has been earned through bitter experience but in finding each other it’s as though they’ve found their own ‘home’.  I just really liked them if you can’t already tell.  The way they’re being treated seems so unfair but it soon becomes clear that this isn’t the first death on this particular road.  Atticus Line has witnessed a number of murders over the years and it feels like our hapless couple are about to be scapegoated.

I also really liked Rose.  She runs a local B&B although she never seems to have any customers and the locals make her life miserable, accusing her of murdering her husband, a wild accusation that the police simply smile at and make no attempt to counter.  She’s a quirky character, a bit abrupt at first but she soon softens and helps the couple to start their own investigation.  If they’re going to be under a strange form of ‘house arrest’ they might as well make the most of their time and try to clear their names.

I felt like this was perfectly paced and really well plotted.  It’s a chilling ghost story that really did make me look over my shoulder on more than one occasion.  When I’m reading I sit with a window at my back and sometimes, if it’s a particularly scary book, I get the horrible feeling that I’m being watched, it gives me the goosebumps.

The setting was also really good.  You have this small town vibe, I think the residents themselves lived in a form of suspended horror – which felt almost inevitable with this creepy road where death so frequently occurs.  There’s a local urban myth that the road is haunted by a particular ghost, and if you spot her, she’ll be the last person you ever see.  And yet still, young people travel the road alone, hoping to hitchhike their way to the nearest beach.

On top of this our two central characters are being slightly cagey about their own pasts and inevitably these secrets are going to reveal themselves.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really couldn’t put it down.  The writing is really engaging.  The dialogue flows well.  The plot is intriguing and there are some wonderfully spooky elements that gave me a serious case of the shivers.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars