My Review of Murder Road with Spoilers discusses the fact that I am not a big reader of paranormal suspense. What did I think of this spooky story, written by the author of The Book of Cold Cases, The Sundown Motel, and The Broken Girls, among others?
Jen’s Quick Take on Murder Road
This book has so many fun tropes:
- Young couple (honeymooners!) stumble upon a gruesome scene
- Spooky deserted road with a dark history
- Claustrophobic small town feel
- Seriously creepy paranormal happenings!
- Historical 1990s setting – NO past/present timeline!
Murder Road by Simone St James
To be published on March 5, 2024 by Berkley Mysteries. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review. I read this book in February 2024.
Click to read a short Plot Summary for Murder Road by Simone St James
It’s July 1995 and April and Eddie get lost on their way to resort town for their honeymoon. They spot a lone female hitchhiker along the deserted road, and stop to help. But she is incoherent and bleeding.April and Eddie quickly find themselves suspects in a homicide. Even weirder, unexplained murders have been happening along this same road for years. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of Coldlake Falls, they soon learn that there is something dark and supernatural at play, something that is coming for April and Eddie. Eeek!
Review of Murder Road with Spoilers
I am not a big paranormal reader, so it’s kind of funny that I read not one but TWO paranormal books in the same week.
I dislike when, in a book, paranormalcy is is used to explain what I want explained in a mystery. It’s easy to say, oh, a ghost went through the wall and did it. This can feel a bit like cheating to me, like in this recent book.
However, I have to say that I really enjoyed Murder Road. It had a blend of real-life evil along with some unexplainable stuff. Reading it was like being told a spooky ghost story at a 90s slumber party!
Here’s what I loved about Murder Road
Murder Road had great character development. Eddie and April are newlyweds getting to know each other and I loved how dealing with this huge, scary mess together was like 24/7 marriage therapy.
The 90s vibe was so much fun and carried through to the characters. I loved Rose with her Princess Diana obsession. Beatrice and Gracie were teenage Nancy Drews obsessed with the cold cases in their town (the 90s were too early for them to be true crime podcasters). I want to read their book next! Want me to guess who were you in the 90s? Take my quiz!
The paranormal elements in Murder Road truly creeped me out AND made (enough) sense. At least as much as the paranormal can. We will get to that in the SPOILERS below.
Murder Road had a great twist which I (sort of) saw coming but it was still really good!
All in, I thought Murder Road was a well-crafted paranormal thriller that leans very slightly toward horror. It has the scariness level of My Darling Girl or Hidden Pictures other spooky books I enjoyed.
If you’re up for a book that will make you check to make sure the doors are locked, give it a try.
I will discuss the paranormal happenings more in my spoiler section, but if you have any questions, feel free to email me!
Spoilers for Murder Road by Simone James AND The Ending Explained
I’m a newbie at the ghost stuff, so if you think I got something wrong, please leave me a comment!
The Ghost Murders
It ALL started with victim zero: Shannon Haller, a wild child who was accidentally killed by her father in 1976.
Shannon’s father reported her missing and (I think) put up Shannon’s six year old son for adoption. Who was …. Eddie.
Okay, then multiple human (I think) killers killed the other victims along the murder road (the Atticus line.)
BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT the book is suggesting that Shannon’s restless and vengeful ghost possessed innocent people and made them kill other kids walking and hitchhiking along the Atticus line. Including Rhonda Jean Breckwith (the hitchhiker picked up by April and Eddie) who was killed after Shannon possessed Max Shandler’s body.
Shannon seems to occupy the body of the killer until they die, usually of brain cancer. Right now she’s occupying Max Shandler’s body. Then, I guess (?) she finds a new host? If you have more experience with these kinds of paranormal plots, please fill me in down in the comments.
Shannon has been doing this for almost two decades (1976-1995) so she’s responsible for many deaths.
Oh, also Rose’s dead husband is a (benevolent) ghost. LOVE HIM!
My questions (feel free to take a crack at them in comments):
Eddie and April also see Shannon roaming around, so …does Shannon come and go in Max’s body? (Sorry. I am not that clear on ghost rules).
Is Shannon going to keep on doing this? Since she’s met her son, had her murder solved, and got a real gravestone, will she stop?
Why does John Haller get brain cancer decades after killing Shannon while Max gets it right away?
Real Crimes in Murder Road
April’s mother is in prison for killing her abusive husband.
John Haller, Shannon’s father, realizing that April and Eddie figured out that he was responsible for Shannon’s death, come after them. John Haller shoots Eddie in the arm and police officer Syed shoots Haller dead.
Please feel free to leave any and all comments (including spoilers) in the comment section.
This is a great review, thanks! This is the same author who wrote the Sun Down Motel book – another fun one.
Hello and thanks so much for stopping by and commenting 🙂
I must be the one person who didn’t click with Sundown Motel. I liked the Book of Cold Cases – my review is here – but this is by far my favorite of the three books of hers I’ve read.
For me it was the perfect blend of mystery, character development, 1990s vibes, and spookiness!