Murder Road

By: Simone St. James

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

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 hitchhiker 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.

©2024 Simone St. James (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"From its nerve-shredding start to its thrilling end, MURDER ROAD steers the reader down creepy backroads, past urban legends so vivid you'd swear they were true, and into the marriage of two damaged souls you can't help but root for. Part love story, part campfire tale, it's a trip well worth taking."—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Only One Left

“As creepy and unsettling as a rain-faded wreath and teddy bear found by the side of the road to mark a missing person, Murder Road lingers like a ghost long after it’s finished.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

"From its terrifying opening to its jaw-dropping conclusion, this thriller has it all—small town secrets, ominous dark deeds after midnight, and a young couple desperate to learn the truth before it costs them their very lives. You will follow this shocking road to its climatic end!”—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Still See You Everywhere

Not her best work *SPOILER*

I like Simone St James, she’s written some good stories, but this one wasn’t it. It just kind of dragged out and I was annoyed with the ending. I get that it’s a ghost story and it’s not supposed to be based in reality, but I rolled my eyes so hard at some points that my retinas almost detached.

I gave the narration a one because Brittany Presley does this really annoying thing where she sort of rasps on the ends of words and it takes me out of the story. And all of her male character voices sound the same.

*SPOILER*

I get super annoyed when a writer puts in a “twist” that was deemed impossible at first.
Like, April asked Eddie if Shannon could have been his mother, and he said no way. Then… it turns out that Shannon was his mother? Come on, dude.

Genuinely creepy

I like SSJ’s other books, which are atmospheric and haunted. I loved this one for its downright creepiness.

Sympathetic and interesting characters, a compelling mystery, and a scene I was glad to be listening to in daylight, made Murder Road a fun read.

I’d recommend this one to fans of Dean Koontz. (I think it’s far better than a lot of what Koontz writes, but has a similar feel to it.)

Great

This was a very enjoyable spooky book. Anither hit! Can't wait for the next one.

Another Must Read

Scares, Tension and Characters that you care about. Loved it. The book flew by too fast. I miss the characters already.

Simone St James Best Yet!

This has to be one of the best books I've listened to. Simone St James is a master of writing and Brittany Pressley is, by far, one of the best narrators. You won't be disappointed!

Nailed It!

I have to say, the last book by Simone St James was NOT my favorite, in fact I left a pretty blunt and brutally honest review. To say she has 100% redeemed herself in my eyes would be an injustice to this book right here. Murder Road was AWESOME! Creepy, suspenseful, scary, bittersweet, engaging, funny... basically if there were a checklist of all the necessary components an "awesome" book has to have to be "awesome", all components would be checked off.
Similarly, the production and performance was PERFECT too! Brittany Pressley gets 5 Stars from me and I will look for her name more often!

Ghost

First I think the narrator made April's voice sound extremely weak. She was written as a stronger character, and in my opinion it would of been a lot better if the narrator read her as such. Then I couldn't really get a sound vibe from the Rose character. one minute she is helpful, the next she's not. All in all the story was interesting and I did want to hear the ending.

unpopular opinion it seems 😂

I have read or listened to Dang near all of her books…. I’m sorry, but this one was just meh 🫤 nothing really hooked me. I was not a fan of the narrator.🤷🏻‍♀️

Loved the 90’s setting

Another hit with one of my favorite narrators! Love the Snell Sisters, they should have their own book:)

Atmospheric and haunting story that was narrated perfectly.

Both eerily scary and a lovely delve into familial relationships. Rich, poignant characters with well developed lives and individual personal strife. The narrator offered an opportunity to feel, firsthand, the myriad of emotions of the main character. And the other characters were easily imagined and personified. Kudos to Simone St. James for another great story and to Brittany Presley for a lovely narration.