Dark Roads

 Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens  371 pages.  Read an ARC - book is on sale 8/3/2021

Summary from Goodreads: For decades, people have been warned about the Cold Creek Highway. Hitchhikers have vanished along it over the years, and women have been known to have their cars break down... and never be seen again. When Hailey McBride decides to run away from an unbearable living situation, she thinks that her outdoor skills will help her disappear into the Cold Creek wilderness, and she counts on people thinking that she was the victim of the killer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the victims of the highway, but it might as well be one week for the amount of pain that Beth is still dealing with after her sister, Amber, was murdered the previous summer. Beth has quit university, is lying to her parents, and popping pills like Tic Tacs. Maybe this will finally bring her peace.

When she gets a job at a local diner where Amber once worked, she connects with people who knew her sister. Beth wants to find who killed her sister and put her own life back together, but as she gets closer to the truth, she learns that there is more than one person lying in Cold Creek.

And here's what I thought: I liked this story -- the pacing has a steady build, and there is a thread of tension that winds tighter and tighter as the story continues. The characters are believable and realistic, so it's easy to become caught up in their story - and even become concerned for their welfare. I liked the interplay between the storylines of both Hailey and Beth, and the backdrop of the setting and the town help underscore the feeling of danger. What's also enjoyable is that some of the other characters are unpredictable and it's hard to know who can be trusted (if anyone). Because there are multiple characters with different secrets and agendas, there are some twists and turns in the book. Definitely a book for readers who enjoy emotional suspense stories, psychological thrillers, stories tinged with horror, and books where the setting is just as instrumental as any other part of the story. There are dark, gritty and violent aspects to this story --- but if you like Chevy Stevens, it will be just as great as you expect.

Best readalike I can think of: Find Her by Lisa Gardner