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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Murder Road by Simone St. James
3.0
Read Completed 3/23/24 | 3 stars
This was a bit underwhelming for me. I've read Simone St. James' other books, specifically enjoyed THE SUN DOWN MOTEL and THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, but this one just really didn't do it for me. Whereas I felt the other two novels were thriller with a paranormal aspect, this book almost felt more like light horror because of the ghostly focus and possessing people to kill others. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my vibe and I was looking forward to more mystery/thriller.
There was definitely still a mystery aspect as the main characters -- a newlywed couple -- try to solve the cold case of the "Lost Girl" who is killing people in a very specific spot in this small town after picking up a hitchhiker who died in their car. The mystery is to figure out who the ghost is and why she's doing what she's doing. Truthfully, I didn't love the answer. It seemed very obvious after the point was brought up in the book and one of the only explanations that makes for a decent connection to the main characters that adds a twist. I also didn't love the reveal of how the Lost Girl died and everything that was connected to that. It seemed a little flimsy and didn't really make much sense.
I think I just really missed that twisty thriller aspect. I feel like her other main novels have been more thriller and the paranormal aspect is important, but more of a twist or an added part of the story. This was maybe too much ghost focus for me and it lost that gripping thriller concept, at least for my tastes. I made it 50% of the book and was surprised because I didn't really feel like anything happened. Then the same thing happened at 75% and I couldn't believe I was almost done.
Maybe it all comes down to style preferences (well, I guess ALL reading is style preferences, but anyway...) but I just didn't really connect with this one like I had hoped. I probably over-hyped it for myself too.
This was a bit underwhelming for me. I've read Simone St. James' other books, specifically enjoyed THE SUN DOWN MOTEL and THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, but this one just really didn't do it for me. Whereas I felt the other two novels were thriller with a paranormal aspect, this book almost felt more like light horror because of the ghostly focus and possessing people to kill others. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my vibe and I was looking forward to more mystery/thriller.
There was definitely still a mystery aspect as the main characters -- a newlywed couple -- try to solve the cold case of the "Lost Girl" who is killing people in a very specific spot in this small town after picking up a hitchhiker who died in their car. The mystery is to figure out who the ghost is and why she's doing what she's doing. Truthfully, I didn't love the answer. It seemed very obvious after the point was brought up in the book and one of the only explanations that makes for a decent connection to the main characters that adds a twist. I also didn't love the reveal of how the Lost Girl died and everything that was connected to that. It seemed a little flimsy and didn't really make much sense.
I think I just really missed that twisty thriller aspect. I feel like her other main novels have been more thriller and the paranormal aspect is important, but more of a twist or an added part of the story. This was maybe too much ghost focus for me and it lost that gripping thriller concept, at least for my tastes. I made it 50% of the book and was surprised because I didn't really feel like anything happened. Then the same thing happened at 75% and I couldn't believe I was almost done.
Maybe it all comes down to style preferences (well, I guess ALL reading is style preferences, but anyway...) but I just didn't really connect with this one like I had hoped. I probably over-hyped it for myself too.