J.D. Robb discussion
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Dark Roads
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Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens - Jan. 2022 Spoiler Zone
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I will be joining in on this one. I enjoy her books and am looking forward to reading this and joining in on the discussions.
The blurb sounded great and the audio is available on Scribd! Yay ~ I'm in.
I've ordered it from my library. Planning to join you.
Looks good...I'm in.
Dark Roads was one of the best I've read this year. I look forward to the discussion.
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I agree! Loved it!
I finished the book and I really liked it
Just got from the library will start tonight
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Is this passed on actual events? I saw a documentary on Netflix that is very similar to this book.
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I don't recall hearing whether it was based on actual facts or not.
Just picked it up from the library. As soon as I’m done with the book I’m currently reading I will be starting it. I can’t wait.
Sharon wrote: "Is this passed on actual events? I saw a documentary on Netflix that is very similar to this book."Author states it is based on the murders in British Columbia (Highway of Tears) where as many as 80 women, mostly indigenous people / First Nations, have died or gone missing over a 20-30 year period. I think it is a suspected serial killer(s).
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Author states it is based on the murders in British Columbia (Highway of Tears) ..."
Thank you Cindy! I thought I remembered reading something about it but wasn't sure.
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finished and really liked it. It is chilling as you never know people as well as you think you do.
I liked it and the women characters came off well. So many times these novels portray them as ditzy or somehow complicit in their victimization. The women here were strong and resourceful. Even when their decisions were not the best, they owned them and worked to get better.
I've started listening to the audio of this. I'm not that far in. I'm at Part 1 Chapter 5. I'll use spoilers :)(view spoiler) Ok - rant over, lol.
I absolutely loved this book. It being based on true crimes just made it so interesting.Melissa, I thought the same thing about Hailey's aunt. Why couldn't she see that he was a controlling bully?
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I already think Von is a creep and an asshole. Feels like he could be the killer. I ..."
Feel free to discuss without spoilers. This is now a Spoiler Zone.
~Melissa~ wrote: "I've started listening to the audio of this. I'm not that far in. I'm at Part 1 Chapter 5. I'll use spoilers :)I already think Von is a creep and an asshole. Feels like he could be the killer. I ..."
Melissa, I feel the same. Also, Lana doesn't know that she is controlled too because it is subtle.
My impression is that Vaughn wants to control Hailey because he wants the money he can steal as executor of her father's estate. I have to agree with Hailey, why did he set up the will the way he did; although none of us think we are going to die suddenly. I guess it is one of those things her father put off until tomorrow.
I like this story even though parts feel a little too YA. If you get the chance, you need to watch the documentary. I think it was on Prime but it could be Netflix or ID.
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I thought it was clear that Vaughn was only there to control & get his hands on the money. I was frustrated at her aunt...that she didn't open her eyes and see what he was doing. I was glad Hailey got away from him. Very interesting that she hid away in the mountains, surviving from skills taught her by her father.
I finished listening to this tonight. I do agree with Sharon that it felt rather YA at times. My rant above stands. Vaughn (haha spelling - things you miss when you listen vs read) was a total creep and bully ~ used to bulldozing through to get his way. Thank god that Thompson took Hailey's anonymous calls seriously. Beth was lucky Hailey was following her and helped get Vaughn away from her the night she over drank at the bar. I was actually wondering if Vaughn planted something in her drink. All I kept thinking- was girl. you need to put those drinks down and keep a clear head.
Thought it was totally cool she was able to live off grid with skills she learned from her dad.
Did anybody else feel like, Mason, being the killer was just sort of a an extra - it really felt like Vaughn was the killer but the author didnt't want to make him have that many things against him. The whole part from when Mason showed up at the camp etc baffled me. I understand how all the girls would've trusted him but he didn't even 'ping' for anyone. At all.
Overall it was sad that this is based on true crimes..
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What did y'all think about Beth - following in her sister's footsteps so to speak? Took the same job, etc., which put her on Mason's radar.
I agree about Mason. He was never on my radar. Great job Sandra. I didn't pick up the clues until he was revealed.
Beth's part had some good scenes, but overall it was my least favorite. My guess is because it had the most YA vibe to me. I thought Beth's goal in following her sister's footsteps was to pull out the killer. For a smart person, she did make some dumb moves.
Sorry I can't edit on my phone. Beth and Johnny surprised me. I thought Johnny and Hailey were going to be a couple until she hooked up with Amber. I loved that Hailey's survivor skills were from her father.
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I loved that Hailey's survivor skills were from..."
I thought the same about Hailey & Johnny. I didn't see that part coming.
Sharon wrote: "I agree about Mason. He was never on my radar. Great job Sandra. I didn't pick up the clues until he was revealed."I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't think of him.
Beth was kind of odd. I thought she was the older sister or am I remembering that wrong?? Maybe she was just 21? She didn't seem anymore mature than Heather for having gone to college - at least some college. I'm not a huge YA fan so the whole 'oh he likes me' 'oh he's ignoring me' 'oh he's paying attention to her' was kinda an eye roll for me, lol. Sorry - I know she was dealing with the death of her sister but going to a town that has a serial killer and then drinking and taking antianxiety meds - not real smart.
I just thought Mason was a controlling ahole who had too much power and used that to bully people. Not till we find out at the end he was transporting the drugs did it make sense why he was the way he was. Did he know who the killer was all along or did he just suspect and turned a blind eye?
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I was extremely disappointed in Lana, Hailey’s aunt. I felt like she willingly turned a blind eye to Vaughn. He was disliked by just about everyone and his creepy behavior toward Hailey was impossible to ignore. I got the feeling she just didn’t want her comfortable little world to be disrupted.
I thought Vaughn being the killer was too obvious. Mason stayed on my radar when it became clear there were cameras in the diner bathroom. No way would he not know about this. He was either the killer or complicit with him and Vaughn. It made sense to me in the end that Vaughn was being paid for silence and illegal goods trafficking because he obviously had another income source.
I adored Hailey and Wolf! That dog was my hero. I spent 1/3 of the book worrying whether the two of them survived that snow storm. The only thing was I didn’t know what her end game could be.
Beth was a puzzle to me. I wondered whether her drug and alcohol dependency muddled her thinking and her reactions to Jonny were childish and curious.
I enjoyed the story but was disappointed with the lack of focus on the missing indigenous girls, which was how the book began and was positioned. It was also how the author ended in her closing comments. It’s an incredibly big problem in that region.
I agree with you about Hailey's aunt Lana, Jonetta. I think she actually knew how Vaughn treated Hailey and pretended not to notice it. She didn't want to disrupt her life with new problems.I kept going back and forth between Vaughn and Mason possibly being Amber's killer. I couldn't decide which one it was.
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Remind me...Who was Thompson?
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Same here. I wondered...
Thompson never crossed my mind. I thought he may start investigating and meet with an "accident" if he got too close.
The acclaimed and beloved author of Still Missing is back with her most breathtaking thriller yet.
The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.
Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.
One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance…