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A review by justinkhchen
Murder Road by Simone St. James
2.75
'It's fine' through and through, Murder Road was compulsively readable, and has kept me entertained (via a very well-narrated audiobook) while cooking and folding laundry, but at no point was I fully invested in its characters and events. This being my first Simone St. James read, I don't think her take on paranormal mystery is my cup of tea—a mix between Riley Sager and Darcy Coates (way more Darcy in proportion), the juvenile, stereotypical depiction of the supernatural led to some 'WTF' chuckles from me that were probably not at all intentional.
Murder Road was also very romance-heavy, while not expected, I did find its presence semi-enjoyable. Effort was made to infuse key characters with a storied background, but the execution felt surface level and never truly engaged emotionally. My biggest issue overall was how the central mystery was resolved, with a very vague motivation (when it should've been more explicit since the whole book was building towards this answer), and some very wacky, nonsensical explanations on the supernatural elements.
So... an enraged spirit murdered by her own father was possessing random drivers on a road to kill hitchhikers (why?!), and the lasting effect on the possessed was brain cancer?! If the overall goal from the spirit was to reveal the murderer, and she could summon her lost son via some sort of psychic power (she knew how to keep busy in her afterlife!), then why kill these random people in the first place? Lastly, I found it hilarious by the end of the story there were just ghosts everywhere in this town.
Murder Road is inoffensive, and admittedly never boring, but its 'scare actor at Halloween Horror Nights' style of supernatural is not for me, preferring something more sinister and chilling rather than spirit busying with shuffling and moving things to scare people.
**The Book Troop Book Club April 2024 Selection**
Murder Road was also very romance-heavy, while not expected, I did find its presence semi-enjoyable. Effort was made to infuse key characters with a storied background, but the execution felt surface level and never truly engaged emotionally. My biggest issue overall was how the central mystery was resolved, with a very vague motivation (when it should've been more explicit since the whole book was building towards this answer), and some very wacky, nonsensical explanations on the supernatural elements.
Murder Road is inoffensive, and admittedly never boring, but its 'scare actor at Halloween Horror Nights' style of supernatural is not for me, preferring something more sinister and chilling rather than spirit busying with shuffling and moving things to scare people.
**The Book Troop Book Club April 2024 Selection**