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I'm never going to outgrow my love of the supernatural, so I always look forward to a new release by Simone St. James, who has definitely found her niche in writing ghost stories for grown-ups. In Murder Road, the ghost story centers on a series of murders occurring across decades on an isolated highway, and a newly-married couple who gets mixed up in the mystery (and investigation) when they take a wrong turn and come upon a hitchhiker who has been stabbed multiple times.

I felt the same way about Murder Road as I have about St. James' past few releases (with the exception of The Broken Girls, which I still think is her best book): It was good, but not great. Although all the elements are present -- a strong sense of place and time, thoughtful character development, a few creepy scenes, the inclusion of social issues relevant for the time period, and a well-integrated paranormal component -- something was missing for me. After an action-packed beginning, the pace slows way down, and although I was interested in learning more about the central characters, they made a lot of nonsensical decisions that frustrated me. I'm also not a fan of the "small-town cops who do whatever they want" trope, and that features heavily in this book. And both the who- and whydunnit left me feeling unsatisfied.

But let me tell you, I would read an entire novel (or series of them, even) devoted to the adventures of the Snell sisters.