Red River Road - by Anna Downes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Anna Downes's extraordinary next thriller Red River Road follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback.

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe's social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister's steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy's path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best--and only--chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Anna Downes takes us on a twist-filled journey into the dark side of solo female travel, in this gripping novel that explores what drives us to keep searching for those we have lost, the family bonds that can make or break us, and the deception of memory.

Review Quotes

One of BookBub's "The Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Second Half of 2024"
One of BookRiot's "10 Sizzling New Mystery, Thrillers, & True Crime For August 2024"
One of Woman's World Book Club's "This Week's Best New Books"

"An unstoppable torrent of creepy suspense."--PEOPLE

"Downes builds suspense by deftly unpacking one layer of deception after another, never forgetting that her two travelers face danger not only from each other but from every man who catches sight of them. The Australian Tourist Board will never endorse this road-trip nightmare. But readers are likely to recommend it highly."--Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will enjoy the suspense and many plot twists along with the accounts of multiple unreliable narrators as the characters navigate the beautiful, winding roads. They will also think twice about solo van travel in isolated areas. The author provides a good mix of psychological terror and social commentary about women's issues, with a surprise ending."--Booklist

"Documenting a true road trip from hell, this fast-moving suspense novel eventually arrives at a resolution that is both terrifying and shocking, turning everything we have come to believe inside out and upside down."--First Clue

"The suspense that Downes builds and the myriad surprises along the way elevate the story beyond your typical road novel, making it one of 2024's must-read psychological thrillers."--Book Reporter

"Utterly addictive and deliciously dark, this is Downes' best book yet."--Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate

"A truly terrifying and topical tale about the potential perils of solo travel, Red River Road will take readers on the road trip of their lives. Anna Downes surprised me at every dark and winding turn--I loved this book."--Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Only If You're Lucky

"Red River Road takes us beyond the shiny exterior of #vanlife and deep into the secrets we keep. Tension, suspense, and characters who get more than they bargained for--this is Downes at her absolute best."--Hayley Scrivenor, USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek

"Dazzling, compulsive and head-spinningly twisty, Red River Road confirms Downes as one of the brightest stars in psychological suspense."--Candice Fox, author of Crimson Lake
NYT bestselling James Patterson co-author

"An exquisitely tense, thrilling and enjoyable puzzle of a book."--Christian White, author of The Nowhere Child

"Strap in and brace yourself for one hell of a road trip. Twisty, terrifying, this was a total thrill ride."--Sarah Bailey, author of The Housemate

"Red River Road is a pulse-pounding road trip thriller with a backdrop to die-for and a twist that will leave you with your jaw on the floor. I absolutely inhaled it!"--Hannah Richell, author of The Search Party

"Anna Downes' gift for unsettling, troubling thrillers is taken to the next level in Red River Road--a story that brilliantly provokes all our fears about the remote and untamed places of Australia and what might be lurking within them. Packed with haunting mysteries and evocative visuals, this is hands down one of the best thrillers of 2024. Don't miss it."--Gabriel Bergmoser, international bestselling author of The Hunted and The Caretaker

"Red River Road is an exhilarating, action-packed road trip thriller, set in the van-lifing scene on Australia's stunning West Coast. Creepy, atmospheric and packed with surprises, it cries out to be made into a movie!"--Allie Reynolds, author of The Swell

"In Red River Road, the freedom of #vanlife meets the cold metal of keys between fingers--an unsettling, deeply atmospheric novel that asks: where are women safe? With sharp social commentary and her signature lush prose, Anna Downes reigns supreme at excavating the thorny roots beneath intriguing subcultures, where beauty bleeds into danger. An up-all-night read you'll think about every time you open Instagram."--Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You'll Ever Know

About the Author

ANNA DOWNES (she/her) was born and raised in Sheffield, UK, but now lives just north of Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children. She worked as an actress before turning her attention to writing. She has degrees from both Manchester University (drama) and RADA (acting). She was short-listed for the Sydney Writers' Room Short Story Prize (2017) and long-listed for the Margaret River Short Story Competition (2018). Her previous novels include The Safe Place and The Shadow House.