July 1995. April and Eddie Carter are newlyweds from Ann Arbor. Eddie is ex-military and working as a mechanic. April works at a bowling alley. They have taken 5 days off work to go to a little resort town to celebrate their honeymoon. They take a wrong turn and end up on Atticus Line in Coldlake Falls. On the dark rainy night on the tree-lined, deserted road they see a hitchhiker and stop to see if she is okay. They pick her up but soon discover that she is seriously injured and needs an emergency room quickly. A menacing black pickup roars up Atticus Line in pursuit of the threesome and the hitchhiker whispers “he’s coming” before losing consciousness.

Are you intrigued? You should be! This novel is a hair-raising, action-packed supernatural thriller which held me in thrall from the first page. Eddie and April are a likeable couple with a great connection and chemistry. They each hold secrets about their past and struggle with their demons, but the reader wants them to succeed. The author takes an urban legend of the hitchhiker on a lonely road and infuses it with a chilling ghostly energy that feels completely believable. I will never feel the same way again about driving on a lonely road in the woods. My only criticism would be that the denouement with Detective Quentin at the conclusion of the novel felt unnecessary and the book wouldn’t suffer without it.

A ripping good spooky yarn and you should read it! Thanks to Penguin Random House/Berkley for providing me with a copy to read.