A review by minimicropup
Red River Road by Anna Downes

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved this and all the slow burn tension it brings. 
 
Energy: Secretive. Reserved. Driving. 
 
๐Ÿฉ Tail Wags
The jarring, sometimes disjointed narrative. Eerie, unsettling atmosphere. How the reader is just dropped into the van and left to piece together clues watching the character interactions and memories. Never quite knowing what to think about the characters until the end. How it had me wondering what I would do in their situations. How the high stakes moments felt high stakes without dragging on. How we can piece together clues on page and make predictions. 
 
Scene: ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Set along Coral Coast of Western Australia
Perspectives (4): A twenty-something recreating the route their missing sibling took on their van life journey (first person). Another twenty-something on the run from someone, who is warily taken in on the van life journey (third person). The little brother of an ex who lives nearby. The chapters are interspersed with social media posts and comments from the missing sibling before they disappeared. 
Timeline: Current (2020s). โ˜€๏ธ Summer. 
๐Ÿ”ฅ Fuel: Interlocking mysteries. Revelatory backstories. Atmospheric tension. Compelling characters. Why is Katy retracing her sisterโ€™s steps a year later? Does she really expect to find her sister? Can she trust the new travel companion she reluctantly takes along? 
๐Ÿ“– Cred: Realistic
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Dusty roads. Gravel. Lacquered bobby pins. Canned soup. Roadhouses. Stones
  • Grifting con couple
  • Unexpected sidekick, hesitant friendships
  • Fleeing abuse
  • Retracing their steps missing person mystery
  • #vanlife gone wrong
  • Men behaving badly
  • Hints of unhinged and unreliable narrators
  • Psychological mystery suspense
  • Piecing together the puzzle, red herrings
  • Books to read while camping, on road trips, or travelling
  • Exploration of healing and transformation
  • Thrown in the story, watching things unfold, overhearing character thoughts
  • Real-world worldbuilding
  • Social commentary about the normalization of predatory males, โ€˜safetyโ€™, and violence against women 
 
Content Heads-Up: Alcohol (intoxication, black outs). Memory loss (grief-related). Rape, drugging (by romantic partner; brief recall; off page). Abortion, parental rejection (brief recall; off page). Mental illness. Missing parent/feelings of abandonment. Toxic relationship, intimate-partner and domestic violence and abuse (on page recall; descriptive). Panic attack, flashbacks. Chronic illness (weakness, nauseous). Insomnia. Physical attacks (wounds, blood). Death. Murder. Child abuse (very brief recall). 
 
Rep: Australian, American. Cis. Hetero. Olive and ambiguous skin colours.
 
๐Ÿ“š Format: Library Hardcover
 
My musings ๐Ÿ’– powered by puppy snuggles ๐Ÿถ
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