Anna Downes’ new thriller follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback.
Katy Sweeney is determined to find her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, free-spirited Phoebe vanished without a trace on Western Australia’s remote and achingly beautiful Coral Coast. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up.
Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy starts to retrace her steps, searching for the clues that the police have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and what danger did they pose? Was she as happy as her sun-bleached, lens-flared photos seem to suggest?
Then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, a young woman on the run from her own dark past—and very recent present. And as Katy realizes that Beth might be her best and only chance of finding the truth, the two women form an uneasy alliance to venture forth into increasingly wild territory to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this breathtaking but maybe deadly place, and how her fate connects them all.
Review
I’m not exactly a true crime connoisseur, but like many, I’ve been fascinated and horrified by real-life tales of #vanlifers gone missing. So it’s no surprise that Red River Road hooked me from the start, right from Phoebe’s joyful first Instagram post introducing her Big Lap around Australia, starting in WA. Of course, things are not so sunny: as soon as we meet her sister, Katy, followed by a chance encounter with the desperate swindler Beth, the tension is palpable. As I followed their journey to uncover what actually happened to Phoebe, I found myself second-guessing nearly every character they encountered, both in the present narrative and through revealing flashbacks.
Katy is an unreliable narrator whose perspective and actions are clouded by complicated grief. Much like Beth, an armchair psychologist type, I picked up on clues and inconsistencies, in an attempt to uncover the true nature of events. Why is Katy not pursuing methods of investigation that Beth thinks are obvious? Where do the gaps in Katy’s memory come from? Meanwhile, can Beth herself be trusted, considering her criminal past and her present-day lies? And then there are chapters from teenager Wyatt’s point of view – how is he connected to the story?
One of the book’s strengths lies in its handling of multiple, serious topics. It raises important questions about the actual risks of ‘stranger danger’ and the realities of gendered violence. Plus, the book carefully plays with readers’ preconceptions about the relationships between trauma, mental illness and antisocial behaviour. If this were a spoiler review, I could easily write an essay about how this book represents characters experiencing mental ill-health (which, in my opinion, is generally well done and shies away from stereotypes that are all too common in psychological thrillers). Readers be warned: there are plenty of red herrings to throw you off course.
The conclusion of Red River Road is both intriguing and satisfying, though I did find some elements a touch confusing. Regardless, most answers answers are crammed into the final 50 or so pages. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end; it provides fascinating insights into the themes underpinning the story. Overall, this is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery with substance.
Thank you to Affirm press for providing us a copy of the book in exchange for a review.
Review by Elise
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