It’s the summer of 1976 and Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal their broken hearts after a devastating tragedy. They’ve planned the trip perfectly, taken care of every detail. Then they meet two young hitchhikers down on their luck and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren’t what they seem. They’ve left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them.
Now Alice and Tom are trapped, prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn. As the tension builds, the lines blur, and the question becomes "in whose heart does evil truly lie?". What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding? And who will live another day?
The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens will be published October 7, 2025. St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.
Books set in the 1970's, the time when I was growing up, always catch my interest. This was my first book by this particular Canadian author.
Stevens does a solid job with the setting (always helpful to write what you know) as well as most of the period specific details (8-tracks, very specific mid-70's candies, etc.). It gives the story a very familiar, very specific feel. I did catch one mistake: there is a reference to Chachi on Happy Days but his character did not appear on the show until that start of the fifth season in September of 1977.
The narrative focus is kept to the two female characters (Alice and Jenny). The author wastes no time in ramping up the tension; it happened a lot quicker than I would have suspected. With the revelation of secrets starting as early as the first ten percent of the book, I really wondered how chaotic things would end up becoming. Turns out, quite a bit.
Even so, I found a few spots in the middle that dragged a bit as aspects of the plot were drawn out. I would have preferred to have the starting pace kept up, propelling the reader further and further into this violent and stressful situation. I kept reading, mostly to find out how this tale of darkness would end (it did pretty much how I expected it would).
With the right audience, I am sure this one will be well received.
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