“What could a road do to us, after all?”

If the story had starred Gracie and Beatrice, the Gen-Z-esque Nancy Drew sisters up to no good with access to a photocopier (in 1995) and a dream, this would have been a 4 or 5 star slammer. Instead, we got Eddie and April: newlyweds with secrets. I’ve only read one other St. James ghost story before this and I had pretty similar feelings if I recall: it’s a story and there’s ghosts in it! Giving up depth for accessibility is a choice and it’s an understandable one in the long run, but there was a lot of potential that went untapped in the sacrifice.

It also kind of…glorified potentially harmful relationships? A lot? There’s a conversation that could be happening about mental health here but St. James essentially brushes over what are pretty severe red flags for both parties involved and instead promoted a very “but I love him!” YA approach. That part ended up being more disconcerting than the supernatural elements of the story.

2.5/5 I hope the main characters take the “Murder Road” all the way to couples counseling.