Dark Roads is set in a Northern British Columbia town in a remote area, accessed by a long stretch of lonely highway. It has a notorious reputation for being the last known whereabouts of missing and/or murdered women.

Hailey McBride has lost her beloved father in a tragic road accident and is now an orphan. She is now living with her aunt, nephew and domineering uncle Vaughn. Vaughn is an aggressive, alpha male cop who limits Hailey's freedom and interferes inappropriately in her life. Until one day Hailey can take it no longer and disappears. Is she another statistic? And who is responsible for the continued disappearance and murders of vulnerable young women?

There were many aspects of this novel that I appreciated, including: the setting and the realistic backstory of Cold Creek BC, the presence of a strong female protagonist in Hailey, who is able to take care of herself, and the accurate depiction of sexist attitudes and treatment of females as well as the hazards women have to negotiate in daily life. The development of the characters was also well done - I truly hated Vaughn, so mission accomplished!

My only complaint would be that part three of the novel was a little too drawn out. The book is divided into three parts - one and two are a reasonable length to tell the story of Hailey and then Beth. However part three does tend to drag a little and could be condensed without losing anything critical to the story.

Overall, this was a well-written, suspenseful novel which I would heartily recommend.