The hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens

It’s 1976, American couple Alice and Tom are setting off together on a long road-trip holiday across Canada, heading for the Montreal Olympics. They are trying to repair their fractured relationship following the still-birth of their much longed-for child. Along the way, they pick up two young hitchhikers obviously doing it tough. Tom’s eager friendliness sees the four of them travelling together much longer than Alice would have wished. There are hints that the two youngsters, Simon and Jenny, have not had a good start to their lives, they are on the run from their pasts, and Jenny is pregnant. However when Alice reads in the news that the two hitchhikers are wanted for a horrific stabbing murder, things start turning nightmarish. Tables are turned and Alice and Tom become the unwilling captives in an out-of-control scenario which sees them also fugitives from the law.

Both female characters are dependent on their partners. For Alice, Tom has always been the solid and stable support in their relationship. It is only when he is incapacitated that she has to step up and use her wits to work out how they can survive. Equally, the young Jenny, timid and subdued, relies on Simon to keep her safe. The problem is that Simon is wildly unpredictable and violent, and at each turn, there is more brutality, something she seems naively able to shut off, as long as he says he’ll take care of her.

The tension is high in this thriller written in short chapters largely from Alice’s point of view, but occasional chapters from Jenny reveal a backstory that becomes increasingly darker. The four characters are trapped together, Alice and Tom are held hostage in fear for their lives and there is no way to get help, no mobile phones, and Simon always has a gun to their heads. It is up to the women in this story to find their inner strength and take action. There is a twist, as in all good thrillers, but no spoilers from me, you’ll have to read the book. Chevy Steven's earlier novel Still missing is a bestseller and winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, so you know you will be in for a scary ride.

Themes: Runaways, Murder, Violence, Abuse, Resilience.

Helen Eddy