We have not seen Chevy Stevens since her 2021 thriller, DARK ROADS. So I am pleased to report that she has not lost a single step with her latest release, THE HITCHHIKERS.

Set in 1976, and with shades of the Charles Starkweather case looming in my mind the entire time, this novel places us directly in the middle of a dangerous murder spree from two drifting hitchhikers who initially identify as Ocean and Blue but are actually wanted killers Simon Gray and Jenny Perron. Alice and Tom, who are traveling in the Western part of Canada north of Vancouver in their RV, have befriended the two, who they assume are hippies left over from the ’60s, and are happy to give them a lift.

"The power of THE HITCHHIKERS lies in the characters and their complex relationship with each other in the face of such extreme danger and tension. It’s not a conventional story as Chevy Stevens takes the hostage novel into fresh territory."

Once Alice sees a newspaper report that includes their photos and real names, she informs Tom. They plan to get away from these dangerous individuals without letting on that their cover has been blown.

This is not a case of Stockholm syndrome. It’s a battle for their very lives as Alice and Tom must do whatever it takes to survive and hopefully be rescued. Following a fight with Simon, Tom suffers a badly broken collarbone. Meanwhile, Alice learns that Jenny is pregnant and now seems to be taking turns nursing Tom and Jenny while the foursome flees to their next destination. Simon makes Alice drive the RV but briefly takes the wheel when they come upon a biker he doesn't trust. The three watch in horror as he runs him over, killing him.

They are now officially on the run and are privy to, if not complicit in, a murder. Jenny begins to bleed, so they must arrange for a doctor to check her out, with Alice posing as her aunt. Jenny and the baby are fine, and it doesn’t take much convincing from Alice for Jenny to realize that staying with Simon is not healthy for anyone involved.

The problem is how to get away safely from Simon, who is now acting like a full-blown psychopath. Various chapters are presented from the perspectives of Alice and Jenny, so we get to see what is going on internally with them and how the bond between them is growing stronger. No one is in a position to stand up to Simon physically, and there is no time to come up with a secure plan to get away from him. Waiting for the law to apprehend him is a risky proposition as they are along for the ride with him and just as easily can be taken down or killed in any fight with the police.

The power of THE HITCHHIKERS lies in the characters and their complex relationship with each other in the face of such extreme danger and tension. It’s not a conventional story as Chevy Stevens takes the hostage novel into fresh territory.