Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Harper has decided to run away from home after she has another blow-out argument with her mother. However, her two best friends, little sister, and ex-boyfriend all stop her from hitchhiking her way up Route 80 in Wyoming by joining her on an intervention disguised as a road trip. What they don’t realize is that Harper has been marked by a very unique serial killer who’s been trolling the highway for the past three years, and now the killer is after all of them in this fast-paced and deadly chase novel that will have your heart racing well above the speed limit as the interstate becomes a graveyard.
Review:
An oily, high-velocity serial-killer novel that reeks of burnt rubber, transmission fluid and… cinnamon, “Killer on the Road,” is a blood-slicked fast-paced chase through Wyoming. A gritty road-side story in which things go from bad to worse to worse again, “Killer on The Road,” features a stellar (really quite charismatic) antagonist, an awkward but tender dynamic between its two leads, and a whole bunch of angry truckers. With Stephen putting pedal to the metal (with a full tank) and throwing us into gear from the very first chapter, and a total page count of only 250, this one makes for an easy (yet stressful) read. Needless to say, I’m thrilled that this pulpy, poetic, propulsive pressure cooker of a novel is finally in print, ready for the out-stretched, grease-streaked hands of readers everywhere.
We follow Harper, who after an argument with her mother has found herself wandering the side of Route 80, looking for a ride. Whilst she’s given warnings and a bottle of water, she has no luck until her pals Jam and Kissy, accompanied by Harper’s ex Dillon pull up in a borrowed car and insist she hop in. She does so, just before her mom drives past, and the group just about avoid being spotted. What they don’t clock is that Harper’s little sister, Meg, is now in their backseat. Harper’s straight-forward escape becomes messier yet however when, marked by “Bucketmouth,” the group are chased down the interstate, leaving bloody, flaming messes in their wake.
“Killer On The Road,” is an excellent slasher, and for the most part, that’s down to Harper. She is an embodiment of teenage defiance and rebellion, fiercely protective of those that she loves, as well as quick with a quip- the perfect final girl. A slasher does, of course, need an iconic antagonist to go with, and Jones absolutely achieves this with “Bucketmouth.” As far as villains go, Bucketmouth is a unique one, for reasons (I’ll keep secret) beyond his charisma. It’s a slasher that is different enough to warrant being written, and of high enough quality to sit proudly next to SGJ’s revolutionary work in the sub-genre: whilst retaining the bones of a classic slasher, Jones has created something mean, lean, lethal and original.
It will come as no surprise to anyone even orbiting the horror genre that “Killer On The Road,” a slasher from Stephen Graham Jones, (the greatest thing that has happened to the slasher in recent memory) is pretty damn good, but that didn’t stop me from being shocked at just how damn good it was. It’s got grit and guts and I for one, wouldn’t mind a sequel… High-horsepower, roadside Americana, vehicular horror, “Killer On The Road,” is a story you will feel in your bones and your brake pads, and a reminder as to why SGJ is our reigning slasher laureate.
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