This is an intriguing & ambitious concept of 12 short stories based around the crimes of a serial killer from Barrow, Australia where a taxi driver murdered 12 hitchhikers & buried their bodies in shallow graves in an eerie forest. The difference here to the usual way of tackling crime fiction is that the killer is only ever mentioned briefly & the stories tell the tale of those around him.

Unfortunately it didn't quite work for me. I found the tone of some of the stories baffling - why was the introduction to the only victim who got away from the killer seen through the eyes of a nun? I suppose one can ask "why not?" but whilst I can understand not wanting the killer to be the focus, this approach left me feeling removed from what was happening & so it was difficult to connect with any of the characters.

I will say that my view seems to be an outlier so don't let it put you off from giving this a go if the synopsis appeals to you. 2.5 stars (rounded down)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton/Sceptre, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Barrow in Australia , also known as Murder Town, the place a serial killer used as his territory burying his victims in the forest in the 90s. This is a collection of short stories based around the serial killer and those affected around him. The pieces slot together perfectly as you read each snippet in the individual chapters and the characters come to life.
Great compilation that works really well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve included a brief rundown of each of the mini stories below.

THE TOURISTS (2008) - Locals Joe and Lena explore the forest where bodies were found.
HUNTER ON THE HIGHWAY (1996) - May suspects her boyfriend Darcy could be the serial killer.
ABROAD (2011) - Halloween in America for English Simon whose sister vanished 21 years ago.
DEMOLITION (2003) - Eva and Gerald observe the destruction of the killers house when journalist Kate turns up.
HOSTESS (1986) - Ex air hostess Jill tries to stop her 16 year old sister Cheryl’s marriage to the man who later becomes the killer .
HOSTEL (1995) - Roy and Mandy tell of the Swiss backpacker they encountered who went on to become one of the killers victims.
DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE (1998) - An election candidate sharing a surname with the killer struggles with his campaign in the days after the arrest.
CHAPERONE (1995) - On a 6th form trip to Rome, Grace plans to go backpacking in Australia.
FAT SUIT (2024) - Noah is cast the role of the killer in a 6 parter series.
PODCAST (2028) - Luke and Sara deliver an episode when the 13th body is found.
THE WAKE (2020) - As Covid breaks, Ex-cop Jane who worked the task force looking for the killer learns of his death.
LUCY (1950) - The story of how the killers parents meet

Received for reviewing in the What's New in Short Stories column - will be appearing in issue 103 of Mslexia. Thank you!

'Highway Thriller' is essentially a thriller although it is written in a different and unique way. This has been billed to say each chapter is a small story with links to others. I am not sure this is strictly true, each chapter is different and focuses around different characters and time periods however they do all link together and this is essentially a thriller.
I did enjoy this read and it is a different style to what you usually find with thriller and it made for refreshing reading. The plot is fast paced and I enjoyed seeing how everything ties together and there is still a lot of suspense and intrigue throughout the read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.

This collection of linked stories - or perhaps I mean linked characters - revolves around the actions of one man who commits a number of murders in the 1990s in Australia.

It speaks to something I have felt for a long time, which is one of the reasons I generally avoid true crime stories. Namely, that the focus and often unhealthy interest in the actions of the perpetrator leave out the impact of that person's behaviour not only on the immediate victims, but also their extended family and friend circles.

This book goes some way to redressing that balance, by showing how this unlikely serial killer's brutality traumatized and tainted the lives of those who had known the victims - and by association, also became victims and survivors of his vile actions themselves. A thought-provoking set of stories. It gets 3.5 stars.

This inter-connected series of short stories - all linked by the fact that characters within them have some link to to a serial killer who hunted on a stretch of Australian highway in the 1990s - won't be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it very much. While some stories inevitably resonated with me more than others (the one which centres the brother of one of the victims, years after the crimes and now living in Texas, was a particular favourite, as was the story set at the time of the murders about a girlfriend becoming suspicious of her live-in partner), they cohered into an accomplished whole.

3.5

I really enjoyed how each short story all linked, however loosely, to the same crime. The times and places were all so different and I found it really interesting, it does show how one singular event can affect so many people. The writing was really good and I think the majority of the stories were executed well. However, I found it to be a slow start.

True crime, or even fiction based on true crime, is a genre that often feels overwritten and tone deaf. However, Highway Thirteen does not feel like this. Carefully intertwining several different lives that have been touched by one serial killer, this book explores the conversations around true crime and the appetite we seem to have for it.

McFarlane writes with so much depth and intensity that every single chapter felt planned out and beautifully executed. Even as the book carried on, and it was clear that every single story had a connection to the murders, I never once found myself bored or able to predict the end of the chapter. The different timelines, ambiguous endings and characters only added to the raw emotions of this story. It left me wondering about how we, as a society, view true crime and often romanticise and fictionalise it, without any regard for the victims or the lives impacted. What a haunting and thought provoking novel.

This was a very interesting book that definitely posed a lot of questions to me. Especially around killers becoming famous and sometimes celebrating for their crimes and how the media can have an impact on families and public view of crimes.