ARC Review: 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on July 2, 2024
Genres: YA Thriller
Pages: 288
Source: the publisher
Format: ARC
My Rating:
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Blurb:

Four days alone in the desert. Except they’re not as alone as they think.

A year ago, Katie and her cousin Aster survived a night that left their world and easy friendship fractured. Desperate to heal and leave the past behind them, they tackle four days of hiking in the Utah backcountry. But the desert they’ve loved for years has tricks up its sleeve.

An illness, an injury, and a freak storm leave them short on confidence and supplies. When they come across a young couple with extra supplies on the trail, they’re grateful and relieved―at first. Riley exudes friendliness, but everything about her boyfriend Finn spells trouble. That night, after some chilling admissions about Finn from Riley, Katie and Aster wake to hear the couple fighting. Helpless and trapped in the darkness, they witness Riley’s desperate race into the night, with Finn chasing after.

In the morning, they find the couple’s camp, but Riley and Finn? Vanished. Katie is sure Riley is in trouble. And with help a two-day hike away, they know they are the only ones who can save her before something terrible happens. The clock is ticking and their supplies are dwindling, but Katie and Aster know they have to find Riley before Finn―or the desert―gets to her first.

My Review

This is my 2nd book by this author and I’d give it a little higher rating than my last one. It was intense, and definitely had me on the edge of my seat wondering what exactly was going on, who was this killer that was part of the tagline on the cover. It started out with an event that was so emotional and definitely influenced how Katie behaved or acted. Not to mention that Aster had her own issues from how she had behaved or reacted to that event at the beginning. There were portions split out from the viewpoint of someone you didn’t know for sure. Was it one of the two girls after the story we were getting on their hike? Was it another person they’d seen along the trail? Was it even anyone we’d had any contact with through Aster and Katie’s viewpoints? Then, who was the character that Katie and Aster should be worried about. Was it Finn? Was it the runner they’d seen early on? The two climbers? The druggie guy? I had guesses, some panned out, some weren’t quite right, but I liked the way the author kept me turning pages just to find out what happened.