Book Review: Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Highway to Hell
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Series: Maggie Quinn (Book 3)
Publication: Delacorte Press (March 5, 2009)

Description: Maggie Quinn was expecting to find plenty of trouble with Lisa over Spring Break. Destination: South Padre Island! Give a girl a bikini, a beachfront hotel, and an absent boyfriend, and it’s as good as a road map to the dark side. And Maggie and Lisa plan to enjoy every bit of it--just like nice, normal college freshmen. Fire, brimstone, and demonic sorority girls: these ladies are officially off the clock.

But Maggie doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Trouble has started looking for her. One dead cow and a punctured gas tank later, she and Lisa are stuck in Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And--you guessed it--lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland. Cattle are dying mysteriously, with strange bite marks on their hides. And judging by the rising body count, whatever's doing the killing is getting bolder by the day.

Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.

It looks like fighting evil isn't a job with vacation time.

My Thoughts: The third book in the Maggie Quinn series has Maggie and her best friend Lisa driving to Spring Break on South Padre Island. Neither are really the Spring Break type. Maggie wants to do an article for her school newspaper and Lisa just wants to do something normal. 

However, their plans fall apart when Maggie's jeep hits a dead cow in the road and the two of them find themselves stranded in Dulcina, Texas, with something supernatural going on. The locals are sure that El Chupacabra has made a return as evidenced by missing and dead animals ranging from a small dog through goats and calves and cows. Both Maggie and Lisa are intrigued, and both are hoping that this won't be their next encounter with evil. 

With Justin spending some time with his best friend Henry, Maggie feels a bit lost without his support and his research skills. A trip to a small local roadside museum with a faked-up skeleton of a supposed chupacabra doesn't shed much light on the mystery though a small relic from a long-lost Indian tribe may hold a clue.

Evidence of some sort of supernatural something becomes hard to dismiss as Maggie is having visions about something evil despite Lisa new friend Zeke's assurance that it is just some natural creature made more dangerous by the drought. Zeke's grandmother who appears in Maggie's visions is busy denying any sort of supernatural evil despite having bested it some fifty years earlier. When Justing and Henry join the girls, the whole Scooby gang is together again and just in time to battle a demon. 

This story has it all. There is great worldbuilding, intriguing supernatural characters, snarky conversations between best friends, and all sorts of action as they bettle the demon. Fans of YA paranormal fiction will enjoy this one. 

Favorite Quote:

"Where's Zeke?"

"He's talking to the doctor about Dave. Are you out of your mind?"

Trying not to grimace at the pins and needles of restored circulation, I uncurled from the couch. "You're going to have to give me a frame of reference for that question. It's been a long night, and in no way lacking in crazy."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.