Highway to Hell is a YA paranormal mystery and the third book in a series called Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil by Rosemary Clement-Moore.Being that this is the third book in a series, I would recommend making sure you’ve read the first two before reading this review and becoming party to some inevitable spoilers from the first books. Instead, read my review of Prom Dates from Hell here and Hell Week here.
Oh, you have read the last two Maggie Quinn books? Those of you who are nodding, feel free to continue…
It’s Maggie’s first Spring Break while attending college and she is on assignment to be a totally normal freshman and spend it in South Padre Island with her best friend D&D Lisa.
That is, if normal means her best friend is a sorceress in training with a bit of a dark past and Maggie herself has weird psychic powers that she has recently used to bring down a sorority that was literally Evil, and before that save her classmates from a not-so-nice demon.
Well, she’s trying anyway.
Yet it seems like Maggie can’t stay away from the freaky stuff. Before they are anywhere near Girls Gone Wild territory their car is gored by a dead cow in the middle of the highway and they find themselves stranded in the tiny town of Dulcina, Texas.
What are the chances that the cow died in a normal fashion? Or that the town isn’t full of supernatural theories and tons of suspicious activity?
Yeah, not so much.
Apparently there have been a lot of livestock deaths lately. Gruesome. Mysterious. Weird.
Go figure.
It doesn’t take long for Maggie to get the sense that there is some Evil here that needs some butt-kicking.
Too bad she still hasn’t gotten around to taking any butt-kicking lessons…
Highway to Hell is, like I said at the beginning of the review, the third book in the Maggie Quinn series. And, so far, the last one. I’m really hoping for a fourth – or more!
But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?
I’m so happy I finally got the chance to read this! Rosemary Clement-Moore has done it again. With the wit and cleverness of our smart heroine Maggie and the sarcastic, caustic, often-hilarious personality of Lisa we have a duo that makes for an excellent read!
There’s a tone kinda reminiscent of the mystery of Nancy Drew – or even Scooby Doo, as crazy as that sounds. There are lots of different leads, lots of confusion, and many clues to follow up on. But unlike Nancy Drew or Scooby Doo, the monsters here are real – and usually creepy. I wouldn’t say the supernatural scenes were quite as chilling as they were in Prom Dates from Hell or as funny/disturbing as in Hell Week, but somewhere in a good spot in the middle.
It was delightful to read, which wasn’t at all a surprise to me.
And one thing I really love about Clement-Moore in this series is how she presents Maggie with her boyfriend Justin. It’s not really angsty. Sure, she has occasional, common insecurities – but the moments are small. Overall, we are given a protagonist that has a good, stable head on her shoulders – even if it is full of psychic dreams. I love that!
I’m hoping for more Maggie Quinn books, as they are funny and do provide a Buffy-esque air with those awesome dashes of classic mystery solving and phenomenally dynamic characters. Highway to Hell just cannot be the last one!!!
However, whether it is another Maggie Quinn book or not – I am eagerly awaiting another Rosemary Clement-Moore novel!
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