TITLE: The Dive Bar at the End of the Road
AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press
PUBLISHING DATE: October 6, 2026
PAGES: 288
SOURCE: ARC
FROM GOODREADS: A forested road at night, slick from the pounding rain and eerily illuminated by flashes of lightning. Just before midnight, a car swerves to avoid something—or someone—mysteriously standing in the road, only to slam into a fallen tree instead. In the pitch black, four more cars follow in a pileup no one can seem avoid.
Stumbling out of the wreckage, soaked from the rain and nursing various injuries, five strangers find themselves in a backwoods dive bar, waiting for daybreak and hoping for cell service. But as tensions rise and the storm rages on outside, the occupants of the dive bar start to notice that not everything is as it seems. Time is moving differently, and they quickly learn that going outside—whether to assist another accident victim or to hike for help—is a very bad idea.
There’s something in the woods, something that isn't natural. Could the figure in the road have been a warning? Or something more sinister? None of this is normal, and they'll need to work together to figure out what’s happening if they have any hope of surviving through the night.
Ellie has recently lost her job and is traveling back home to her parents so she can get back on her feet. She has always felt she has never reached her full potential and she is struggling to determine what to do next. She ends up taking a detour through a woodland backroad in a horrible rainstorm and ends up slamming into a tree in order to avoid a mysterious woman standing in the road. However, once she is able to get her bearings, she cannot locate the woman and is panicking that perhaps she killed her. While Ellie is trying to figure out what is going on, she ends up getting rear-ended by Henry, an off-the-clock paramedic also traveling to meet up with some fishing buddies.
With no cell phone service, Henry and Ellie decide to walk for help. Henry is able to patch Ellie up enough for the journey and soon the come across a bar in the middle of nowhere. Seeking shelter from the storm, the bartender offers them a few drinks and the only other patron is a mysterious woman, who Ellie believes just might be the woman she encountered. Before the reader knows it, the pileups continue, some people show up, some people get killed by mysterious creatures, and the bartender starts to show his true colors.
Ellie and the others fight find a way out of this "pocket universe" but everything seems to be a constant struggle and their nightmares seem to be coming alive. What exactly is happening and why? Who will be standing at the end? And who is this mysterious woman?
I've seen this book compared to Final Destination and Cabin at the End of the World. Neither of those comparisons sold the book to me as much as just the author and my love for her writing. I would say this book definitely gave me vibes of the MGM series, From. Now that is a comparison that would have sealed the deal. I loved Ellie as a main character and seeing her and Henry bond so quickly to try to figure out what is happening was an added extra (but I'm not talking insta-love because this definitely isn't a romance).
I have yet to read an Armstrong book I didn't enjoy. My only complainant was this one seemed a bit repetitive at time, which I'm sure was needed to expand the plot and further the suspense and action. However, it did irritate me a bit - but not much! I am sure I have recommended many books by this author over the years, and this one is no different. This horror is perfect for spooky season and releases tomorrow, just in time to land on everyone's TBR. I can't wait to see what this author releases next!
MY RATING: 4 STARS
