The Hitchhiker: The Red Series

by Tanisha Stewart, J.R. Mason (Narrator)

They call it stranger danger for a reason... The Hitchhiker is a pulse pounding psychological thriller by the bestselling author of Everybody Ain't Your Friend and The Quiet Ones series.

When Vanessa Thompson agrees to fly across the country to meet her online crush, she never imagines she's walking straight into a killer's trap. Kidnapped and tortured by a sadistic predator, Vanessa endures unspeakable horrors as the clock ticks down on her survival. With only seven days before her captor's deadly countdown ends, every breath could be her last.

As investigators search for a woman who seems to have vanished without a trace, Vanessa faces a desperate battle against time itself. Trapped in a nightmare where hope fades with each passing hour, she must find the strength to outsmart a monster – or become another missing person who never makes it home.

A pulse-pounding drama full of twists and turns. This series is fast-paced, straight to the point, and packs a powerful punch that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Red Series is composed of self-contained stories – they can be listened to in any order.

Audible Audio

Published August 21, 2025

Reviews

[RChelle Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

She’s never seen him on FaceTime or met him in real life, but Vanessa Thompson has convinced herself that Brandon is the man of her dreams. After two years of virtual dating, the time has finally come for them to meet. Like a true gentleman, he books her a flight and a room at the best hotel to ease her mind. Despite the questionable circumstances and looming doubts from her sister, Vanessa hops on the plane ready to meet her love.

As soon as she lands and learns the original plan has been adjusted, something deep in her gut tells her something isn’t right. This was just the beginning of her week-long nightmare.

I loved the layered plot- there were some unpredictable twists, and I wanted more with every turn of the page. Tanisha does a great job with character development and adding depth to the story - I could easily see some of the characters and plots becoming their own stories.

The audio version of this book gives crime documentary vibes like something you’d watch on ID Discovery. JR Mason brings Tanisha Stewart’s words to life with her animated, magnetic voice, and the background sounds add to the production value. I’m wishing these production budgets on all authors because this is how you do an audiobook. Solid writing and narration make me easily give this one 5 stars.

[Britney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rating

I listened to the audio version of this book and it was a pretty quick listen. It honestly wasn't a book that you have to pay close attention to. It just goes to show you shouldn't actually trust people you have never met in person.

The book is about a woman who meets this guy but has never met him in person and flies all the way out to where he lives but surprise he is not at the airport to pick her up so she has to get a rental car. You can tell right away something is off. The book goes back in time to a little boy who is being abused and treated poorly by his parents.

It was an interesting read and a bit of a mystery/thriller.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vanessa’s online romance is about to become real as she prepares to fly across country to finally meet him face to face, something her sister is totally against. What could go wrong? This is very much a genre piece where the surprises are not surprising, and I imagine most readers can probably guess exactly (or almost exactly) what is going to happen right up to the last sentence. It is what it is, and just about crawls up into my three star rating even if it is probably the first and last one in this ‘The Red Series’ for me.

[Marcy Sorenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙝𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙩

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🎧𝘼𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 (𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴)
🎙️𝘑.𝘙. 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯
𝙇𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝: 3 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 & 59 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴
𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳

This is part of the 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, but can be read as a standalone. Overall I really enjoyed this. I do think if 100 or so pages were added, it could have left me more satisfied. The ending just felt rushed, and I wish we got more background on the characters. This is fast paced with loads of twists. I would recommend

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the premise of the book, but I wish it was longer, so more detail could've been added. It's the ultimate worst outcome of being catfished.

I'm not a fan of building climax and then, boom, next chapter. The situation gets intense, and anxiety and fear builds, but then we move on. We'll come back to that later. At that point I'm not in the mood and the outcome doesn't have the same effect.

[Samyra Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the story before the audiobook was released, and I thoroughly enjoyed it due to the vivid scenes. The F.M.C. was naive, but her portrayal felt believable, as I've encountered people like her in real life. The F.M.C. and her loved ones faced tremendous challenges; I had no idea how things would turn out for them. The audiobook narration truly brought the story to life, immersing me in the darkest corners of one of the characters' minds.

[Quaterria Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moral of the story: do not fly across the country to go see a stranger or you’ll end up in a precarious life threatening situation like Vanessa Thompson.

This audiobook was a production you hear me and enhanced to the enjoyment of this gripping thriller.

[Loreal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I listened to this on Audible and it was a full production! I loved all the twists and could not have predicted the ending. Vanessa knew better than to go visit a man she met online whom she had never seen 😂
This was such a fun popcorn listen!

[EnJayAra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanisha amped up the creepy factor with this one. It was dark but definitely held my attention. It was like an episode of criminal minds.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just fine

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.