Member Reviews

CJ Tudor can be relied upon for disturbing, creepy, unsettling psychological thrillers with a hint of the supernatural. She excels herself with her latest offering, a novel of family, grief, loss, hope, and secrets, where there are those who seek an old testament justice, an eye for an eye, losing sight of the fact that this will make them blind. Gabe Forman is travelling home to his wife, Jenny and his young daughter, Izzy, in Nottinghamshire, running late as he drives on the motorway, . In front of him is a rust bucket of a car, covered in bumper stickers, when to his horror he glimpses Izzy in the back of it, he knows it's her as he tries to follow the car but cannot keep up with it. He phones home, only to speak to a DI Maddock, to learn the shocking truth that Jenny and Izzy have been murdered. Gabe's life falls apart, he is even a suspect, but is eventually cleared although he is ferociously condemned by a media that suggests he deserved the horror and tragedy that befell him.

Three years on, Gabe is a diminished shadow of the man he used to be, haunted by Izzy, he walked away from his entire life, shedding both job and home, now living in a camper van. He is convinced Izzy is still alive as he drives relentlessly up and down the motorway, hoping to find that car, handing out flyers on Izzy, stopping at service stations where he has become a familiar and pitied sight. Hardworking single mom, Katie works as a waitress, becomes familiar with the regular appearance of Gabe, sympathising with his unbearable grief, her family suffered the shattering loss of her father nine years ago. Fran and her daughter, Alice, are on the run from a 'bad' man. Alice suffers from the worrying condition of narcolepsy, she can fall asleep anywhere, coming awake with the strange presence of a pebble in her hand that she adds to her growing collection in her rucksack. Miriam has given up her life to nurse and provide company for a young girl in a vegetative state in a white room. All these threads come to connect in a riveting narrative that reveals that on the dark web is a website of The Other People, where the bereaved can seek a very specific kind of help.

Tudor writes eloquently of the repercussions of grief and where it can lead, along with a murderous resentment that triggers such a horrifying tragedy. Gabe makes a terrific central protagonist with his secrets, aware that it is hope that is slowly and surely destroying him as he lives an itinerant lifestyle of despairing loneliness, his spirits dipping so low that he had to be saved by The Samaritan. This is a brilliant and compulsive read, one in which the twists, reveals and connections are skilfully managed to raise maximum levels of suspense and tension. Highly recommended to crime and psychological thriller fans. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

Was this review helpful?

This is a book which grabbed me from the very first page and didn't let go until the very last!

It is a chilling, tense and atmospheric read which I found hard to put down.

It is sure to be a talked about book in 2020 and I highly recommend it!!!

Was this review helpful?

What a brilliant read, really enjoyed this book. It kept me enthralled right til the end
Totally gripping story..loved the characters
Each strand of the story was pulled tight til the end all was revealed.
Cannot wait for more reads from this author.

Was this review helpful?

Another successful novel from C J Tudor. This book is both compelling and easy to read. The various strands of the book come together though the supernatural elements are harder to accept than most of the book. The moment when Gabe finds the phrase 'The Other People' is when the story really sets off, it is a book fraught with emotion and tingly moments which show some excellent writing skill. A brilliant way to start a new decade of reading!

#TheOtherPeople #NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this chilling book

have to admit that when i first got this book i read the synopsis and thought not sure about this one...but once you start you are hooked and frightened at the same time...

it all starts off so innocently...driving home,then gabe is aware that in front of him is a car with his daughter in it...disbelief and worry hit him and though he tries to catch up with this car he cant so he rings home and thats when the nightmare begins....

i dont want to give to much away with spoilers but this is a gripping novel that holds you gripped and terrified at the same time, this one is going to stay with me for quite some time...

there are some great characters in this book and enjoyed it right to the end...love this author

Was this review helpful?

I can see the allure of C.J. Tudor's skilled writing in this latest novel, The Other People. It's brave, it's heartbreaking, it's a fast moving full-on thriller. At first I mistakenly likened it to The Silver Road by Stina Jackson but the similarities faded swiftly. They are two, decidedly, different novels though both share a heartbroken father who takes to the road questing after a lost daughter. Both are brilliant, by the way!

The Other People was a novel I could not put down. There were so many puzzles I wanted desperately to understand and make sense of. It flummoxed me and that was the draw. I loved my inability to grasp the threads - and there were many - and twist them into something logical. It was well conceived and well executed and kept me reading late into the night.

Gabe, our tortured father, was the sort of person you would pity if you met him in the flesh and found out he was looking for his daughter, the one police said had been murdered along side his wife. A real nightmare but we, the reader, push him along and hope for a positive outcome. The secondary set of characters deliver more questions than answers but the interwoven mysteries enhance the plot in an addict manner. I didn't know who these people were and why they were present but when the reasoning is revealed it is simply genius. A great read that will keep your eyes glued to the page, The Other People is a satisfying thriller.

Was this review helpful?

I have read both this author's previous book and thoroughly enjoyed them. I did however feel that certain influences were maybe a bit too prevalent and I was waiting for their own voice to shine through. Well, in this book, it has done just that. And it's definitely worth paying attention to.
Three years ago, Gabe is driving home when he sees what he thinks is his daughter in the back of the car in front of him. He goes all in following the car but it gets away from him. He pulls in and calls home and is shocked at what he hears. His wife and daughter are dead and no one believes in what he saw. But he KNOWS what he saw and won't give up hope. Back in the present and he given up his job and home and spends every waking hour searching for the car he saw that night.
We also meet Katie who works in one of the service stations frequented by Gabe in his endeavours to find his daughter who, against all the evidence, he believes is still alive. She has suffered her own loss and empathises with Gabe.
And then there's Fran and her daughter Alice who appear to be on the run. She knows more than she wants, she has to keep one step ahead of those who want that information quite. She knows what really happened that night at Gabe's house...
And then there's a woman in a coma... and a strange man who appears to be helping Gabe...
This is a doozy of a book that gripped me right from the off, held me captive throughout, spitting me out, exhausted but satisfied, at its conclusion. I was powerless to put it down and so glad I read it at a time when life could take a back seat. It's hard to say much more about the book without giving spoilers but I will just mention that the concept of The Other People really did shock, sadden and scare me somewhat.
Characterisation was excellent. I really felt for Gabe and what he was going through. Especially his ability to trust in what he believed and ignore what was presented to him evidence-wise at face value. How he never gave up his search for both the car and his daughter, even when things went dark very quick. Fran also impressed me with what she and Alice were going through. Those parts were especially spooky!
I do have to say that there was a lot that confused me for the majority of the book but the author has my trust already from previous books so I was well able (and willing) to let them sit and simmer and trusted that all would come good in the end. Which it most definitely did! So very intricately plotted and so well executed, I lost track of the number of satisfying nods I did when things started to all come together towards the end. OK so I had to suspend belief a tad along the way but with everything else going on, I was more than happy to do just that.
All in all, a cracking read from an author who is now firmly cemented on my watch-list. Really can't wait to see what she has in store for me next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

Very twisted but so enjoyable! You spend a lot of time questioning Gabe's mental health, is this real or is he just going a little mad....

Was this review helpful?

Loved C.J.Tudor's first two so was over the moon to get given this to read. One of the best proponents of building a sense of creeping dread I've come across over the last few years. There's a great balance between what we know, and what's hinted at, that speaks of a shadowy world her characters look for a way into, but you're pretty sure they'll regret looking in the first place. This literally kept me up at night - finished in two sittings, and can't recommend enough.

Was this review helpful?

After two very good dark and gory thrillers from this lady, comes a book I think proves that while she's not perfect yet, she's making strides to get there. A bloke suffering delays on the M1 sees his young daughter waving hello to him through the rear window of the car in front – just about the same time the police are trying to contact him to say that the girl and her mother have been shot to buggery in his home. His current life, now, three years on, is driving desultorily up and down the motorways of the country hoping to find evidence of how this happened, and of where the girl might have been going, in a most distinctive car. Oh, and another young girl is being driven permanently to a place of safety by someone who isn't her mother – but when can she be ever be safe when the figure in the mirror is gifting her with pebbles and other things from the seaside, and threatening her with The Sandman? And what are the italicised extra chapters, about a bed-bound girl and her nurses, all about?

For Ms Tudor's first book I said there was too much heavy foreshadowing for me. For the second, which was just as fun and darkly enjoyable, too much hiding things deliberately, both from the characters and from us. But this is closer to the real deal. Any number – seriously, an almost irreponsible number – of the brisk, short chapters in the first half end in a real EastEnders' doof-doof, the "duh-duh-duuuuuuhhh!!" cliff-hanger noise writ large. That is, if cliff-hanger is even the right phrase, for a lot of these urge you on, compelling you to never ration a further chapter.

However, I don't think that is sustained in the second half – although I have to admit I read this on consecutive evenings, and it's no good at all to break off from a book like this for such a delay. I found the second half a little too mundane, as we saw the real world solutions to the almost impenetrable, previously unexplainable mix of the macabre and the everyday. That said, those solutions are suitably rich, convoluted and interesting, and the milieu of the late night service station (even if nobody ever includes the necessary 'northbound' or 'southbound' in any directions, which is bad) is really well evoked. Tudor has a wonderful ability to take something from our existence and dress it up in such a macabre mystery that it seems that it has to involve the uncanny. Ultimately, when this book is back on the shelf, the magical element here is the least satisfactory. But boy we've had a ride before then.

Was this review helpful?

C J Tudor writes a brilliant story as always, the main character Gabe is on the hunt for his missing daughter. I really liked his character and thought it was well written for the story line, he is a somewhat dark character at the start and slowly I warmed to him. Over all I thought the plot was brilliant, a creepy look at revenge after tragedy. Three story’s soon combine into one leaving me to feel like I couldn’t put it down. The only part for me that didn’t seem to fit was the Izzy’s supernatural element, it’s didn’t seem to gel with the rest of the story, I felt it may of needed more attention to it or be taken out completely. Overall a fabulous story.

Was this review helpful?

Another fantastic book by C.J. Tudor. Like The Taking of Anne Thorne, I couldn't put this book down. The three storylines slowly converge to reveal what really happened to Gabe's daughter, and why. The dark web is a character in itself and, combined with a slightly supernatural element, gives the book a sinister feel. Highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Not what I was expecting but it didn’t stop me mainlining the novel in two sittings. The supernatural element sat a little uneasily with the main part of the plot and I’m not sure the two ever really blended properly – IMO there needed to be less of it or a lot more in order for it to really work. That said, this was utterly compelling, filled with insightful character detail, clever plotting and an edge of your seat narrator. Really enjoyed.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Netgalley and Random house for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly - the supernatural element aspect was weird and I wasn’t keen although it didn’t impact on my enjoyment of the story until the very end. But no spoilers! I found the remainder of the story quite believable - that people would not want to let go of hope and that others would seek revenge for injustice was credible. A good thriller.

Was this review helpful?

Wow this is a scary story about a guy who is late home one night for the hundredth time and when stuck in a traffic jam is convinced he has seen his daughter Izzy in the car infront off him. After losing the car he calls home but it’s not his wife that answers and the police inform him his wife and daughter are dead. As the years pass he continues to search for the car and his daughter convinced she is still alive. I won’t spoil the plot but this story is dark and twisted and does not disappoint.

Was this review helpful?

This latest thriller by C J Tudor has a complex story with a paranormal element that kept me on my toes as a great deal of concentration was needed. The plot is based on getting justice for those who are responsible for the death of their loved ones, only this is not that simple as retribution mixed with fate is a toxic mix. We are introduced to the Dark Web where a group of the most unlikely people operate but at a price!

There are lots of characters to get to know within the chapters of multiple timelines. For me, Izzy’s child innocence stood out and I was intrigued to see where fate would take her.

This is a great thriller but needs a lot of concentration to keep up with its pacey plot.

My thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC, these are my own opinions of The Other People.

Was this review helpful?

I have never read this popular author because it is not really my favoured genre, but the premise sounded interesting. I quite liked the way it started and the character of Gabe came to life immediately. As the plot became more and more complicated I started to lose the thread and it became less believable to me, especially the supernatural element.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for my e - Arc of this dark new thriller, The Other People by C.J.Tudor

Even though I own copies of a couple of C.J.Tudor books, this is my first read by the author and gladly and as expected I was not disappointed.

Gabe, is a lost soul, three years after his 5-year-old daughters disappearance, an event in which Gabe saw his daughter being driven away from him, he is traipsing up and down the country, in service stations and on motorways, looking, with forlorn hope of finding his little girl.

Then there are Fran and her daughter Alice, seemingly on the run, hiding out, but why and from who?

And finally, single mum and waitress, Kate, who finds herself inexplicably wrapped up in Gabe’s life and story.

The Other People is an engaging, dark, and compelling thriller with a supernatural twist. Very different from many books I’ve read recently, it’s a spooky and suspenseful page turner that keeps you reading and with very much interest.

As I’ve said there is a bit of a supernatural element to this story but in no way does it take over the story which itself is a very well plotted and cleverly crafted read.

Told from the 3 viewpoints, of Gabe, Fran and Kate, this book deals with the darker side of the internet that is the dark web, and the dark side of people when there are out for revenge. How far will you go to get someone back?

Twisty, Tense and darkly atmospheric, this is a cracker chiller thriller with an excellent finale.

A great introduction to C.J.Tudor for me, I will be swiftly on to the other books.

Highly Recommended

4 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Was this review helpful?

** spoiler alert ** I read this in one sitting.
It's fast paced,and you know fairly soon in,that almost certainly something is going to happen on the next page.
It's a tangled web of people doing bad deeds.
Frankly I don't know what's more creepy,the supernatural connection (which slightly reminded me of Charlie Parkers daughters on the beach) or actually The Other People...as that could do daily be true.
It all tied so nicely together at the end,answering any questions I had,and those I didn't know I should be asking.
All round,I think this is going to be another Tudor book that flies off the shelves.

Was this review helpful?

A very twisted,complicated story. Good characters who are linked more than they know. A dark story with lots of surprises.

Was this review helpful?