This novel tells the story of two couples- Kit and Melia and Jamie and Claire. and how their lives are interwoven.

Jamie meets Kit, when he decides to change his daily commute from the train to the river bus. Melia goes to work for Clare's company and they begin to socialise as couples. When Jame and Melia begin a relationship, things get complicated. Especially when Kit goes missing and Jamie is suspected of his murder. This is where th clever twists begin, so I won't add any spoilers.

The author offers a good contrast between the older and younger couple and their differing financial circumstances. She does a fantastic job of keeping the reader engaged and building tension throughout. I also loved the way the puzzle pieces were gradually revealed and brought together at the end.

I have read a few of Louise Candlish's books now and would highly recommend them.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a brilliant read - I really enjoyed it and it easily gets five stars from me!

One detail that particularly stood out for me was the use of the water taxis to commute to work - this felt especially original.

This book had twists that I didn't see coming at all, which is something I always appreciate. It was extremely clever and kept me hooked. I wanted to keep reading for hours!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Candlish and have loved every one of her books. The Other Passenger is no different. It’s gripping and it’s twisty. I love her writing style and the uniqueness of her stories. I did enjoy The Other Passenger and would recommend it to others, but it’s definitely not been my favourite by her so far

A really great read, fantastic plot which kept you guessing all the way through and then twist after twist. I found myself siding with characters throughout and the whole story is so well put together and thought out. I really enjoyed how it took you back to earlier events and through you a curve ball! This will stay with me for a long time!

This is the first book I have read by Louise Candlish, and the first ARC I’ve received from Net Galley. It was absolutely gripping.

Lots of thrillers at the moment flick between before and after storylines, sometimes irritatingly so, it seems just to be on trend. The Other Passenger uses the device brilliantly to create tension and to allow Candlish several perspectives on the same narrative, told by the same narrator in different states of mind. I love an unreliable narrator, and Jamie Buckby is certainly that.

The mystery of the identity of the eponymous Other Passenger is also handled really well, with the final scenes in the book both humorous and chilling.

I was surprised to enjoy the intergenerational tensions between the protagonists, and the class element that drives the plot. The way the author plays around with stereotypes of both these issues with sardonic humour really works.

Finally, I loved the descriptions of London and Edinburgh, cities I know well. It must be hard to write about such tourist hotspots without falling into trope, but Candlish handles her settings with aplomb.

By the end of the book, there was not a single character I liked or admired - not even Regan. However, I enjoyed exploring their motivations and actions, and the delicious frisson of each of them getting their just desserts, though not at all in a way I could have predicted. 5/5 would recommend.

Now this is going to be the hardest review to write as there is so much I cannot say, but wow! Louise has been one of my favourite authors since I devoured The Swimming Pool. I can’t say I’ve read all of her books but the ones I have have been amazing. The Other Passenger may well be her very best. Now in a number of Louise’s books you don’t necessarily like the characters because she has a knack for creating real life nasty people, yet in their times of need you are made to feel for them.

Louise writes local to me, right now due to the virus that we are all sick of hearing about I’m not at my place of work. For those who are reading my blog for the first time I work at The O2 and currently work is non existent. I’ve never took the Thames Clipper riverboat as my journey rather than a tube but it’s something I know which also had a relevance to me. Although now I do want to take the riverboat just to see what Jamie, Kit and co saw on their daily commute.

Phobias are never written about where they show the impact on your everyday life. So in hearing Jamie’s fear I really did feel for him, I’ve never been scared of tubes or trains even after 7/7 and 9/11 but during these times I’ve felt an anxiety I had never experienced. So books are really pulling me through and this one has come at just the right time.

I found when I got to about 60% in the story started to free fall little did I know that the queen on I really didn’t see it coming would throw twist after twist. There is so much I want to say but I honestly want every other bookworm to get the rush that I got from reading this tale. This story has a lot packed into it it’s a tale of love, lust, friendship, loneliness, greed, want, ambition to name a few. I honestly want to say OMG but….but I honestly cannot a whirlwind read that I needed during these crazy times. As ever another bestseller from the queen that is Louise Candlish.

I often feel like a really rubbish blogger as half the time I have all the intentions but not enough time. Right now my passion for reading is pulling me through and I’ve already started prepping my what I read in March post…March really did change in the blink of an eye. Come the weekend I should be occupying my mind with a temporary position don’t get me wrong my books will still be pulling me through.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for yet again letting me read an absolute treat before publication this beauty will be released on 25th June. I will do my utmost to share this post again around then. You can get it Here

I’d give this a 4.5 rather than a 5!

I admit I felt this to be quite a slow burner, but boy did it pick up! Each plot reveal I’d be like okay this is where we are going and then BAM another twist I did not see coming comes along! If you’re a fan of Gone Girl, I think you will love this. It’s been a great lock down bit of escapism!

Brilliantly written as always, loads of twists as always with Louise’s books. Complex relationships, flawed character making mistakes that have outcomes that will impact on lives for a long time! Manipulation and the power of a younger person! Brilliant in every way. Thank you for letting me review this book, loved it.

Wow, what a book! I have loved all of Louise Candlish books, but this is definitely the best she has written so far.
I was gripped from page 1 and raced though it. It’s one of my favourite books of the year as it’s original, superbly written and stays with you a long time after finishing it.
I’d hugely recommend this book, it’s fantastic!

Louise Candlish does write some gripping and insightful dramas. This is another which would make a good TV show.

Jamie and his partner Clare work in London and they get to know younger couple Kit and Melia. Lives become entwined when Melia begins working for Clare’s company and the four begin socialising. The age differences make this unusual but there’s also the fact is that they have little in common.

Jamie takes the riverboat to work. A bit unusual but then you learn that he’s got a phobia of public transport due to an earlier problem. Kit starts taking the riverboat too and the two men get chatting more. And so the journey begins in more ways than one. It’s not long before Kit goes missing…..and then all hell breaks loose.

So begins a really good thriller and look into the generational gaps, the London way of life, the men v women argument and many decisions about right and wrong. There are some real moments of humour here too and I have to say, a very strong reason to start going on London River boats! (Apart from Kit going missing of course)

Candlish does it again.

When Lucy Foley says its a must-read, you bloomin well start reading!

This was my Louise Candlish book, but it won't be the last. There is no doubt that she has a skill for writing and drawing you in. I loved the setting with the London riverboat commute: nice to have something different for a change. And the main twist knocked me back for six, and that is what you want in a thriller!

My only quibble with the book is that the characters could be a bit one-dimensional at times. Especially in the first half where it appears the sole personality of two of the characters is that they want a house/money they don't have. I got a bit fed up of hearing about it!! But thankfully the second half was a saviour.

I really enjoyed this book! A great story line that kept me hooked and excellent main characters. I would highly recommend this book.

I have always loved louises books and this one was certainly a keep you guessing psychological thriller of a read, with an ending that I didn’t see coming at all !
Middle aged middle class couple Clare and Jamie befriend younger, financially impoverished couple kit and melia, this unlikely pairing of couples leads to a complex, twisty tale of intrigue,suspense and scandal and illustrates the complexities of love and scheming with clever plots and unseen happenings, which will leave you with dark sinister thoughts re the London underscene.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

Louise Candlish is the queen of the jaw-dropping plot twist.

This fantastic book never failed to surprise and astonish me.

I really enjoyed the commmuter river boat setting for a lot of the story, very different and historically interesting.

If you want a distracting and enjoyable read pick this book!

Oh my goodness what a roller coaster of a read. Gripping from the start with so many twists. Highly recommended

Addictive and well plotted thriller.
This is a rollercoaster of a thriller and shows skill by the author to plot the story and develop the characters.
The characters are so well created that you develop a likeness or a loathing of them (not saying which ones; you will have to see for yourself).
This story takes you on a staged journey, like the river bus route that it is written around and the ending is not easily guessed. This is always the sign of a good thriller.
A tale of greed, jealousy and lust and recommended to all. Will definitely read more by this author.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read in return for a review.

The Other Passenger is a twisty, complicated tale about two couples - narrator Jamie and his partner Clare - both in their late forties - and younger millennials Kit and Melia. Lives become entwined when Melia begins working for Clare’s company and the four begin socialising, despite having apparently little in common.

When coffee shop worker Jamie - unable to use most forms of public transport due to a phobia which has also rendered him unable to continue his previous career - and Kit begin commuting by riverboat, it’s the start of a story which it’s pretty clear isn’t going to end well for somebody... and when Kit goes missing - and Jamie is questioned by the police - things soon start to escalate.

None of the characters are overly likeable- both Kit and Melia are exceptionally annoying. Kit is an entitled jerk, prone to whingeing, jealousy and feeling hard done by, and Melia is no better. Jamie makes some seriously questionable decisions. Only Clare comes out of the whole thing with any dignity at all.

The Other Passenger is a cracking read with some fairly spot-on generation gap observations (certain interactions are hilarious). London, and its river transport, are almost characters in themselves.

Louise Candlish does it again, delivering a cracking thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Other Passenger has a remarkably taut plot, with an abundance of twists, which is reminiscent of both a classic Hitchcock film and 1940s Film Noir treasures. However, despite this timeless feel to the plot, this novel is very much written for our times. Candlish writes about the social and generational differences of the protagonists with aplomb and the events that take place, whilst exciting and sensational, are wholly believable. The city backdrop paints a vivid landscape for the drama and thrills to unfold and I found myself lost in the world Candlish has created. I could easily believe myself to be either Kit or Jamie and it is this that makes The Other Passenger such an enthralling and delicious read.

I couldn’t put this down and highly recommend this novel for all crime and thriller fans.

The novel starts with Jamie bring questioned by detectives about the disappearance of a friend, Kit, with whom he argued the last time Kit was seen alive and well.
Jamie and his girlfriend Clare are a couple in their forties who met young couple Kit and Melia several months before.
The friendship bloomed but now Kit has disappeared.
This novel is a masterful work of bluff, counter-bluff and double crossing as Jamie’s world starts to unravel.
Who is the other passenger on the river ferry he and Kit take to work each day, and what did they see?
This is a great read. It’s gripping, clever and fast-paced.
Louise Candlish really knows how to spin a good yarn.
Thoroughly recommended.

‘The Other Passenger’ by Louise Candlish is a superb evocation of the ways in which London life for the solvent and successful can change so quickly when careers are in jeopardy and relationships are opaque. Jamie and Clare are a middle-aged couple who seem to have it all: a lovely Georgian house in an East London square, supportive parents and good friends. However, their situation is changing. Jamie‘s phobia about public transport means that all but the most menial jobs seem out of reach whilst Clare continues to oversee an excellent business. They feel a little jaded; a little past it.
Into their lives come a bright attractive younger couple, Kit and Melia, who flatter them, befriend them and enjoy their company. Kit and Jamie become travel partners during their commute on a Thames riverboat and, for a while, appear to enjoy each other’s company – perhaps helped along by their habitual evening drinks. However, it’s difficult to believe that narrator Jamie really has much time for the younger man. The latter is feckless, greedy, a coke addict and an unreliable partner for the beautiful Melia. That said, she is a real piece of work! Perhaps one of the reasons why the narrative fails to convince at times is that it is pretty obvious that she is on the make. She would never fall in love with Jamie for real! However, as narrator, he’s so vain that the reader can see that see how he’s keen to believe her flattery.
Jamie disappears just after Christmas and the reader is fed many an enjoyable twist and turn before seeing the whole picture. Whilst the conclusion may not be satisfying for those who like a neat ending, I felt it apt given the characters involved. Well written, with some wonderful depictions of the Thames, this is certainly a page turner. Highly recommended for all readers who love convoluted plots and enjoy solving literary crimes!
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.