Jamie and Clare, a couple in their late 40s, seem to be living the dream- a beautiful house, luxury lifestyle, her top job in property. They become friends with a younger couple, Kit and Melia, and the two men begin travelling to work together by river bus, where they hook up with two other commuters to form a group they nickname “ the water rats.” But then one night Kit fails to return home and the police have questions for Jamie- why had he and Kit fought on the night of the disappearance, and why has Kit not been seen since? And what has this “other passenger,” unseen by Jamie, told the police? This is a gripping, noirish tale which will keep you turning pages late into the night. Some very clever twists will keep you guessing as the pieces of the plot are slowly revealed then subverted until the truth is revealed. Loved that suckerpunch of an ending!

This was a bit of a slow burner for me. I severely disliked Jamie's character and wasn't too keen on Kit or Melia either, but as Jamie continued to tell his story I became more interested in where it was going. There was a point where I had sort of worked out where the story was heading, but it was cleverly done and the twist is good when you get to it.

The only thing that lets this book down is the ending, it seems slightly disjointed. Although it could only really have ended one way, I think the ending could have been a bit snappier. I'd be happy with a sudden ending rather than detailed events of what happens in the aftermath.

I didnt think it was possible to hate every single character and wish for all of their demises and then be let down. this is a first for me by the author and even though i rated it low i will read another! I think what made me so mad is i would like a character and then find out they were a mooch who cheated on their wife for no reason at all and so on. I really couldnt connect with anyone becuase i hated them all so much.

This book is narrated first by Jamie Buckby who is 48 who is working in a cafe after giving up on a white collar job.
Jamie gets to work on the River boat everyday but after Christmas Jamie is stopped by two policemen while disembarking the river boat. They tell him his friend Kit has not been seen since Dec 23rd and Jamie was the last person to see him and witnesses say they saw Kit and Jamie having an altercation .
It goes back to when Jamie and Kit met and how Jamie and his wife Claire became friends with Kit and his wife.
Thanks NetGalley

This is a great psychological thriller.
Jamie and Kit decide that they will travel on the riverboat every morning together as they both hate tubes and trains.
They get on well to start with but then there seems to be tension between the two of them.
At the end of December Jamie travels alone as Kit hasn’t turned up but when he gets off he is approached by two police officers.
It seems Kit has been missing since the evening of the 23 December and it appears that Jamie was the last person to see him. They also have a statement from another passenger who says they saw them arguing that night.
The story is told in the present tense and also the recent past and we discover more about the relationships Jamie and Kit have with their partners - Clare and Melia.
There’s a bit of a lull in the middle of the book but the twists and turns near the end make up for it.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The Other Passenger is the brand new novel by Louise Candlish and it’s out today. I was really lucky to receive a proof of the book and I was hooked from the moment I started reading it. For two entire days I read and read and when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about it. What happened to Kit? Is Jaimie responsible for his disappearance? Why did they fight?

The Other Passenger revolves around four friends, two couples: Jamie and his partner Clare and Kit and his girlfriend Melia. When one of them disappears, Jamie is interrogated by the police and, through Jamie’s point of views and many flashback, the author reconstructs from the beginning an inter-generational, dysfunctional, and unlikely friendship that will have dire consequences.

One thing that I really like about Louise Candlish’s novels is that she always creates a cast of detestable characters that manage to make you addicted to the story. As in her previous novels, I didn’t like the characters of this book. Sometimes I felt pity for them, often I didn’t trust them, but mostly I didn’t like them. They are vividly crafted, multi-layered, and very-well developed, and, despite my dislike for them, I wanted to know more about them, about their lives and their secrets while trying to figure out who was guilty, who was lying, who was innocent.

Louise Candlish really knows what she is doing. The Other Passenger features a claustrophobic atmosphere and an unpredictable and clever plot that takes you repeatedly by surprise. There are jealousies, lies and deception, and dreams that make you do the unthinkable to achieve them. And, as mentioned, there are detestable characters that draw you so much into the story that, despite everything, you want them to have their happy ending. Will they get it?

When I requested The Other Passenger I had never read anything by the author but the blurb captured my attention and I decided to give it a try, especially because there already seemed to be a lot of praise for the book.

The first chapter drew my attention but then there was a little bit of a low point where I really struggled to want to read more. This was in part due to the author’s deliberate creation of some pretty unlikeable characters and a heavy emphasis on money – who had it and who didn’t. At times this made it feel a bit repetitive, but I chose to persevere, and I am glad I did because the twists in the plot certainly packed a punch.

The Other Passenger begins with Jamie being interviewed by police over the disappearance of his friend and fellow riverboat commuter, Kit. Jamie is adamant he didn’t kill him but his memory of the night is sketchy and another passenger has come forward who saw them argue.

Kit and Jamie’s friendship is quite an antagonistic one full of little resentments. Kit is much younger than Jamie, arrogant and jealous of Jamie’s monetary situation.

Jamie’s partner Claire works with Kit’s partner Melia and that is how the couple met and began to spend time together.

There is a definite sense of Jamie and Claire trying to recapture some of their youth by spending time with the younger couple.

For his part Jamie is jealous because Melia Is a very attractive woman and although he knows it is wrong, he can’t help feeling a big attraction towards her.

The more the story builds the more the author has us wondering did Jamie have motivation to kill Kit after all or is he being set up?

One of the things that made me interested in The Other Passenger in the first place was the use of the Thames riverboat as a setting for a large amount of the action. It struck me as unique.

I felt that the panic attacks felt by one of the characters during the book were described very well and with a lot of detail.

The Other Passenger is not a book to read if you just want to skip through it but if you are willing to put some effort in it will be rewarded as it has some brilliant twists.

I’ll be honest, I was ready to give up on this book at 20%, it was such a slow burner, I didn’t see how it could pick up but I was proved wrong, I had kinda guessed the twist (or so I thought!) as was completely blown away by twist after twist after twist…. When the story stepped up a pace, it turned out to be gripping, back stabbing, money grabbing, betrayal, lies… brilliant recipe for a thriller. Have already told my mum to hang in there as it more than redeems itself by the reveal!!! ***3 star (would have been 4 only for how long it took me to get into it)

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Uk for a copy of “ The Other Passenger” for an honest review.

Lots of thriller authors promise books that are full of twists and turns but fail to succeed but Louise Candlish delivers and how !
This was such a gripping story full of jealousy and deceit . I thought I’d figured out the ending but I was totally wrong.
The only part of the book I , at 56 take issue with, ,is that Jamie at 48 is considered geriatric but I’ll overlook that.
Top of my recommendations this month

Wow what a dark yet totally captivating tale - this is Louise Candlish on fire delivering an originally story to a very welcome audience.

The story has a firm, if moving setting of the riverboat that runs along the Thames and takes Jamie, a man in his forties who has a job in a cafe to work. They are friends with millennials Kit and Melia and Kit has been persuaded to invest in a season ticket for the riverboat too. No crammed commute on the trains for these two. The two men make friends with other regulars and regular drinks follow on a fairly regular basis. All until the first day back after the Christmas break when there is no Kit on the boat, missed calls from Melia aplenty and two policemen waiting to meet Jamie to quiz him about Kit's whereabouts.

The timeline moves backwards and forwards and the story that unfolds is completely gripping. Louise Candlish takes ordinary characters and twists the kaleidoscope by a degree or two, and comes up with a story seen through a slightly different prism. This is what I term a 'pure' psychological thriller. The way the characters, and you may well struggle to like any of them, behave is something that you will have witnessed daily, albeit in less extreme forms.

Brilliant plotting coupled with sharp observations about how humans behave added to the clever use of settings mean this is one of those books you will struggle to forget.

I am a big fan of Louise Candlish's books, they are all brilliant including this one. It's about Jamie and his friend Kit, when Kit goes missing the police want to know what happened the night a witness saw him and Jamie having a tussle, now the police want to speak to Jamie, does Jamie know where Kit is or are more secrets going to unravel as we are this story take a few dramatic turns. You never know who is really watching you. A dramatic gripping thriller that will leave you shocked to the core.

If you are after a twisty and tense book then this is the book for you !!

Jamie hates the underground but be needs to travel across London to get from his home to work. He and his new friend Kit decide that they will travel on the riverboat every morning together.

On the 27th December Jamie travels alone as Kit hasn’t turned up but when he disembarks he is approached by two police officers. Kit has been missing since the evening of the 23rd December and it appears that Jamie was the last person to see him. It doesn’t help matters that they were seen arguing that very night. Could Jamie know more about Kit’s disappearance ?

The story jumps from the present day to the recent past and we discover more about the relationships between Jamie and his partner, Claire, and Kit and his girlfriend / wife, Melia. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked throughout, just as you think you have everything worked out something comes along to blow that theory right out the water !!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

What a brilliant book. Absolutely loved the nature of the story, the setting and pace of it. Extremely well written and it kept me captive all the way through! An excellent thriller. A good balance of storyline and back story. Loved it. Well deserved 5 stars.

Highly recommended to all who love thrillers.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley.

A stonking, breathtaking, suspenseful thriller!

Wow! Louise Candish has crafted the most stonking, stupendous, suspenseful thriller! I was fully engaged from the first page of The Other Passenger!

It features two completely different couples living in London, who become so embroiled in each other’s lives. First, we have Jamie and Clare, living in an inherited affluent property. At the other end of the scale are the hapless younger couple, Kit and Melia renting their house just a few blocks away, continually struggling with their finances and debt.

The tale is narrated by Jamie, who explains his circumstances regarding his commute to work and how he initially meets Kit on the Thames riverboat. A camaraderie begins between them and some of the other commuters.

When the two couples start socialising, it becomes apparent just how unusual their liaison is... not only are they financially at the opposite ends of the scale, but they are generations apart too!

It becomes apparent that there is immense jealousy brewing from Kit in particular, despite the outward appearance of friendship. The tale is deep, dark and deliciously deceptive. It brings to the surface so many of the devilishly flawed human traits.

All of the characters are well-drawn, particularly the four leading complex personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed this roller coaster ride, with its twists and turns, leading to an explosive conclusion!!! I shall certainly look out for future reads by Louise Candish. Thank you for a fantastic ride!

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Very well written with a lot of twists and great characters. Well thought out plot which had me gripped right up until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I was excited to get my hands on this book and it certainly didn't disappoint! The characters were believable, if not dislikeable at times. (though I think that this was the intent of the author.) The plot was believable and there were a lot of twists and turns that I just didn't expect! It made me feel uneasy throughout - sign of a good thriller novel and I couldn't stop reading. Brilliant 5 star read. Would 100% recommend to anybody who loves a well written thriller.

Another stunning book from Louise Candlish.

Again we have multi-layered characters, who, as we get to know them, are never quite as they seem, and we find it hard to trust even our own instincts when it comes to deciding who to root for.

Jamie is the main protagonist, whose fragile ego is stoked by the beautiful young couple, Melia and Kit. Jamie travels to his coffee shop job in London via the river bus, a method of transport many of us living outside London forget in favour of the crowded, suffocating tube. But the perceived calm of the river taxi is not all that it seems; just like the lives of these characters.

The author invokes a sense of murkiness in the theme and setting, immersing the reader thoroughly.

Lies, deception and jealousy interweave in a story that has you guessing at every page, only to be wrong-footed by the next.

This book was amazing

It really is one of the best books that I’ve read

It is full of twists and turns and throughout reading this, I felt as though I had been a passenger on psychological thriller rollercoaster

I was gripped from the first page and did not know where the book was going to go in parts, which makes a great psychological thriller!!

Cannot wait for the next book by this author!

Oh, but readers are in for a treat! A clever and pitch perfect page-turner. I love Louise's writing and raced through this one. Hugely enjoyable and highly recommended.

I was so intrigued by this book as soon as I read about it and it totally lived up to my expectations! The story follows Jamie, who takes the riverbus along the Thames to work every day. He and his wife make a connection with a younger couple who live near them, Kit and Melia, and things get complicated when Kit goes missing. I don’t want to give too much away because there are some fantastic twists and turns but, suffice to say, things are not quite as they seem.

The first thing I found really interesting about The Other Passenger is the riverbus itself. I’ve visited London many times and I’ve never noticed that there are some people who commute via water. The way London is described and seen in a different manner by way of the view from the Thames is a really effective part of the story. The story itself is incredibly compelling. To be honest, Jamie is not a particularly likeable character. In fact, most of the characters are less than exemplary human beings but that is what makes The Other Passenger so good! Candlish takes the device of the unreliable narrator and delivers it with such skill and a wry wit which I absolutely loved. More than once I thought I had figured out exactly what was going on, only to have the rug pulled from under me when certain facts came to light. It made reading this book so much fun and felt like a properly twisty and fraught thriller. Not giving anything away, I will also just say that I thought the ending was particularly well done. I find endings are the most difficult part of a thriller or mystery to get right but this one is pitch perfect in my opinion. I highly recommend The Other Passenger. It is engrossing, sharp, witty and beautifully paced!